Godhra Massacre: A Dark Reminder of Terror and Brutality
Pummy Pandita There are wounds that never go away, and some scars that don’t fade. One such terrible incident was the Godhra Massacre on February 27, 2002, when 59 defenceless Karsevaks, including women and children, were burned alive inside a locked train compartment in a planned, heartless attack. It was not a riot nor an accident but a calculated act of horror, carefully planned to convey a terrifying message. The attack, far from impromptu, was a carefully thought-out act of terror. Hundreds of Karsevaks, who had gone to pray at the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya, were returning by Sabarmati Express. The train, which was forcibly stopped using emergency brakes, came to a halt at Phalia signal, located inside a Muslim slum that covered both sides of the railway track, was attacked by a crowd of more than a thousand people, armed with gasoline, acid bulbs, and iron rods, launched a coordinated attack shouting “Maro, Kapo (kato), Badhane Jalavi Do (Burn them all)”. They doused the coaches with flammable liquid and set them on fire, transforming the train into a death chamber. Heart chilling cries of children, mothers clinging desperately to their newborns, and old pilgrims made fruitless attempts to flee within that flaming compartment, but were all engulfed by the flames. In the most horrifying manner conceivable, bodies were mashed together and burned beyond recognition. A deliberate attempt was made to skew the facts even before the fire had subsided. For years, radicals and vested interests tried to push this atrocity under the carpet by claiming it was a “spontaneous reaction” or a “accident.” It was, however, clear from forensic evidence, eyewitness reports, and judicial investigations that the fire was set on purpose from outside. The attack was confirmed to have been meticulously planned and carried out after the Nanavati Commission and judicial processes rejected the accident argument. However, the burned remains of those defenceless Karsevaks—including small children who were burnt to ashes—tell a different tale, one of hate-fueled violence that is frequently attempted to be distorted by mainstream narratives. It was only after years of legal fight that 31 persons were found guilty by a special court, making them accountable for the devastation. The verdict recognised that the massacre was not an unplanned outburst but rather a deliberate act of communal violence. Many important masterminds and instigators, meanwhile, have not been held accountable. However, some fundamental questions remain: The Godhra Massacre is not just a chapter in history but a warning too. A cautionary tale on the perils of narrative manipulation, organised violence, and radicalisation. Society as a whole is put in danger when innocent individuals are killed for their convictions, truth is censored for political reasons, or justice is postponed or refused. There are people even today who still want to change history to hide the terrible events of that tragic morning. In the hearts of the families who lost loved ones, in the burned remnants of Coaches S-6 and S-7, and in the conscience of a country that will never forget, however, the truth endures. After 23 years of the massacre, cries for justice, remembrance, and the preservation of the truth can be heard from the ashes of those 59 souls. It is a national wound that must never be forgotten! (Author is head of operations at Centre for Integrated and Holistic Studies, a non-partisan think tank based in New Delhi)
