Sept 27: Today, I fast in collaboration with Hindus For Human Rights (HfHR) to protest against the detention and subsequent interference of the Gujarat government with the peacefully planned padyatra dedicated to Bilkis Bano:
Sandeep Pandey and his fellow activists planned a march that would have started on Monday, Sept 26, in Randhikpur, Dahod, and continued until Oct 4, in Ahmedabad. The march, organized under the banner of the Hindu-Muslim Ekta Samiti (Hindu-Muslim Unity Group) simply expressed an apology to Bilkis Bano, a victim of genocidal gangrape during the 2002 Gujarat Pogrom, who suffered perhaps the greatest travesty of justice imaginable: 11 convicts who were her rapists and the murderers of her family members (including her then 3-year old daughter), were released “to celebrate” the 75th anniversary of Indian independence.
Sandeep Pandey’s march would have been a source of healing in a society marred by sectarian violence, a beacon of basic decency that one fears is fast evaporating from Indian society, and a peaceful assertion of humanity in the face of tyranny. But this was not to be. Sandeep and his companions were detained, and reports indicate that they have now been released. Their march is prohibited from passing Godhra, the one place that would have benefitted the most from such a conciliatory gesture for its victims. The march may now proceed from Sevalia towards Ahmedabad, defeating its primary intent by excluding the area (enclosed by a rectangle in the accompanying map) to which it was most relevant.
At the end of the day, this seems to be the balance of power in the sorry state of Gujarat:
- Freedom is reserved for rapists and murderers, as long as they are caste-privileged Hindus,
- There is no freedom or humanity for Muslim victims, nor is there freedom for others to speak up for them,
- The tyranny of the majority is the final rule, and no measure is too extreme to quash those who oppose it.
I, a daughter of Gujarat, defy this outrageous status quo. And urge you to do the same.
Chain Fasting For Peace 