Ayodhya were attacked and set on fire at Godhra in Gujarat and 58 people were killed, including women and children and other passengers unconnected with the VHP.
No cooner had the news of Godhra spread than organised gangs of the Hindu communal organisations went on the rampage while the police stood and watched in silence, or in some cases actually took part in the killings.
From well-off residential areas in Ahmedabad city to smaller towns and surrounding villages, Muslim neighbourhoods were singled out and people burnt alive. The planned and cold-blooded nature of the killings was clear -in one case alleys adjoining Muslim homes were filled with water and electric cables submerged in them so that those demanding: who tried to escape the masAs organisations working with Asian communities in Britain, including Indians of all faiths, we welcome Wednesday's verdict deliyered by the Indian Supreme Court prohibiting any kind of religious ceremony on any land held by the Central government in Ayodhya. But we are deeply concerned that the BJP-led Central government does not appear to have the will to make sure that this verdict is not violated on the ground.
Meanwhile the issues raised by the recent horrific events in Gujarat which have left up to 1,000 dead and tens of thousands homeless and dispossessed remain to be addressed. In the context of the silence of the British government and the international community generally, we wish to express in the strongest possible terms our condemnation of these orchestrated communal killings, and of the active collusion of the Government of Gujarat and the police in the State. While we unreservedly condemn the killings of train passengers in Godhra, we feel that it is completely unacceptable for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to atterpt to justify the systematic massacres of Muslims that followed as a 'reaction and we believe that this only further exposes the communal character of his government. In a petition submitted to the Indian President, we are - the immediate resignation of the Gujarat government and of Union Home Minister L. K. Advani affected by violence construction. of those who have been affected by the riots. Group Hanana Siddiqui, Southall Black Sisters - the dismissal of the police commissioners in the cities worst - Immediate measures to prevent any further VHP activities in Ayodhya. Ayodhya remains the core issue behind all the violence that has gripped Gujarat and rocked the entire country. Instead of brokering any deal with the VHP the government must ban it, arrest its leaders, and seize all the stones and other building materials that have been amassed in Ayodhya for the proposed - immediate assistance to all those affected by the riots. The state must immediately rush medical and food aid to those affected, make arrangements to shelter those displaced, and extend monetary assistance to rebuild the homes and businesses The petition has been signed by: Prafula Vadgarna, Asha Project, Simi Woodwal. Hounslow Asian Women's Refuge, Suresh Grover, National Civil Rights Moverent, Anjur Mouj, Newham Asian Womens Proiect, Asad Rehman, Newham Monitoring Project, Mukhtar Rana, Peace and Human Rights Trust, Iqbal Singh, Punjab Human Rights Group Internet Amrit Wilson, South Asia Solidarity
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