JEDDAH, 11 September — The Gujarat carnage is past us but the devastation and deprivation it left in its bloody trail continue to haunt those who survived the darkest hour in India’s checkered communal history.
"The impact of Gujarat on Indian society, especially its secular fabric, is stunning. People are shaken out of their wits by the sheer volume of the carnage. It will certainly take some time for the wounds to heal." This is how Najma Heptullah, a high-profile politician of India’s opposition Congress party and deputy speaker of the upper house of Parliament, summed up the mayhem that wracked the western Indian state during February-March this year. Hundreds of Muslims were massacred in brutal riotings across the state.
"I don’t want to go into what happened at Godhra (where an attack on a passenger train triggered the killing spree) or its aftermath but I would say what happened in Gujarat is deplorable and cannot be condoned," She told Arab News in an exclusive interview. Najma, who is on a visit to the Kingdom in her capacity as the chairperson of Inter Parliamentary Union, wanted a thorough investigation of the whole horrid episode and the culprits punished severely after a fair trial.
The need of the hour is to provide succor to the survivors by helping them to piece their shattered lives back together. Relief and rehabilitation must be the government’s priority, she said.
"Peace and normality must be restored to help rebuild lost confidence. Inter-faith dialogue should help both Muslims and Hindus to appreciate each other’s religion better," she said. Najma felt it necessary to communicate with the post-Sept. 11 world to dispel the notion that Muslims are intolerant and terror mongers.
As for the military standoff between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, she said dialogue was the only way to defuse the tense situation and bring peace to the region. India, she said, was committed to peace and dialogue but cross-border terrorism must end. "I hope better sense will prevail upon the leaderships of both countries to avert a crisis," she said.
Najma was recently appointed president of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), a body that fosters cross-cultural pollination. She said she would utilize her position to promote inter-faith dialogue while promoting India’s rich cultural heritage worldwide.
She said Indo-Saudi relations are deep-rooted. "There is evidence of contacts between the Indian subcontinent and the Kingdom even before history began to be recorded." The bonds of friendship between Saudi Arabia and India are carefully nurtured under the far-sighted and visionary leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd and Prince Abdullah, the regent, Najma said.
Najma has often been tipped for India’s vice presidency. Quizzed if her appointment as ICCR chief, in spite of being a Congresswoman in a BJP-led country, was a trade-off for not being considered for the recently held vice presidential elections, Najma said: "It was in no way a compensation. As far as my claim for vice presidency is concerned, it still stands, I have age on my side and I could get the job next time around."
