Hindu-Muslim riots are not uncommon in India, but Gujarat violence plumbed new depths of horror and was undoubtedly a pogrom, wrote Ashtutosh Varshney.
The union minister, who said the BJP will remove secular from the Constitution, is unabashedly Islamophobic and appears to have no qualms in exhibiting it.
The temple had opened Friday amid a tense standoff involving social activist Trupti Desai in Kochi and a move by its administrator to seek time from the Supreme Court to implement its verdict.
In Pakistan, much to the surprise of many, only one entity makes the cut as a political pressure group — the Pakistan Ulema Council, whose chief had reportedly encouraged suicide attacks in 2013.
Togadia resigned from the organisation last week after his nominee for the post of international president lost in an election held after five decades.
Togadia refuses to name person(s) behind alleged plot, claims IB is working against him and there’s a conspiracy to get him tangled in a web of false cases.
Operation Sindhoor came as a blessing for Asim Munir. He could claim to have “won a war” and get promoted to a field marshal’s post. But the narrative hasn’t held.
India’s industrial output growth saw a 10-month low in June, with Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growing by mere 1.5% as against 1.9% in May 2025.
Standing up to America is usually not a personal risk for a leader in India. Any suggestions of foreign pressure unites India behind who they see as leading them in that fight.
Sikh genocide was orchestrated , organised killings of sikhs by hindus . The mob was all hindu that took part in that bloodbath. It is the first pogrom of independent India.
Varshney is one of the biggest morons ever to come up with such infantile rant. Why do you permit him to spew such venom against the most tolerant community in the world.
Also people were burned to death in radhabai chawl at jogeshwari in mumbai. What was it? If muslims do its O.K. Secularism means thrashing hindus and protecting only muslims. Hypocracy of worst kind. Nobody utter a word about the incidents in which muslims are culprit. Godhra was a reaction to the train burned in first place & mumbai riots followed after radhabai chawl was burned by muslims. onesided so called secularism practiced by these so called intellectuals and leftists do more harm to the country added to it now is modi hatred.
At the heart of this indifference to the fate of our fellow citizens is a deeply rooted intolerance. Somehow, the fact that they follow beliefs other than the majority faith makes them unworthy of full and equal citizenship. Many mullahs fulminate regularly and openly against Ahmadis from the pulpit after Friday prayers. Many have called for their expulsion from the country. One has even demanded that they be given the choice between conversion or death. And yet these very people hold forth incessantly about the injustice Muslims supposedly face in non-Muslim countries, denouncing perceived Islamophobia in the West. Were Muslims to face even a small fraction of the prejudice in non-Muslim countries that Pakistani minorities do every day of their lives, I cannot begin to imagine the hysteria on our streets, our mosques and — most of all — our TV channels. DAWN
Muslims everywhere become enraged if a mosque is deliberately damaged. But it’s OK for Jihadis to blow them up, preferably with hundreds of believers praying inside. And it’s fine to desecrate Hindu temples, Sikh gurdwaras and Christian churches. Irfan Hussain in DAWN
There are just too many Muslims who take the Quran literally… and too many others who couldn’t care less about the violence done in the name of Islam. DAWN
This kind of article is the reason why so called , self acclaimed liberals / leftist are losing their relevance across world. He says 84 ‘ riots , within 2 days things were under control- utter rubbish and nonsense. I was a 10 years old kid at that time and see the carnage in front of my eyes. For one week, there was no police, no law nothing was there. Policeman themselves telling people where to look for sikhs and their properties. Only after one week army was called in and then situation started under control.
We had one Sikh family in our colony living for 40 years , and in riots one of the congress local leader openly said , lets torch their house. But rest of the colony people resisted and we saved that family. So absolving congress is an utter shameful attempt by this writer.
Mandal is right, look at the kind of advertisement congress put out in those days. Unfortunately in 84 there was no private channel and in 2002 , there were many so people could see the scale of the violence. Congress attempted for 6 years to implicate Modi for riots but he came out clean in every one. he never complaint.
He could see VHP statements but he never saw statements by muslim organisation / leaders in Kashmir , by Owasi’s younger brother or by Waris pathan, openly instigating people to fight a Jehad. Ridiculous attempt to be a seen as neutral in a completely biased article.
I just wonder why don’t people like Varsheny openly say that they are leftist , nothing wrong in that. You like an ideology. But the problem is the moment they say like this, they know , they will become irrelevant , people will stop listening to them and may be they even lose those lucrative assignment,, which they won’t like to lose. He
Only partly true. Sikh massacres were as bad as any! Yes, they were shorter than Gujarat 2002; yes, many hindus were ready to shelter and defend their Sikh neighbours; yes, congress was contrite afterwards and even tendered an apology. But no, the careers of the leaders did not suffer, the apology came very very late, and when it was happening (and I was there) it was horrible and all encompassing. police was clearly complicit and Sikhs were hunted down. Today BJP is clearly the more dangerous option – but no good ever came out of hiding the truth and the truth is that for those who died and those who lived through it, Delhi 1984 was as bad as Gujarat 2002. The difference is that congress of today is not congress of Delhi 1984 whereas BJP today is very much BJP of Gujarat 2002.
Varshney has got his facts wrong. 1984 was engineered by Congress leaders, some of whom were made Union Ministers. The PM also seemed to justify it with his comment. Let us not try and justify what happened then. It was a pogrom of the worst kind. What happened in 2002 was equally bad and one shouldn’t fall into the trap of justifying one and condemning the other. Both these incidents are blots on India.
Only an idiot would compare two massacres and attempt to draw parallels on a “semi pogrom” or a “pogrom”. My god the lack of scholarship in drawing up such analogies is astounding.
Let the author be reminded that Delhi has a cantonment as well as the HQ of the with one of the largest contingents of army and crpf. For Gujurat this was airlifted in.
Further, the Sikhs didn’t stand a chance in Delhi due to non-Ghettoised neighbourhood, so the parallel of saving neighbours didn’t apply.
ThePrint is promoting journalists and writers who are using space in ThePrint to spread hate in India. One day they may themselves become the victim of fire of hatred and no librandus can save them.
librandus : we need to call out the use of such words. first secularism was delegitimised with the use of “sickular”, then it was “presstitutes” now aspersions are being cast on liberals. we are liberals, so what? ak.dev, you are clearly a sanghi – sab yad rakha jayega!
This writer should be committed to lunatic asylum, if he thinks that Sabarmati coaches were burnt due to altercation over tea. He also doesn’t know his counting beads. Death of less than thousand is full blooded pogrom. But death of 3000 plus is semi- pogrom.
All librandus are weak in math. They can make 1+1 = xyz. Due to social media their mental abilities have been exposed. Their colleagues opinions are fact for them. They quote each others lies as statistics. They lecture on CAA without even reading the act otherwise Muslims would not have been misguided. To have peace in society, these animals must be caged.
Just want you to answer one question… Since you seem to imply that you have read the act
Why does the caa make religion the basis for citizenship.? That is… Why does it name every community other than Muslims…
‘Provided that for the person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or
Christian community in Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, the aggregate period of
residence or service of Government in India as required under this clause shall be
read as “not less than five years” in place of “not less than eleven years”.’.
Why exclude Muslims?
They are the persecuted minorities, not the Muslims in neighbouring countries.
This seems and shows one sided view, specially in case of 2002 Gujarat violence. Here are my points:
1. Article claims that the government has given a free hand in the violence. My view, the Congress government in Delhi from 2004 to 2014 had done all they can do to induct and penalise Modi on Gujarat violence, but could not do anything politically or legally. Instead Modi Rose and put Congress itself to it’s knees. They have lowest counts in the last two parliamentary elections.
2. The article claims that post violence new evidence suggested government hand in voilence. My view is Supreme Court appointed SIT with ex judges did not find any evidence against Modi. It seems the writer has some hidden evidence that he did not shared with the SC appointed SIT or he seems to not believe in findings of the SIT or the respected ex-judges were sold.
I think one need to write some sense when you write an article, that too in the middle of a tense situation. Either be unbiased or write when there’s no such tension. We don’t mind.
2002 was a progrom
1984 was a progrom. It had already started with blue star and woodrose
Mizoram had a progrom before that
The Congress never apologised or punished. Bhagat became union minister. Kamal nath is now cm
What a piece of shit this article is. Shame..
Sikh genocide was orchestrated , organised killings of sikhs by hindus . The mob was all hindu that took part in that bloodbath. It is the first pogrom of independent India.
Varshney is one of the biggest morons ever to come up with such infantile rant. Why do you permit him to spew such venom against the most tolerant community in the world.
Sheer BALDERDASH. The writer is talking through his hat. H e seems to know NOTHING whatsoever about 1984.
And you are a first rate moron
Also people were burned to death in radhabai chawl at jogeshwari in mumbai. What was it? If muslims do its O.K. Secularism means thrashing hindus and protecting only muslims. Hypocracy of worst kind. Nobody utter a word about the incidents in which muslims are culprit. Godhra was a reaction to the train burned in first place & mumbai riots followed after radhabai chawl was burned by muslims. onesided so called secularism practiced by these so called intellectuals and leftists do more harm to the country added to it now is modi hatred.
What was the train which was torched in which karsevaks died ? No mention of this incident from 2002?
At the heart of this indifference to the fate of our fellow citizens is a deeply rooted intolerance. Somehow, the fact that they follow beliefs other than the majority faith makes them unworthy of full and equal citizenship. Many mullahs fulminate regularly and openly against Ahmadis from the pulpit after Friday prayers. Many have called for their expulsion from the country. One has even demanded that they be given the choice between conversion or death. And yet these very people hold forth incessantly about the injustice Muslims supposedly face in non-Muslim countries, denouncing perceived Islamophobia in the West. Were Muslims to face even a small fraction of the prejudice in non-Muslim countries that Pakistani minorities do every day of their lives, I cannot begin to imagine the hysteria on our streets, our mosques and — most of all — our TV channels. DAWN
Muslims everywhere become enraged if a mosque is deliberately damaged. But it’s OK for Jihadis to blow them up, preferably with hundreds of believers praying inside. And it’s fine to desecrate Hindu temples, Sikh gurdwaras and Christian churches. Irfan Hussain in DAWN
There are just too many Muslims who take the Quran literally… and too many others who couldn’t care less about the violence done in the name of Islam. DAWN
And you are the Judge.
This kind of article is the reason why so called , self acclaimed liberals / leftist are losing their relevance across world. He says 84 ‘ riots , within 2 days things were under control- utter rubbish and nonsense. I was a 10 years old kid at that time and see the carnage in front of my eyes. For one week, there was no police, no law nothing was there. Policeman themselves telling people where to look for sikhs and their properties. Only after one week army was called in and then situation started under control.
We had one Sikh family in our colony living for 40 years , and in riots one of the congress local leader openly said , lets torch their house. But rest of the colony people resisted and we saved that family. So absolving congress is an utter shameful attempt by this writer.
Mandal is right, look at the kind of advertisement congress put out in those days. Unfortunately in 84 there was no private channel and in 2002 , there were many so people could see the scale of the violence. Congress attempted for 6 years to implicate Modi for riots but he came out clean in every one. he never complaint.
He could see VHP statements but he never saw statements by muslim organisation / leaders in Kashmir , by Owasi’s younger brother or by Waris pathan, openly instigating people to fight a Jehad. Ridiculous attempt to be a seen as neutral in a completely biased article.
I just wonder why don’t people like Varsheny openly say that they are leftist , nothing wrong in that. You like an ideology. But the problem is the moment they say like this, they know , they will become irrelevant , people will stop listening to them and may be they even lose those lucrative assignment,, which they won’t like to lose. He
Stop with your disgusting erasure of the mass massacre in 1984. Stop when your insensitivity and ignorance. Stop.
Only partly true. Sikh massacres were as bad as any! Yes, they were shorter than Gujarat 2002; yes, many hindus were ready to shelter and defend their Sikh neighbours; yes, congress was contrite afterwards and even tendered an apology. But no, the careers of the leaders did not suffer, the apology came very very late, and when it was happening (and I was there) it was horrible and all encompassing. police was clearly complicit and Sikhs were hunted down. Today BJP is clearly the more dangerous option – but no good ever came out of hiding the truth and the truth is that for those who died and those who lived through it, Delhi 1984 was as bad as Gujarat 2002. The difference is that congress of today is not congress of Delhi 1984 whereas BJP today is very much BJP of Gujarat 2002.
Varshney has got his facts wrong. 1984 was engineered by Congress leaders, some of whom were made Union Ministers. The PM also seemed to justify it with his comment. Let us not try and justify what happened then. It was a pogrom of the worst kind. What happened in 2002 was equally bad and one shouldn’t fall into the trap of justifying one and condemning the other. Both these incidents are blots on India.
And I am THE JUDGE.
Only an idiot would compare two massacres and attempt to draw parallels on a “semi pogrom” or a “pogrom”. My god the lack of scholarship in drawing up such analogies is astounding.
Let the author be reminded that Delhi has a cantonment as well as the HQ of the with one of the largest contingents of army and crpf. For Gujurat this was airlifted in.
Further, the Sikhs didn’t stand a chance in Delhi due to non-Ghettoised neighbourhood, so the parallel of saving neighbours didn’t apply.
ThePrint is promoting journalists and writers who are using space in ThePrint to spread hate in India. One day they may themselves become the victim of fire of hatred and no librandus can save them.
librandus : we need to call out the use of such words. first secularism was delegitimised with the use of “sickular”, then it was “presstitutes” now aspersions are being cast on liberals. we are liberals, so what? ak.dev, you are clearly a sanghi – sab yad rakha jayega!
This writer should be committed to lunatic asylum, if he thinks that Sabarmati coaches were burnt due to altercation over tea. He also doesn’t know his counting beads. Death of less than thousand is full blooded pogrom. But death of 3000 plus is semi- pogrom.
All librandus are weak in math. They can make 1+1 = xyz. Due to social media their mental abilities have been exposed. Their colleagues opinions are fact for them. They quote each others lies as statistics. They lecture on CAA without even reading the act otherwise Muslims would not have been misguided. To have peace in society, these animals must be caged.
Just want you to answer one question… Since you seem to imply that you have read the act
Why does the caa make religion the basis for citizenship.? That is… Why does it name every community other than Muslims…
‘Provided that for the person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or
Christian community in Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, the aggregate period of
residence or service of Government in India as required under this clause shall be
read as “not less than five years” in place of “not less than eleven years”.’.
Why exclude Muslims?
They are the persecuted minorities, not the Muslims in neighbouring countries.
This seems and shows one sided view, specially in case of 2002 Gujarat violence. Here are my points:
1. Article claims that the government has given a free hand in the violence. My view, the Congress government in Delhi from 2004 to 2014 had done all they can do to induct and penalise Modi on Gujarat violence, but could not do anything politically or legally. Instead Modi Rose and put Congress itself to it’s knees. They have lowest counts in the last two parliamentary elections.
2. The article claims that post violence new evidence suggested government hand in voilence. My view is Supreme Court appointed SIT with ex judges did not find any evidence against Modi. It seems the writer has some hidden evidence that he did not shared with the SC appointed SIT or he seems to not believe in findings of the SIT or the respected ex-judges were sold.
I think one need to write some sense when you write an article, that too in the middle of a tense situation. Either be unbiased or write when there’s no such tension. We don’t mind.
2002 was a progrom
1984 was a progrom. It had already started with blue star and woodrose
Mizoram had a progrom before that
The Congress never apologised or punished. Bhagat became union minister. Kamal nath is now cm
What if the majority, or a small minority, claiming to represent it, no longer feels “ goodwill “ towards the minority …
Varshney go and stare at the poster released by Congress in Delhi and elsewhere during the general elections held few weeks after the riots:
CAN YOU TRUST THIS MAN? (Poster showed a turbaned Sikh)
Shocking concoction of lies by this rabid writer with vested interests, trying to pass of his lies as ‘research’!
Leftist = factory of lies.