Gujarat rulers flayed over attacks

India's National Human Rights Commission has once again rounded on the Gujarat state government for its alleged complicity in the recent bout of religious violence.

In its final report released here, the NHRC charged the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party state government with "comprehensive failure" in both preventing the violence from erupting and in failing to stem its rapid spread.

"The facts indicate that the response was often abysmal, or even non-existent, pointing to gross negligence (and) in certain instances a complicity that was tacit if not explicit", the report says.

More than 900 people - mostly Muslims - have died in a spate of religious clashes since late February, when a Muslim mob attacked a train carrying Hindu activists returning from the northern city of Ayodhya.

Voluntary agencies and some international watchdogs say the number could easily be close to 2,000.

Punishment demanded

The NHRC also expressed its displeasure over the Gujarat government's failure to respond to a confidential report by one of its teams despite repeatedly being granted more time for a considered reply.

While acknowledging a relative lull in violent incidents in the past three weeks, the report however said it was imperative to recognise that peace could return only when all those responsible for having violated the law are punished.

The NHRC has given the state government and the central home ministry a month to respond to its observations.

It remains to be seen whether their responses will persuade the national body that the rights of Gujarat's people are now being justly protected.