June 2008 Inside This Issue: Message From The President: Fill & Download for Free

It is generally accepted that Paul Ryan left politics altogether because he was Speaker of the House but had no intention of supporting Trump.All the Republicans Who Have Decided Not to Support TrumpBy Isabella Grullón Paz and Jonathan Martin Aug. 24, 2020 (N.Y.Times)Former President George W. Bush: Although he has not spoken about whom he will vote for in November, people familiar with Mr. Bush’s thinking have said it won’t be Mr. Trump. Mr. Bush did not endorse him in 2016.Senator Mitt Romney of Utah: Mr. Romney has long been critical of Mr. Trump, and was the only Republican senator to vote to convict him during his impeachment trial. Mr. Romney is still mulling over whom he will vote for in November — he opted for his wife, Ann, four years ago — but he is said to be sure it won’t be the president.John Bolton, the former national security adviser: Mr. Bolton said in multiple interviews that he would not vote for Mr. Trump in November. He added that he would write in the name of a conservative Republican, but that he was not sure which one.Gov. Phil Scott of Vermont: Mr. Scott has said multiple times this summer that he will not be voting for the president, a position that he also took in 2016. He says he has not yet decided whether or not he will vote for Mr. Biden.William H. McRaven, a retired four-star Navy admiral: Several Republican admirals and generals have publicly announced they will not support the president. In an interview with The New York Times, Admiral McRaven, who directed the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, said, “This fall, it’s time for new leadership in this country" He added, “President Trump has shown he doesn’t have the qualities necessary to be a good commander in chief.”Cindy McCain, the widow of Senator John McCain: During the Democratic National Convention, Mrs. McCain appeared in a video and recounted her husband’s relationship with Mr. Biden. Mrs. McCain has expressed frustration with the direction of the Republican Party under Mr. Trump, whose attacks on Mr. McCain continued after the senator’s death.John Kasich, the former governor of Ohio:“I’ve known Joe,” Mr. Kasich said on CNN recently. “I’ve known him for 30 years. I know the kind of guy he is.”Colin Powell, the former secretary of state: Mr. Powell announced in June that he would vote for Mr. Biden. He said that Mr. Trump “lies about things” and that Republicans in Congress would not hold him accountable. Mr. Powell added that he was close to Mr. Biden politically and socially and had worked with him for more than 35 years. He gave a message of support to Mr. Biden at the Democratic convention.Miles Taylor, a former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security: Mr. Taylor endorsed Mr. Biden, saying that the president was “actively doing damage to our security” and that what he had witnessed Mr. Trump do as chief executive “was terrifying.” Mr. Taylor is the most senior former member of the administration to openly endorse Mr. Biden.Christine Whitman, a former governor of New Jersey: In October, Ms. Whitman told the television host Larry King that she would vote for Mr. Biden if he were the nominee, calling him the Democrats’ “best chance at winning in 2020.”Meg Whitman, the chief executive of Quibi: A former senior official for both of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaigns and a former Republican candidate for governor of California, Ms. Whitman (no relation to Christine Whitman) also spoke at the Democratic convention.Susan Molinari, a former congresswoman from New York: Ms. Molinari spoke at the convention, as well. A former lobbyist for Google, she was on the Trump administration’s transition contributor list, but now appears to be supporting Mr. Biden.Carly Fiorina, a 2016 presidential candidate: Ms. Fiorina has said she will support Mr. Biden because he is “a person of humility and empathy and character.”Representative Francis Rooney of Florida: Mr. Rooney has said he was considering supporting Mr. Biden partly because Mr. Trump was “driving us all crazy” and because the president’s handling of the coronavirus led to a death toll that “didn’t have to happen.”Charlie Dent, a former congressman from Pennsylvania: Mr. Dent endorsed Mr. Biden on CNN, saying “this isn’t about right or left — for me, it’s about right and wrong.”More than 70 top Republican national security officials: Hours before Mr. Biden accepted the Democratic nomination, the officials released a letter stating that they would be voting for Mr. Biden in November and that Mr. Trump was “unfit to lead.” Among the signatories were formerSecretary of Defense Chuck Hagel; Michael Hayden, the former C.I.A. and N.S.A. director; John Negroponte, the former director of national intelligence; and William Webster, the former director of the C.I.A. and the F.B.I.Paul Ryan and John Boehner, the former speakers of the House: Both have expressed their dislike of the president, but have not said whom they will support in November.John Kelly, a former chief of staff to the president: Mr. Kelly has not said whom he plans to vote for, but did say he wished “we had some additional choices.”In his home state of Kentucky last week, Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, broke with Mr. Trump on nearly every major issue related to the virus.Mr. McConnell stressed the importance of mask-wearing, expressed “total” confidence in Dr. Fauci and urged Americans to follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that Mr. Trump has ignored or dismissed.“The straight talk here that everyone needs to understand is: This is not going away until we get a vaccine,” Mr. McConnell said on Wednesday, contradicting Mr. Trump’s rosy predictions.Jeff Flake, the former senator from Arizona: Earlier this year, Mr. Flake had said that he would not be supporting Mr. Trump in November, but he is now part of a group of former Republican members of Congress who say they will be voting for Mr. Biden.Gordon Humphrey, the former senator from New Hampshire: In 2017, Mr. Humphrey said that the president was “delusional and unfit to lead.” A member of the “New Hampshire Independents for Biden” coalition, he has endorsed Mr. Biden in November.John Warner, the former senator from Virginia: Mr. Warner, who has been vocal about his dislike of the president since the 2016 election, joined a group of G.O.P. former members of Congress endorsing Mr. Biden on the first morning of the Republican National Convention.Former Representative Steve Bartlett of TexasFormer Representative William Clinger Jr. of PennsylvaniaFormer Representative Tom Coleman of MissouriFormer Representative Charles Djou of Hawaii: Mr. Djou left the Republican Party in 2018 because, he said, Mr. Trump was taking the party in a direction he “fundamentally” disagreed with. He endorsed Mr. Biden the first morning of the Republican convention.Mickey Edwards, a writer and a former Oklahoma congressman: In 2019, Mr. Edwards was part of a group of 19 former G.O.P. members who denounced Mr. Trump’s border wall as “unconstitutional.” Mr. Edwards also officially endorsed Mr. Biden as the Republican convention began.Former Representative Wayne Gilchrest of Maryland: Mr. Gilchrest, who served for nine terms in Congress as a Republican, left the party in 2019. He’s now a registered Democrat endorsing Mr. Biden.Former Representative Jim Greenwood of PennsylvaniaFormer Representative Bob Inglis of South Carolina: Since 2016, Mr. Inglis has been critical about the Trump presidency, especially when it comes to climate change. He’s now decided to endorse Mr. Biden.Former Representative Jim Kolbe of Arizona: Mr. Kolbe left the Republican Party in 2018, is now registered as an independent and has endorsed Mr. Biden for the fall.Former Representative Steve Kuykendall of CaliforniaFormer Representative Ray LaHood of Illinois: Early this year, Mr. LaHood told The State Journal-Register that he would not be supporting Mr. Trump because the president “was not my kind of politician.” He will be supporting Mr. Biden, he said. Mr. LaHood donated to Mr. Biden’s campaign when the former vice president announced his candidacy.Former Representative Jim Leach of Iowa: Mr. Leach’s endorsement of Mr. Biden isn’t the first time he has supported a Democrat — he publicly endorsed Barack Obama in 2008. It’s also not the first time he has gone against Mr. Trump — he refused to endorse or support him in 2016.Former Representative Connie Morella of MarylandFormer Representative Mike Parker of MississippiFormer Representative Jack Quinn of New YorkFormer Representative Claudine Schneider of Rhode Island: Ms. Schneider backed Mrs. Clinton in 2016, and is again endorsing the Democratic candidate this cycle by backing Mr. Biden.Former Representative Christopher Shays of Connecticut: Last year on “Politicking with Larry King,” Mr. Shays made his case for why he would be supporting Mr. Biden in 2020.Former Representative Peter Smith of VermontFormer Representative Alan Steelman of TexasFormer Representative Jim Walsh of New York: In an interview with The Post-Standard of Syracuse, Mr. Walsh said endorsing Mr. Biden wasn’t a “difficult decision.”“Vice President Biden has an excellent chance to beat this guy. And I think Biden has the qualities and values to clean up this mess that President Trump has gotten us into,” Mr. Walsh added.Former Representative Bill Whitehurst of VirginiaFormer Representative Dick Zimmer of New Jersey: In 2016, Mr. Zimmer endorsed Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate. This time around, he has decided to endorse Mr. Biden.Hundreds of former staff members for John McCain: Over 100 former staff members for Senator John McCain endorsed Mr. Biden in a letter. Most of them are still Republicans. Mark Salter, Mr. McCain’s longtime chief aide and speechwriter, helped organize the letter.If anyone thinks that the many names on this list is all there is, These are all pretty influential people, every single one has/had staff members that are all also likely to vote the same way their Bosses and former Bosses will. Bearing this in mind, this list by extension carries 1000’s of votes in even the very most conservative manner of counting them. It’s actually far more likely that this list will carry with it as many as 100,000 votes or more.In the meantime, we’ve got a Chief Executive who has clearly shown he has absolutely no interest in uniting the country. He’s tweeting support for a Dr. who claims she’s testing Alien DNA. He’s not only downplaying the Nations foremost expert of Infectious Diseases but has allowed those working for him to discredit any statements he’s made. Bear in mind we’re talking about a Dr. who is universally considered to be the Countries foremost Expert, he’s spent more years in school than some of Trump’s staff have spent being legally able to vote! (or Drink!)Trump’s Organization has lost over a Billion dollars in net worth, but his supporters think he wants the country to reopen for them. Clearly his motivation is to get the country “back to normal” because his “Superior Business Mind” had no investments in anything that actually made money since the lock-downs began. Businesses like Amazon, Uber-Eats, Postmates, Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Dominoes Pizza, Pizza Hut and many others have done very well for themselves…all things considered, and for obvious reasons. Trump unfortunately didn’t see this coming, or for that matter didn’t even see the run on Bottled water and paper products coming when he announced a “National Emergency” (I personally left the house within 120 seconds after that statement went live, why? Because the President of the United States (no matter who) is a Human Starting Gun!) Make no mistake, Trump’s plans to reopen the country have absolutely nothing to do with your rights. If you live somewhere in the middle of this great nation and you believe for one single second that Trump cares about you for one single second…you’re WRONG! He want’s his Billion Dollars back. The sooner things “return to normal” the sooner The Trump Organizations various holdings will increase in value. A net worth that Forbes, Business Insider, and The Wall Street journal all agree has been "Blown out of proportion" for at least the last 20 years. (Many also agree this is, in fact, why there has been no release of Tax Records!) When you consider that it's been made clear by The Donald himself (Impersonating other people on calls with Interviewers from Forbes) and a myriad of , quite frankly, rather bizarre behavior,His only true interest is his "Bottom Line" and his one true "God" is the almighty Dollar. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/trump-lied-to-me-about-his-wealth-to-get-onto-the-forbes-400-here-are-the-tapes/2018/04/20/ac762b08-4287-11e8-8569-26fda6b404c7_story.htmlMany Republican lawmakers have grown exasperated with the administration’s conflicting messages, the open warfare within Mr. Trump’s staff and the president’s demands that states reopen faster or risk punishment from the federal government.Senator Ben Sasse, Republican of Nebraska, said he wanted the administration to offer more extensive public-health updates to the American people, and condemned the open animosity toward Dr. Fauci by some administration officials, including Peter Navarro, the trade adviser, who wrote an opinion column attacking Dr. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert.Trump himself seems less interested in the specific challenges the virus presents and is mostly just frustrated by the reality that it has not disappeared as he has predicted. The disconnect is only growing between him and other party leaders — not to mention voters. A poll published Friday by ABC News and The Washington Post found that a majority of the country strongly disapproved of Mr. Trump’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, and about two-thirds of Americans said they had little or no trust in Mr. Trump’s comments about the disease.

September 3rd, 2007 - Daily Motion blockedNovember 2nd, 2007 - YouTube blockedApril 2008 - the Unblock Dailymotion campaignThe “Unblock Dailymotion campaign” in order to draw public attention to the aggressive online censorship policy adopted by the Tunisian regime.20 June 2008 - Anti-censorship campaignFifty-one Tunisian bloggers are now running a new anti-censorship blog campaign that encourages the local blogsphere to republish posts from censored blogs as part of the campaign to sensitize the public to the issue of online free speech. The blog campaign has received a lot of media attention from the Arab world and has been featured on the official website of Al Jazeera and the Qatari “Al-Arab” newspaper.18 August 2008 - Facebook banned for the first time"The authorities meanwhile try to pass off the censorship as a technical problem."http://www.menassat.com/?q=alerts/4504-tunisia-facebook-blockedTunisian journalist and blogger Zied El-Hen filed a suit this week in a Tunisian court against theTunisian Internet Agency for blocking the social networking Web site Facebook, according to a reportby Reuters (Arabic). The journalist demands about $5,000 as a compensation for the damages which the blocking caused to him. He said the fact that the Tunisian President himself had to intervene to have the site unblocked last week is an evidence that the blocking was wrong and illegal.In an interesting technical argument he said that the the agency mislead him by serving the message 404 (Not Found) error message instead of the 403 message (Access Forbidden), which the agency serves to users who attempt to access banned sites. This action of misleading (Not Found vs. Forbidden) caused him material as well as punitive damages, he said.http://opennet.net/node/95020 August 2008 - A few blogs blockedThree more blogs have been blocked in Tunisia this week. These blogs, Mochagheb (Disturber), Ennaqed(The Critic) and Place Mohamed Ali have all been particularly active in providing news of the struggle ofThe Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), and especially about the latest social unrest in the southwestern phosphate mining region of Gafsa, where two people have been killed. One was shot dead by security forces and the other was electrocuted inside a local electric generator.http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/2008/08/20/silencing-online-speech-in-tunisia/By the 20th of August 2008 a large number of blogs already blocked3 September 2008 - Facebook unbanned after the personal intervention by presidentafter a massive protest by Tunisian Netizens. Tens of Facebook groups protesting the ban have popped up in recent weeks surrounding this issue.http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/2008/09/04/tunisias-ban-on-facebook-lifted/Journalist and blogger Ziad El Heni filed a lawsuit against the agency for blocking the website.http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/blog/2009/07/08/feature-03About 28 thousand people, out of Tunisia's over two million Internet users, are registered users of Facebook.The number of Internet users in Tunisia increased this year by 28%, to reach 2.068 million users by July, 2008 compared to 1.618 million users during the same period last year.Tunisia this year had doubled the capacity of the Internet to reach 5.1 Gigabit per second, compared to 2.4 Gigabit per second last year.The number of Tunisians ADSL users increased to 153,000 subscribers by July, 2008 compared to 76,000 users during the same period last year.http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=27687On October 25, 2009 - national elections to elect the president and parliament were held in Tunisia in what was described by a Human Rights Watch report as "an atmosphere of repression". Ben Ali won a landslide victory, with 89.62%http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunisia#2009_National_elections16 April 2010 - RWW reports on intimidation thought to stem from Islamists.http://fr.readwriteweb.com/2010/04/16/a-la-une/fatwa-contre-readwriteweb/29 June 2010 - Phishing of Gmail and Youtube account details by Tunisian government reported by Slim Amamou.http://fr.readwriteweb.com/2010/06/29/nouveautes/opration-massive-de-phising-sur-gmail-en-tunisie/Presumably on the 15th of December 2010, a Wednesday, Mohammed Bouazizi, an 26-year-old man trying to support his family by selling fruits and vegetables in the central town of Sidi Bouzid posts a last message to his mother on his Facebook page.http://arabcrunch.com/2011/01/the-last-facebook-status-update-of-bouazizi-who-set-him-self-on-fire-marking-starting-the-tunisian-revolution.html17 December 2010 (Friday) - Mohammed Bouazizi, douses himself in paint thinner and sets himself on fire in front of a local municipal office.Protests begin in Sidi Bouzid the same day.http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/spotlight/tunisia/2011/01/201114142223827361.html

To understand the Godhra incident, we will have to begin our journey in another city - Ayodhya.The tale of AyodhyaAyodhya is a small town located on the banks of river Sarayu in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It has been traditionally considered the birth place of Rama and is held sacred by the hindus. This identification of Ayodhya with Rama played an important role in the Godhra incident, but is the town really the place of birth of Rama ?The earliest reference to the word Ayodhya comes from the Atharva veda believed to have been composed between 1000 BCE and 800 BCE, but penned down in the Gupta period. The verse 2.31[1][2] in Atharva veda goes like this. In this verse, Ayodhya is referred to as the city of God, but the context in which it is used seem to refer to the human body. Even if it refers to city, the verse does not mention Rama and does not discuss any specifics.The next reference to Ayodhya in literature comes from Valmiki Ramayana (believed to have been composed in the 5th century BCE and penned down about 800 years later). Valmiki discusses Ayodhya in two different chapters[3][4] and establishes its glory. He places Ayodhya on the banks of river Sarayu. He also suggests that the city was 12 yojanas long and 3 yojanas wide. There is no consensus among scholars on the length of a yojana. The lowest value suggested is 5 miles, while the highest is 12. Using both the values, the Ayodhya of Ramayana should cover either ((12 *5)*(3*5)) = 900 sq. miles or ((12*12)*(3*12) ) = 5184 sq. miles of area. The modern city of Ayodhya covers a modest 30 sq. miles of area.Alexander Cunningham (founder or Archaeological Survey of India) who authored the book the Ancient geography of India[5] theorises that Valmiki could have mentioned the entire province of historic Awadh[6] as the birth place of Rama.Between the 5th century BCE and the Gupta period, Ayodhya gets mentioned in the Buddhist Pali canon as Ayojjha[7][8][9]. The Buddhist authors of these cannons claim that Gautama Buddha preached in the city at least on two occasions, but they place the town on the banks of river Ganges and not Sarayu. Chinese traveler Xuanzang who travelled to various Buddhist sites in the 7th century CE records in his traveler’s account of his visit to Ayodhya on the banks of river Ganga and not Sarayu[10].In the Gupta period, something interesting happens. Kalidasa who is believed to have lived during the Gupta reign authored Raghuvamsa[11][12] that narrates stories related to the Solar dynasty to which Rama is thought to belong. In this text, Kalidasa suggests that Dasaratha and Rama belonged to Saketa on the banks of river Sarayu[13][14].The tale of SaketaThe city of Saketa is mentioned in a lot of Buddhist texts including the Pali Cannon and Mahavamsa[15]. According to the Ceylonese annals and Burmese annals, Gautama Buddha resided in Savatthi[16] and Saketa for a considerable numbers of years after becoming a Buddha[17].It was under control of the Shungas and later the Kushans. The Rabatak inscription[18] of Kushan emperor Kaniskha states that Saketa was a territory of Kaniskha. Accounts of Buddhaghosha places Saketa around 7 yojanas south west of Savatthi. Some other Buddhist authors have also mentioned the relative location of Saketa in their texts.Chinese traveler Faxian is believed to have visited the city in the 5th century[19][20] and recorded that it was a Buddhist town teeming with monasteries. He calls the place Shache, not Saketa.Saketa is important in Jainism. Jains consider it the birth place of five Thirthankaras. The Jain Ramayana mentions that Dasaratha and Rama belonged to Saketa[21].Is the modern town of Ayodhya the city of Rama ?Alexander Cunningham, the founder of ASI, undertook an excavation[22] in Ayodhya in the 1860’s to rediscover lost Buddhist sites and concluded that the site had a long Buddhist tradition. Based on study of Buddhist and Jainist literature, Cunningham came to the conclusion that modern day Ayodhya was indeed the Buddhist town Vishaka and the Jainist town Saketa mentioned in respective literature[23]. He also identified modern day Ayodhya with the city of Rama’s times based on a fabricated verse from Ramayana. Since then the verse has be proven to be fake.The next couple of excavations conducted at the site during 1889–91 and 1969–70 also failed to find anything of significance to connect the modern town with the ancient city. Both the excavations concluded Buddhist presence in the area. In 1976–77, B.B. Lal undertook another excavation at the site and identified several construction layers near Babri Masjid. He also found rows of pillar bases to south of the mosque and excavated a fortification wall. Surprisingly, no Gupta layers were found.In 1982, Professor Hans T. Bakker, an indologist, collated all literary and archeological findings in a paper titled The rise of Ayodhya as a place of Pilgrimage[24]. In 1986, he published a book titled Ayodhya[25] detailing the history of Ayodhya from 7th century BCE to modern times. In it he makes a few important points.Both Ayodhya and Saketa are unknown to Vedas.No pre-Gupta era texts identify Saketa with Rama’s Ayodhya.During the late Gupta period, the historic Thirthankaras were linked with the Ikshvaku dynasty[26] and as a result, Saketa became linked to Rama’s Ayodhya.Brahmandapurana and Raghuvamsa penned during this period accept this Saketa-Ayodhya identification and use them. In course of time, the term Saketa became obsolete.During Samudragupta’s reign, vedic religion started its first phase of evolution towards becoming hinduism.While Buddhism was a predominant religion in Saketa/Ayodhya between 500 BCE and 500 CE, certain kings during these periods patronized the Vedic religion too. However, only in the second millennium era did the town acquire its prominent position in hinduism. It became associated with Vaishnavism and Rama in the early 12th century.Since the book, two more (controversial) excavations have been undertaken at the site. The 1992 excavation unearthed terracotta figurines from the Kushan period and later. The team also unearthed some objects that they believed were used in a temple like structure belonging to the 10/12th century. Another 2003 excavation discovered more pillars around the mosque and concluded that a 10th century structure similar to a temple existed before the construction of the mosque.So far, neither archeological or epigraphical evidence have been discovered to connect modern day Ayodhya with Ayodhya of Rama’s times. The oldest artifact discovered on site cannot be dated any earlier than 800 BCE, nothing to connect Rama with the town has ever been discovered and the modest town itself is no match to the glorious city Valmiki describes. So far, there is not much evidence to suggest modern day Ayodhya is the Ayodhya of Rama’s time.It is under this context all further events that followed should be understood.The story of Babri Masjid[27]Babri Masjid was a modest mosque believed to have been commissioned by Babur (the founder of the Mughal empire) and built by his general Mir Baqi in the 16th century CE.Babur’s life story[28] is an interesting one. He ascended the throne to Fergana when he was 12, won his first battle over Samarkand when he was 15, lost both the cities in less than 100 days after his first victory. He spent the next few years trying to recapture lost territory, but failed. Then he led his life in exile before setting himself up as the ruler of Kabul. During his time in Kabul, he was in constant conflict with the Uzbeks. To escape from them and find a territory of his own, Babur looked towards the south. He was hoping to set himself in Punjab when he received invitations from Daulat Khan Lodi and Alauddin( co-conspirators against Ibrahim Lodi of the Delhi Sultanate). Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi in the battle of Panipat and then the Rajput ruler in the Battle of Khanwa and founded the Mughal empire in 1526[29].Based on inscriptions found in the mosque, historians came to believe that the Babri Masjid was commissioned by him. However lack of contemporary records, Babur’s motivation for land over religion has led some to believe the masjid was by Babur, but by Aurangzeb in the 17th century[30].The dispute and the destructionIt is not clearly known when or how hindus began worshiping at the site or even if the hindu worship began before or after the construction of the mosque. We also don’t have enough evidence to suggest that the mosque was built on top of a temple. There is bit of evidence to suggest that the mosque might have been built of top of some structure. Even if it were a temple, it was not constructed before the 12th century and it certainly did not belong to the purported times of Rama.All we know is that by the time British gained control over Ayodhya both hindus and muslims were offering prayers on site, the former in the outer courtyard and the latter in the inner courtyard. The earliest record of a dispute that is available to us comes from these times[31][32][33].1853 - A hindu sect called Nirmohi Akhara claims ownership of Ram Chabutra. Claims that the mosque was built over a temple. Sporadic incidents of violence are reported.1859 - The British administration steps in and constructs a compound wall separating the mosque and the chabutra.1885 - Nirmohi files a civil lawsuit demanding permission to construct a temple. Permission is denied and the lawsuit is dismissed.1934 - Reports of cow slaughter triggers a communal riot. The mosque is damaged during the riot.1936 - Shias claim ownership of the mosque. The court rules in favour of the Sunni Waqf board years later.1946 - Akhil Bharatiya Ramayana Mahasabha (ABRM) threatens to break-in and occupy the site.1949 - Three years later, ABRM conducts a nine-day recitation of Ramcharitrmanas [34]. On December 22, under the cover of darkness, idols of Rama and Sita are placed inside the mosque. The site was deemed to be a disputed site and was locked down.1959 - Nirmohi Akhara files another lawsuit claiming ownership of the site.1961 - Sunni Waqf board claims ownership of the entire land.1964 - Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) is founded.1980’s - VHP begins to use the term Ram Janmaboomi (birth place of Rama) to adress the site and launches a massive movement demanding permission to offer prayers at the site.1986 - A district judge grants permission to Hindus to offer prayers at the site. The muslims protest calling the judgment unfair to them.1989 - VHP lays foundation for a Rama temple adjacent to the site.1990 - The BJP and L.K. Advani launch the Ram Rath yatra[35] in support of the VHP agitations. Lalu Prasad Yadav arrests Advani.1990 - VHP agitators barge into the disputed area. They are fired at the police. About 20 people die.1992 - Under the supervision of BJP politicians like L.K. Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi, and Uma Bharathi, under the watch of VHP and RSS cadres[36][37],The Babri masjid was reduced to rubble in a few hours. The UP chief minister Kalyan Singh resigned and the president rule was imposed.Since then, Advani and Kalyan have been charged and absolved of all charges. The Liberhan commission has submitted its report on the incident[38]. The Allahabad high court has equally divided the land between Hindu Mahasabha, Sunni Waqf board and Nirmohi Akhara[39]. The supreme court has upheld this decision.In 2017, the SC also reinstated criminal conspiracy charges on L.K. Advani, Joshi and Uma Bharthi among others.Events leading up to 2002Between 1992 and 2002, the VHP lobbied vigourously to construct a temple at the disputed site. BJP, for its part, kept assuring the VHP that it in fact intended to build the Ram temple at the disputed site. However, after forming a government at the centre in 1998, BJP backtracked on its promises. VHP was angered by this and locked horns with the party and the government. Over the next couple of years, folks like L.K. Advani turned their backs on VHP, calling their actions detrimental to Ayodhya. As the relationship between BJP-VHP deteriorated, Vajpayee (then PM of India) promised VHP in August 2001 to have a resolution for the impasse by March 2002. VHP were not impressed by this and began escalating their actions.In October 2001, they stormed the makeshift temple at the Babri Masjid site. In January 2002, with the March deadline approaching, they organised a series of rallies at Ayodhya. In February, they began a 100 day yagya near the disputed site. VHP cadres from all over the country were brought to Ayodhya for this yagya. ( Rediff has documented all these events in detail over tens of article and they have chronologically cataloged them. Please do read these articles for better understanding[40][41][42]).One such party that the VHP brought to Ayodhya was from Gujarat. On February 27, 2002, they were returning home on the Sabarmati express.The Godhra incidentOn February 27, 2002, the Sabarmati express was expected to arrive at Ahmadabad in the early hours of dawn. It was running five hours late and arrived at Godhra around 7.40 am. On this particular journey, the train was packed with hindu activists. It is reported that there were over 2000 passengers in the train against its capacity of 1100 passagers.According to the source one reads, many of these passengers were either innocent pilgrims or unruly hooligans[43][44]. Possibly, both the types were on that train.When the train arrived at Godhra, some hindu activists had a scuffle with a couple of muslim tea vendors at the station. They also have reported to have shouted slogans like ‘Jai Shri Ram’, ‘Kill the muslims’ at every halt and at Godhra[45]. A girl named Sophia Bano Sheikh (who was about 18 then) gave a statement to the police and testified before a judge about her failed abduction attempt by the hindu activists at Godhra[46][47]. This, certain eyewitness believe, aggravated the situation. Some eyewitnesses suggest that the mob at the station believed that the girl was indeed abducted and began demanding her release[48]. When the train began to pull out, they followed after it, pelting stones at it (The stone pelting, some claim, began even before the train pulled out of the station).A couple of minutes later, someone yanked at the emergency brakes and the train came to a halt a few hundred meters from the station. There was heavy stone pelting. While the train guard claimed that the hindu activists halted the train so that their co-activists could board it, the official verdict was that two muslim vendors climbed on board and halted the train. As the size of the mob began to increase, one of the assistant station masters (ASM) indicated to the driver to leave. The train chugged along for a few meters before it came to a halt again. This time due to a mechanical snag caused by the stone pelting.In a Tehelka sting, the ASM admitted speaking to at least one person in the mob who thought that a girl had been abducted.In a few minutes, the mob started throwing burning rags into the coaches. With all its windows and doors shut and with all passengers cramped inside, coach S6 began to burn, from the inside.59 people burned to their deaths. Few more were injured.Sabarmati continued its onward journey with out coach S6, but with the coach S7 that was partly damaged and had to have been evidence.The DSP and the district collector arrived at the scene a few minutes after the fire and began their investigation. According to them, the incident was not pre-planned. That is the report that goes out to the home ministry, suggesting that there was provocation by the hindu activists[49]. A month into the investigation, the police had not found any signs that the attack was pre-planned[50].A couple a months later in May 2002, a new investigative officer named Noel Parmar was brought in. In July 2002, the Forensic Science Lab (FSL) submitted its final report on the incident[51]. One key important finding of the FSL was that the inflammable liquid (petrol in this case) that burnt the coach was not thrown in from the outside, but was done from the inside.Only a week earlier, police tracked down a hindu street hawker named Ajay Baria who reportedly confessed to setting the coach on fire (after being forced to) from the inside along with a few other muslim hawkers after breaking and entering the coach while the mob was pelting stones. He also allegedly confessed to a plan forged the previous night by Muslims in placed known as Aman Guest house[52][53]. Between July 2002 and February 2003, police find 13 more witnesses who vouched that the attack was pre-planned (Ajay Baria, 9 BJP men who were at the station, two petrol pump attendants who allegedly sold petrol to Muslim conspirators on Feb 2002 and 2 petty muslim criminals).In 2005, the UPA appointed U C Banerjee commission concluded that there was no evidence to a pre-planned attack. The commission also found some evidence to the presence of cooking gas in the coach that might have ignited when the burning rags were thrown in[54].In 2007, Tehelka conducted a six month sting and discovered that of the 14 witness, the nine BJP men were not present at the scene of the crime. They also found that the petrol pump attendants had been bribed by Noel Parmar (Rs 50,000 each) to testify against the accused. One of the petty muslim criminals was caught lying when he claimed that had pulled the emergency brakes when the train halted the second time. The other muslin criminal retracted his statement. Leaving Ajay Baria, the only hindu perpetrator, to be the only witness on whose testimony the entire case was built. And what’s worse ? According to Tehelka, Ajay’s mother claims that her son was at home when the incident unfolded[55].The sting did not matter much to courts or the Modi appointed Nanavati-Mehta commision.In the 2008, the Nanavati-Mehta commision in their report[56] concluded the Godhra incident was premeditated. The plot was hatched by local Muslims to harm the hindu activists travelling in the train. The report named two men, Nanumiyan and Umarji, as the master minds of the plot. The commission also dismissed Sophia Bano’s story as fake[57] and concluded that there was evidence of a scuffle between hindu activists and muslim tea vendors. It also gave a clean chit to Modi. The SIT constituted by Modi gave him a clean chit too.In 2011, 31 muslims were convicted for the incident . 11 of them were handed death sentences while the rest were given life sentences. 69 others were acquitted including Umarji (the alleged mastermind who spent 8 years in prison) for lack of evidence[58]. In 2017, the death sentences of the 11 convicts were reduced to life sentences[59].To this day, there is uncertainty over who lit the fire.The Gujarat riots[60]As the news about the Godhra incident reached other parts of Gujarat,violence against muslims began to erupt on the afternoon of February 27 2002.A curfew was imposed in Godhra, but about 40 shops around the station belonging to muslims were thrashed. A muslim man was stabbed at the Vadodara railway station by a mob who were waiting for the Sabarmati express.That afternoon, VHP called for a statewide bandh on February 28, 2002. The State BJP unit endorsed the bandh[61]. Advani blamed ISI for the incident. Modi and his minister likened it to a terrorist attack and asserted that Pakistanis were residing in Gujarat illegally. The charred bodies of the deceased in the Godhra incident arrived in Ahmedabad the same night. A mob gathered at the railway station to meet the bodies. Another waited at the morgue. Communal tensions were as high as they could be and the state sponsored bandh gave the angered mob the perfect outlet.The attacks on muslims began around 10.30 am on February 28, 2002. Violence in different parts of the state including Ahmedabad began around the same time indicating that the attacks were pre-meditated and coordinated. First hands accounts and investigation by Human Rights Watch (HRW) that the attackers targeted muslim business based on information about these businesses given to them beforehand.In Ahmedabad, two particular areas were targeted - The Naroda Patiya Suburb and the Gulmarg society[62].In 2002, in the Naroda Patiya Suburb over 2000 families of daily wage workers, mostly muslims resided. On February 28, 2002, at least 90 people were killed by a mob of 5000 that torched the place. Women and young girls were gang raped in public and were hacked to death. Homes and business of muslims were selectively looted. The residences of hindus were untouched. The community mosque was razed down by exploding gas cylinders among other establishments. People were burnt alive using LPG cylinders and their bodies dumped into wells. HRW’s investigation into the incident revealed that the police were either complacent or were working with the mobs against the muslims. Of the 96 reported dead, 70 were women and children. Curfew was imposed, after the massacre[63] was well over.On the same day, in the same city, about 70 people (including a former MP) were killed in the Gulmarg society massacre[64]. At around 9 am, a mob gathered outside the society that was home to upper class muslims. Fearing the worst, over 250 people took refuge in the house of former Congress MP Ehsan Jaffrey. Over the next seven hours, about 70 people including Ehsan Jaffrey were hacked to death. Reportedly, Ehsan Jaffrey reached out to the police multiple times seeking their help, but was not offered protections. His home breached, he and his family members were dragged out, paraded naked for refusing to say ‘Jai Sriram’ and then were hacked to death. One eyewitness reported the killing of a pregnant woman whose unborn child was cut out of her stomach and both burned to death.The police turned deaf ears to cries for help. It is also alleged that on the day of the massacre, two BJP ministers took charge of the police control room and directed the police on what and what not to do[65]. A high level police officer alleged that Modi himself demanded the police not to do anything that would harm Hindutva sentiments[66][67]. Cases of police firing at helpless victims have also been reported.Media fed fuel to fire. Local newspapers like Sandesh carried inflammatory news[68] making unfounded allegations and demanding to avenge blood with blood. VHP distributed leaflets with hate messages. The violence against muslims continued for a further two days in over 25 towns and cities. Children were force fed petrol and set on fire. Infants were speared and their bodies were paraded around. Over 250 women and girls were gang raped and killed.Violence against hindus (mostly dalits) by muslims were also reported during this time. There are also heroic stories of hindus saving muslims from the aggressors.A curfew was imposed on many towns and cities by evening on February 28, 2002. However, violence continued in smaller towns before moving towards rural areas.The state government called the army on the night of February 28 and deployed it the next afternoon. By then, the intensity of the violence had tapered down. The violence continued till March 3rd and after a brief gap, resumed on the 15th. Sporadic incidents of violence was reported until June, 2002.In all over 1000 people were killed (800 muslims and 250 hindus). About 500 mosques were destroyed. Over 2,00,000 people were displaced and about 200 people are still missing.Rediff has a very good collection of Gujarat riot articles beginning in 2002 here.Role of Modi in the affairModi has just become the chief minister of Gujarat when the Godhra incident and the riots that followed took place. He had never held any administrative office before, but he had held various posts within the BJP and had helped them secure many wins between 1990 and 2000.The fact that the train burning and the riots happened under his watch is in itself is a big blot. But Modi’s role is not just limited to that.Days before the Godhra incident, at least two intelligence officers submitted reports to the state government stating that the frequent movement of Ayodhya hindu activists were inflaming an already volatile situation in the state[69][70]. However, the Gujarat government sat on this intelligence.The decision to bring the the remains of the dead from Godhra to Ahmedabad the very same night of the incident worsened the already dire situation[71][72][73][74].In the aftermath of the Godhra incident, a responsible government would have downplayed the communal angle to assuage the situation. Yet, Modi and the BJP went about calling the attack premeditated and blaming the Pakistanis and Muslim terrorists without a tiny smudge of evidence.Extending support to the VHP bandh. The government should have sensed trouble.Giving the police mixed messages, leaving them without direction. NGOs and international organisations that have conducted independent investigations of the incident have concluded that the state police were mostly anti-muslin during the riots.Permitting ministers to dictate terms at police control rooms was a bad move.The Gujarat government reached out to the central government too late and delayed deploying the army.Modi constantly mislead his own people, claiming that the situation was in control always, even when it was not.Pinning the blame on former Congress MP Jaffrey for his own murder, claiming that the MP provoked the agitators by shooting at them.Turning the Godhra incident and the riots into an election agenda.Rewarding cops for their partisan behaviour during the riots and transferring/demoting cops and officials who acted without bias.Defending the riots by terming it a natural reaction to the Godhra incident and calling it a ‘secular violence’.In the aftermath of the riots, Modi was denied permission to enter the US and the European Union until he became the prime minister of India. However, the SC has dismissed all charges against Modi.Conclusion:Faith triumphed over humanity in Gujarat in 2002. Lives were lost and the gods failed. Reason gave way to blind hatred. All of us are culpable in a way, some more than the others. Let us hope another such incident does not happen. Let us not fall prey to religions. Let us not be misguided by the forked tongues of politicians. Let there be Peace.Footnotes[1] http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/129875/13/13_chapter%204.pdf[2] https://books.google.co.in/books?id=XFPmCRjGYX0C&pg=PA40&lpg=PA40&dq=astacakra+navadvara+devanam+purayodhya&source=bl&ots=IvyrafaKKF&sig=XjygH_1iLL9Qb0tE4G83-ejGKtQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjVosOlq8zaAhULO48KHSSfAoQQ6AEIMDAB#v=onepage&q=astacakra%20navadvara%20devanam%20purayodhya&f=false[3] Valmiki Ramayana - Baala Kanda - Sarga 5 [4] Valmiki Ramayana - Baala Kanda - Sarga 6 [5] The Ancient Geography of India[6] Awadh - Wikipedia[7] Ayojjhā[8] Phena Sutta: Foam[9] Daruka-khandha Sutta: The Log[10] https://books.google.co.in/books?id=SAQ4DgAAQBAJ&pg=PT85&lpg=PT85&dq=xuanzang+in+ayodhya&source=bl&ots=ltpdZrbNOQ&sig=XqO9TAs0t4AKvfz355Pt40m5lXY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjc5uL2n83aAhUZSo8KHX_DCsUQ6AEIazAK#v=onepage&q=xuanzang%20in%20ayodhya&f=false[11] Raghuvaṃśa - Wikipedia[12] Index of /sites/giirvaani/giirvaani/rv/sargas[13] 13_raghuvamsham[14] 14_raghuvamsham[15] https://books.google.co.in/books?id=8Au_lIP1ZnQC&pg=PA1084&lpg=PA1084&dq=Campa+Rajagaha+Savatthi&source=bl&ots=dTBxA2bVfW&sig=v4dqyS3FoBsFilBOQFMqhOrFmpM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjS98bRt87aAhXLRo8KHWy_BG4Q6AEINjAB#v=onepage&q=Campa%20Rajagaha%20Savatthi&f=false[16] Shravasti - Wikipedia[17] The Ancient Geography of India[18] Rabatak inscription - Wikipedia[19] http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/travel_records.pdf[20] Faxian - Jatland Wiki[21] Part 6: Rāma’s parents[22] Archaeology of Ayodhya - Wikipedia[23] The Ancient Geography of India[24] The rise of Ayodhyā as a place of pilgrimage[25] Ayodhya[26] Ikshvaku dynasty - Wikipedia[27] Babri Masjid - Wikipedia[28] Babur - Wikipedia[29] Mughal Empire - Wikipedia[30] Babri Masjid - Wikipedia[31] http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-revisiting-the-ayodhya-dispute-history-and-the-aftermath-2266242[32] Tracing The History Of Babri Masjid[33] 25 years since the demolition of Babri Masjid: A timeline of the Ayodhya dispute[34] Ramcharitmanas - Wikipedia[35] Ram Rath Yatra - Wikipedia[36] Demolition of the Babri Masjid - Wikipedia[37] When the last dome fell: a first-person account of the Babri Masjid demolition[38] Liberhan Commission - Wikipedia[39] Ayodhya verdict: Allahabad High Court says divide land in 3 ways[40] The Ayodhya issue[41] The Ayodhya issue[42] The Ayodhya issue Homepage[43] Gujarat Carnage 2002[44] https://www.sabrang.com/tribunal/tribunal2.pdf[45] Provocation Preceded Indian Train Fire[46] Godhra Muslims thought a girl had been abducted by Karsevaks. But was this a pre-planned story?[47] The Godhra Fire - SaafBaat[48] India's Independent Weekly News Magazine[49] Is SIT hiding proof in Gujarat riots case? - Times of India[50] Godhra attack not planned - Times of India[51] Report of Forensic Science Laboratory, State of Gujarat[52] Exclusive! Godhra case investigator speaks[53] Conspiracy hatched at Godhra guest house: court[54] Excerpts from the Justice U C Banerjee Committee report | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis[55] https://iamc.com/reports/2007/te-godhra.pdf[56] http://www.home.gujarat.gov.in/homedepartment/downloads/godharaincident.pdf[57] Godhra Muslims thought a girl had been abducted by Karsevaks. But was this a pre-planned story?[58] The Godhra Fire - SaafBaat[59] Godhra train burning: Gujarat HC commutes death sentence of 11 to life term[60] 2002 Gujarat riots - Wikipedia[61] Gujarat Carnage 2002[62] "WE HAVE NO ORDERS TO SAVE YOU"[63] Naroda Patiya massacre - Wikipedia[64] Gulbarg Society massacre - Wikipedia[65] Gujarat Carnage 2002[66] Gujarat's leader 'allowed' riots[67] How India's 2002 Gujarat riots unfolded[68] Gujarat Carnage 2002[69] Modi government ignored all intelligence warnings[70] Godhra infamy earns IB more lucre - Times of India[71] “Decision to bring Godhra victims' bodies taken at top level”[72] All that remained of Godhra victims - Times of India[73] Has SIT justified bringing bodies from Godhra to Ahmedabad? | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis[74] We know who brought the bodies back from Godhra & why. But he'll get away scot free again