India used emergency powers to ban a #BBCDocumentary critical of PM Narendra Modi's role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, in which about 1,000 Muslims were killed.
A UK govt report said the riots had all the "hallmarks of an ethnic cleansing" and held Modi "directly responsible." 🧵
The 2002 Gujarat riots broke out after 59 Hindu pilgrims died in a train that caught fire.
Violent Hindu mobs blamed Muslims and:
▪️killed ~1,000 Muslims
▪️destroyed 20K Muslim homes + businesses
▪️displaced 150K
One Indian govt investigation said the fire was an accident.
Hindu rioters carried out mass rape of Muslim women during the protests, per an unpublished UK report highlighted by the BBC doc.
11 men serving life for gang-raping a pregnant Muslim woman during the riots were released in 2022. They killed 14 members of Bilkis Bano’s family.
Top Indian officials said Modi, head of Gujarat state in 2002, was complicit in the riots.
One official testified that Modi blocked police from stopping rioters.
▪️No protesters arrested in state’s capital day after riots began
▪️Thousands of cases dismissed despite witnesses
India's top court exonerated Modi in 2012 of involvement in the anti-Muslim violence, saying there was not enough evidence.
Modi has:
▪️repeatedly defended his handling of the violence
▪️refused to apologize for the killings
▪️praised police for their "excellent work"
Since Modi's right-wing Hindu nationalist party came to power in India in 2014, attacks against minorities are up 300%, according to a study.
A genocide of Muslims could take place in India given the party’s policies, an expert in genocide studies warned U.S. Congress in 2022.
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