1
00:00:43,300 --> 00:00:45,900
My name is Alishan Jafri.

2
00:00:45,900 --> 00:00:49,620
I am a journalist reporting
on hate crimes

3
00:00:49,620 --> 00:00:52,980
and the rise of extreme politics.

4
00:00:55,060 --> 00:01:00,620
India is a state where calls
for genocide against Muslims

5
00:01:00,620 --> 00:01:01,900
are on the rise.

6
00:01:17,380 --> 00:01:20,300
There is a very direct call
to violence

7
00:01:20,300 --> 00:01:23,380
to make India a Hindu nation.

8
00:01:33,580 --> 00:01:38,100
The Prime Minister of this country
should have spoken against it,

9
00:01:38,100 --> 00:01:39,860
but he does not speak up.

10
00:01:44,420 --> 00:01:46,620
CROWD CHANTS

11
00:01:50,700 --> 00:01:52,300
The man of the moment...

12
00:01:53,260 --> 00:01:55,780
..Prime Minister of India.

13
00:01:55,780 --> 00:01:59,940
He is the leader of the world's
biggest democracy.

14
00:02:01,460 --> 00:02:05,140
Narendra Damodardas Modi.

15
00:02:05,140 --> 00:02:09,500
He came to power promising
a new age of prosperity...

16
00:02:16,500 --> 00:02:20,100
..but his rule has been marred
by religious turmoil.

17
00:02:20,100 --> 00:02:22,380
ARCHIVE: There have been
violent protests in opposition

18
00:02:22,380 --> 00:02:25,460
to a new citizenship law
which many see as discriminating

19
00:02:25,460 --> 00:02:27,340
against the nation's
Muslim minority.

20
00:02:27,340 --> 00:02:30,340
Many in India see this law
as anti-Muslim.

21
00:02:30,340 --> 00:02:34,740
Massive pelting, massive pelting
as of now is going on.

22
00:02:39,540 --> 00:02:41,900
This series tells the story

23
00:02:41,900 --> 00:02:46,980
of Narendra Modi's troubled
relationship with India's Muslims.

24
00:02:46,980 --> 00:02:50,860
As a young child, Mr Modi
joined an organisation

25
00:02:50,860 --> 00:02:54,820
which believes that this is
a country of the Hindus.

26
00:02:54,820 --> 00:02:57,420
Could he have done more
to prevent violence

27
00:02:57,420 --> 00:03:00,060
that killed hundreds of Muslims?

28
00:03:01,260 --> 00:03:05,060
We were hearing that those orders
to let all this happen

29
00:03:05,060 --> 00:03:06,700
were coming from the top.

30
00:03:06,700 --> 00:03:08,540
It is obviously a stain
on his reputation.

31
00:03:08,540 --> 00:03:10,500
There's no way out of that.

32
00:03:10,500 --> 00:03:12,580
I'm not agreeing with your analysis.

33
00:03:12,580 --> 00:03:14,340
I'm not agreeing with
your information.

34
00:03:14,340 --> 00:03:17,420
From where you have picked up
this type of garbage, I do not know.

35
00:03:18,460 --> 00:03:21,500
He was cleared of
criminal conspiracy -

36
00:03:21,500 --> 00:03:25,620
a finding upheld by
India's highest court...

37
00:03:25,620 --> 00:03:29,380
Agenda was to destroy
Narendra Modi politically.

38
00:03:29,380 --> 00:03:31,580
The agenda was explicitly political.

39
00:03:31,580 --> 00:03:34,740
..but concerns will not go away.

40
00:03:34,740 --> 00:03:37,500
Questions remained over
Mr Modi's head for a long time,

41
00:03:37,500 --> 00:03:40,100
and they remain over him now.

42
00:03:40,100 --> 00:03:44,260
Narendra Modi has promised
to build a new India,

43
00:03:44,260 --> 00:03:47,260
but what does that mean for
the millions of people

44
00:03:47,260 --> 00:03:50,060
who belong to its largest minority?

45
00:03:50,060 --> 00:03:53,860
This regime wants to disenfranchise
the Muslims

46
00:03:53,860 --> 00:03:57,660
and make India a "Hindu nation".

47
00:04:35,220 --> 00:04:36,980
My name is Imran Dawood.

48
00:04:36,980 --> 00:04:39,140
I live in Yorkshire.

49
00:04:39,140 --> 00:04:43,940
My grandparents are from India.
So is my father.

50
00:04:43,940 --> 00:04:47,420
It was very exciting hearing
the stories from family members

51
00:04:47,420 --> 00:04:49,060
of what India was about,

52
00:04:49,060 --> 00:04:53,260
so it was a great opportunity
to do a trip at the age of 18.

53
00:04:53,260 --> 00:04:58,180
With me was my two uncles,
Shakil and Saeed Dawood,

54
00:04:58,180 --> 00:05:01,300
and my next-door neighbour,
Mohammed Aswat.

55
00:05:11,620 --> 00:05:16,740
We were on our way back
from the Taj Mahal.

56
00:05:16,740 --> 00:05:18,580
It was a long journey.

57
00:05:18,580 --> 00:05:21,140
When we actually entered the state,

58
00:05:21,140 --> 00:05:23,340
I remember the driver
saying, literally,

59
00:05:23,340 --> 00:05:25,380
"We're home now, boys. We're home."

60
00:05:26,500 --> 00:05:29,500
And then we get to a roadblock.

61
00:05:29,500 --> 00:05:34,420
There was cars being stopped
by people chanting Hindu chants.

62
00:05:34,420 --> 00:05:36,340
They were, like, vetting them.

63
00:05:37,620 --> 00:05:41,420
It was very common for people
to decorate their cars' windscreens

64
00:05:41,420 --> 00:05:43,860
with Arabic literature,

65
00:05:43,860 --> 00:05:48,180
so straight away they'd see
the owner is a Muslim.

66
00:05:48,180 --> 00:05:51,300
The car in front gets through
and then it's our turn.

67
00:05:52,940 --> 00:05:55,860
The mob surrounded us,
waving their weapons.

68
00:05:56,900 --> 00:05:59,260
Suddenly, we have an attack.

69
00:06:00,820 --> 00:06:05,420
We're just literally getting out of
the car and running for our lives.

70
00:06:05,420 --> 00:06:11,900
The first person that the mob
attacked and tortured

71
00:06:11,900 --> 00:06:14,460
was the driver.

72
00:06:14,460 --> 00:06:18,220
Then I see Mohammed Aswat
getting blows to his head.

73
00:06:19,860 --> 00:06:23,500
One of the people in the mob -
having a knife in his hand -

74
00:06:23,500 --> 00:06:25,940
is saying to us,
"Pull your pants down.

75
00:06:25,940 --> 00:06:30,020
"We want to see if
you've been circumcised,"

76
00:06:30,020 --> 00:06:32,340
and literally feeling...

77
00:06:37,100 --> 00:06:38,260
..feeling...

78
00:06:39,900 --> 00:06:41,980
..feeling, "Am I going to live?"

79
00:06:46,260 --> 00:06:51,980
I got stabbed, and then
a police vehicle pulls up.

80
00:06:51,980 --> 00:06:58,140
And then as I get in,
I remember Mohammed...unconscious.

81
00:07:01,460 --> 00:07:05,140
And this was before me blacking out.

82
00:07:05,140 --> 00:07:07,260
This is...
That's the last thing I see.

83
00:07:11,020 --> 00:07:14,060
I do not know what happened
to my uncles.

84
00:07:25,660 --> 00:07:31,900
It's...fresh in my mind,
like it happened yesterday.

85
00:07:32,900 --> 00:07:38,180
But, sadly, 20 years on
and nothing's happened.

86
00:07:38,180 --> 00:07:42,700
There's evidence out there
of what has happened

87
00:07:42,700 --> 00:07:44,780
and, clearly, these people
are walking free.

88
00:07:44,780 --> 00:07:47,660
It feels like there's
no justice there.

89
00:07:57,220 --> 00:08:01,020
ARCHIVE: 57 people have died after
a train carrying Hindu activists

90
00:08:01,020 --> 00:08:03,100
was set alight by a group
of Muslims.

91
00:08:03,100 --> 00:08:06,060
The train was carrying thousands
of Hindus who had visited...

92
00:08:06,060 --> 00:08:07,700
The wreckage is horrific,

93
00:08:07,700 --> 00:08:10,780
all the worse for being man-made
and deliberate -

94
00:08:10,780 --> 00:08:15,300
one of the worst acts of
religious hatred India's ever seen.

95
00:08:15,300 --> 00:08:17,460
In some areas,
the grief and anger here

96
00:08:17,460 --> 00:08:19,820
have already erupted into violence.

97
00:08:19,820 --> 00:08:23,340
That's alarming news in a state
where racial hatred

98
00:08:23,340 --> 00:08:25,260
is deeply ingrained.

99
00:08:25,260 --> 00:08:29,660
Jill McGivering, BBC News,
Godhra, Gujarat.

100
00:08:29,660 --> 00:08:32,140
People were saying there had been
a group of people inside -

101
00:08:32,140 --> 00:08:34,940
they were Hindu pilgrims,
including women and children.

102
00:08:34,940 --> 00:08:39,060
Somebody had either locked them in
or kept them inside,

103
00:08:39,060 --> 00:08:41,180
poured petrol in
and set fire to them,

104
00:08:41,180 --> 00:08:43,060
and a lot of people had died.

105
00:08:59,620 --> 00:09:01,580
It was horrific.

106
00:09:01,580 --> 00:09:03,140
People were outraged.

107
00:09:04,260 --> 00:09:08,660
The perception all over Gujarat -
and, in fact, all over India -

108
00:09:08,660 --> 00:09:13,100
was that these Hindu pilgrims

109
00:09:13,100 --> 00:09:15,860
had been targeted by
the Muslim community.

110
00:09:17,180 --> 00:09:19,900
The final death toll was 59.

111
00:09:20,980 --> 00:09:23,780
The cause of the fire was disputed,

112
00:09:23,780 --> 00:09:27,980
but at the time,
Muslims were blamed.

113
00:09:27,980 --> 00:09:32,620
This is in a state which has
a particular history of tensions

114
00:09:32,620 --> 00:09:35,900
between the Hindu majority
and the Muslim minority community.

115
00:09:35,900 --> 00:09:37,700
There have been a history
of communal riots

116
00:09:37,700 --> 00:09:40,140
and of very nasty violence
between the communities.

117
00:09:40,140 --> 00:09:42,980
And the concern was,
something like this happens,

118
00:09:42,980 --> 00:09:45,220
members of the Hindu community
feel angered

119
00:09:45,220 --> 00:09:47,060
that their people
have been targeted,

120
00:09:47,060 --> 00:09:48,900
there might be a big reaction
to that.

121
00:09:50,900 --> 00:09:55,180
The Chief Minister of Gujarat
was Narendra Modi.

122
00:09:55,180 --> 00:09:58,020
He was seen as a rising star,
quite visionary -

123
00:09:58,020 --> 00:10:00,860
a man who got things done,

124
00:10:00,860 --> 00:10:06,340
somebody who was very pro-Hindu,
a very powerful, influential figure.

125
00:10:37,220 --> 00:10:39,460
I got a call from
a foreign diplomat.

126
00:10:39,460 --> 00:10:43,100
She was a diplomat of one of
the foreign Western nations.

127
00:10:43,100 --> 00:10:45,940
So she asked me, "Have you heard
what had happened in Godhra?

128
00:10:45,940 --> 00:10:48,100
"Do you think that this is
going to escalate?"

129
00:10:48,100 --> 00:10:51,420
I just used one word.
I said, "Hugely."

130
00:10:57,940 --> 00:10:59,980
My producer started
to get information

131
00:10:59,980 --> 00:11:03,340
that something was happening
nearby in Ahmedabad.

132
00:11:06,260 --> 00:11:11,540
It was clear from our arrival
that something was very, very wrong.

133
00:11:11,540 --> 00:11:15,140
As we were driving in, we were
seeing plumes of thick black smoke

134
00:11:15,140 --> 00:11:18,260
ahead of us in the centre of town.

135
00:11:18,260 --> 00:11:22,020
There were no emergency services
there. There were no police.

136
00:11:22,020 --> 00:11:24,940
My memories, then, are going into
the centre of Ahmedabad.

137
00:11:24,940 --> 00:11:27,060
There's a quite well-known square -

138
00:11:27,060 --> 00:11:30,140
there's a big area,
there's an arch - and it was...

139
00:11:30,140 --> 00:11:31,660
It was mostly on fire.

140
00:11:43,620 --> 00:11:47,660
I remember a man who was a Hindu
with his hands to his face,

141
00:11:47,660 --> 00:11:50,940
watching his business -
it was a travel agent's - burning.

142
00:11:54,220 --> 00:11:57,060
There were also other people
informing me sometimes

143
00:11:57,060 --> 00:12:01,340
that the areas that were
being targeted belonged to Muslims.

144
00:12:01,340 --> 00:12:03,740
JILL, ARCHIVE: This is exactly
what the authorities hoped

145
00:12:03,740 --> 00:12:06,980
would never happen - the streets
have become a battleground.

146
00:12:06,980 --> 00:12:09,660
The grief and anger
at yesterday's murders

147
00:12:09,660 --> 00:12:14,100
has boiled over into violence,
looting and religious hatred.

148
00:12:16,940 --> 00:12:19,100
JILL: There was this sense of
absolute lawlessness.

149
00:12:19,100 --> 00:12:20,620
It was a free-for-all.

150
00:12:21,900 --> 00:12:27,260
I remember seeing the police here
and there, very, very disengaged.

151
00:12:28,820 --> 00:12:31,580
I didn't see anybody,
from what I remember,

152
00:12:31,580 --> 00:12:36,260
trying to stop the setting fire
to things and the looting.

153
00:12:41,740 --> 00:12:43,780
JILL, ARCHIVE: On the worst day
of the violence,

154
00:12:43,780 --> 00:12:47,220
when murder and looting were
taking place all across the city,

155
00:12:47,220 --> 00:12:51,060
we saw policemen just standing by,
watching what was happening

156
00:12:51,060 --> 00:12:53,220
but doing nothing to try to stop it.

157
00:12:54,380 --> 00:12:56,380
JILL: One of my colleagues
in the team

158
00:12:56,380 --> 00:13:01,500
was having quite regular phone calls
with a contact of his.

159
00:13:01,500 --> 00:13:04,460
It was someone, I understand,
who was high up in the police force,

160
00:13:04,460 --> 00:13:07,180
and they were giving
information to my colleague

161
00:13:07,180 --> 00:13:09,900
that they'd been told,
"Let it happen.

162
00:13:09,900 --> 00:13:13,860
"There will be a reaction to what
happened in Godhra. Let it happen."

163
00:13:13,860 --> 00:13:18,020
And we were hearing that
those orders to let all this happen

164
00:13:18,020 --> 00:13:19,860
were coming from the top.

165
00:13:53,860 --> 00:13:57,020
Did Mr Modi do enough to stop
the violence?

166
00:13:58,420 --> 00:14:01,260
I think that that's something
he has to answer for.

167
00:14:01,260 --> 00:14:02,940
Depending on how you look at it,

168
00:14:02,940 --> 00:14:08,500
he oversaw mass violence
or was not able to stop it.

169
00:14:08,500 --> 00:14:11,300
Questions remained over
Mr Modi's head for a long time,

170
00:14:11,300 --> 00:14:13,980
and they remain over him now.

171
00:14:13,980 --> 00:14:17,900
REPORTER: Did the police under your
command do enough to stop the riots?

172
00:14:17,900 --> 00:14:20,100
Not only enough, but excellent work
they have done.

173
00:14:20,100 --> 00:14:22,300
Excellent work? Excellent work
they have done.

174
00:14:22,300 --> 00:14:26,540
Within 72 hours, we were able
to control such violence.

175
00:14:26,540 --> 00:14:29,780
More than 500 people dead,
most of them innocent civilians,

176
00:14:29,780 --> 00:14:32,220
and you're calling this
"excellent work"?

177
00:14:32,220 --> 00:14:34,780
I'm not happy at what happened.

178
00:14:34,780 --> 00:14:37,100
But what we have done, I'm happy.

179
00:14:38,420 --> 00:14:41,020
Everyone we've spoken to
have said that the police

180
00:14:41,020 --> 00:14:42,780
did absolutely nothing.

181
00:14:42,780 --> 00:14:46,660
This is absolutely false propaganda.
This is not the truth.

182
00:14:46,660 --> 00:14:49,900
As questions grew around
Mr Modi's actions,

183
00:14:49,900 --> 00:14:52,540
attention turned to his past.

184
00:14:52,540 --> 00:14:54,540
DRUMS PLAY

185
00:15:04,540 --> 00:15:08,980
RSS stands for
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh -

186
00:15:08,980 --> 00:15:14,060
"the Association
of Indian Volunteers".

187
00:15:16,900 --> 00:15:19,780
The RSS is a political organisation.

188
00:15:19,780 --> 00:15:23,180
It believes that this is a country
of the Hindus.

189
00:15:29,780 --> 00:15:33,860
ARCHIVE: The RSS was formed in 1925
to unite Hindu society

190
00:15:33,860 --> 00:15:35,820
and spread Hindu culture.

191
00:15:35,820 --> 00:15:38,460
But the Boy Scout image
is deceptive.

192
00:15:38,460 --> 00:15:40,940
Based on principles
of discipline, patriotism

193
00:15:40,940 --> 00:15:44,340
and unquestioning obedience,
the RSS seeks to establish

194
00:15:44,340 --> 00:15:48,260
the superiority of Hindus
over all other races in India.

195
00:15:51,100 --> 00:15:58,140
RSS took shape in the 1920s,
when, in Europe, we saw a movement

196
00:15:58,140 --> 00:16:02,220
that will result in fascism
in Italy, Nazism in Germany.

197
00:16:03,860 --> 00:16:07,380
They liked the idea of the
supremacy of the race theory,

198
00:16:07,380 --> 00:16:09,820
which was created by
the European fascists,

199
00:16:09,820 --> 00:16:15,540
and also the idea of creating
a common enemy.

200
00:16:15,540 --> 00:16:18,700
For the RSS, the enemy
were the Muslims.

201
00:16:21,500 --> 00:16:25,580
Today, RSS is not anti-Muslim,
but definitely pro-Hindu.

202
00:16:25,580 --> 00:16:30,460
And they believe in the glorious
past of this country

203
00:16:30,460 --> 00:16:33,260
and they believe in the idea
of national reconstruction.

204
00:16:35,540 --> 00:16:38,580
The very core cultural values
of this country,

205
00:16:38,580 --> 00:16:41,940
now they are being called
Hindu value system.

206
00:16:41,940 --> 00:16:43,660
People can have any way of worship,

207
00:16:43,660 --> 00:16:45,740
but if they believe in
that value system,

208
00:16:45,740 --> 00:16:48,660
they are very much part of India.

209
00:16:57,540 --> 00:17:03,420
RSS always recruits children,
very young boys,

210
00:17:03,420 --> 00:17:06,580
because they want to tell them
who they are

211
00:17:06,580 --> 00:17:09,340
when they are still malleable.

212
00:17:09,340 --> 00:17:13,100
To reshape the psyche of the youth
is very important.

213
00:17:13,100 --> 00:17:16,540
So Narendra Modi joined
when he was very young.

214
00:17:18,860 --> 00:17:21,460
After school, he would participate
in the activities

215
00:17:21,460 --> 00:17:26,540
of the young wing of the RSS.
That is how he got attracted.

216
00:17:27,740 --> 00:17:32,820
Gradually, he has climbed
all the ladder of all the posts

217
00:17:32,820 --> 00:17:35,420
of responsibility -
and at a very young age.

218
00:17:35,420 --> 00:17:37,900
Modi is a product of the RSS.

219
00:17:37,900 --> 00:17:42,740
He has learned its politics,
its lifestyle.

220
00:17:44,140 --> 00:17:46,020
He made a mark for himself,

221
00:17:46,020 --> 00:17:49,420
and so he was deputed to
the Bharatiya Janata Party -

222
00:17:49,420 --> 00:17:55,100
or the BJP - which is a political
affiliated organisation of the RSS.

223
00:18:06,740 --> 00:18:10,620
As the violence subsided,
stories began to emerge

224
00:18:10,620 --> 00:18:14,100
about what had happened
to some of the victims.

225
00:18:14,100 --> 00:18:18,100
In this largely Muslim
neighbourhood, more than 100 people

226
00:18:18,100 --> 00:18:22,140
had sought shelter in a house
to escape a Hindu mob.

227
00:18:23,620 --> 00:18:26,820
Imtiyaz Pathan and his family
were among them.

228
00:19:07,940 --> 00:19:11,740
The house belonged to a Muslim
former Congress Party MP -

229
00:19:11,740 --> 00:19:13,060
Ehsan Jafri.

230
00:21:07,340 --> 00:21:11,940
A judge later ruled that Mr Jafri
had provoked the mob

231
00:21:11,940 --> 00:21:13,620
by firing his gun at it.

232
00:21:14,820 --> 00:21:16,860
Imtiyaz survived by hiding upstairs.

233
00:21:18,300 --> 00:21:22,300
The violence only stopped
when the police eventually arrived.

234
00:21:58,540 --> 00:22:02,540
When a senior police officer
arrived at the house that evening,

235
00:22:02,540 --> 00:22:05,580
the victims' corpses
were still smouldering.

236
00:22:10,500 --> 00:22:13,340
REPORTER: There are allegations
that police could have done more

237
00:22:13,340 --> 00:22:15,100
in Ahmedabad today.

238
00:22:15,100 --> 00:22:17,780
There's always scope
for improvement, I concede.

239
00:22:17,780 --> 00:22:20,180
There's always scope
for improvement.

240
00:22:20,180 --> 00:22:21,140
I'm sure...

241
00:22:22,460 --> 00:22:24,500
..we could have done better.

242
00:22:24,500 --> 00:22:29,060
I think I would take it as my
inadequacy, if that is to be said.

243
00:22:31,620 --> 00:22:34,620
The killings would trigger
a long legal battle

244
00:22:34,620 --> 00:22:38,300
that made serious allegations
about the police response

245
00:22:38,300 --> 00:22:40,740
and Mr Modi's role in the violence.

246
00:22:43,780 --> 00:22:47,100
In 2009, Imtiyaz gave evidence
in court

247
00:22:47,100 --> 00:22:51,500
about the alleged phone call
between Mr Modi and Mr Jafri.

248
00:22:52,860 --> 00:22:55,420
Mr Modi denied receiving the call

249
00:22:55,420 --> 00:22:59,260
and an inquiry said there was
no evidence it was made.

250
00:23:00,900 --> 00:23:05,140
Imtiyaz later stood for election
against Mr Modi's political party.

251
00:23:14,780 --> 00:23:17,420
In Britain, the government
was alarmed

252
00:23:17,420 --> 00:23:19,700
by what had happened in Gujarat.

253
00:23:20,740 --> 00:23:22,420
I was very worried about it.

254
00:23:22,420 --> 00:23:25,260
I was taking a great deal
of personal interest

255
00:23:25,260 --> 00:23:28,940
because India is a really important
country with whom we have relations.

256
00:23:28,940 --> 00:23:30,740
We had to handle it very carefully.

257
00:23:32,580 --> 00:23:35,140
What we did was to
establish an inquiry

258
00:23:35,140 --> 00:23:37,420
and have a team go to the Gujarat

259
00:23:37,420 --> 00:23:40,420
and find out for themselves
what had happened.

260
00:23:40,420 --> 00:23:43,740
And they produced
a very thorough report.

261
00:23:43,740 --> 00:23:48,780
The report, sent as a diplomatic
cable and marked "restricted",

262
00:23:48,780 --> 00:23:52,060
has never been published before.

263
00:23:52,060 --> 00:23:56,340
FEMALE VOICE: "Extent of violence
much greater than reported."

264
00:23:56,340 --> 00:24:01,100
"Widespread and systematic rape
of Muslim women."

265
00:24:01,100 --> 00:24:04,860
"Violence", "politically motivated."

266
00:24:04,860 --> 00:24:09,300
"Aim was to purge Muslims
from Hindu areas."

267
00:24:09,300 --> 00:24:12,380
"Their systematic campaign
of violence

268
00:24:12,380 --> 00:24:15,340
"has all the hallmarks
of ethnic cleansing."

269
00:24:17,260 --> 00:24:22,100
This former senior diplomat
was one of the investigators.

270
00:24:22,100 --> 00:24:25,140
He's speaking publicly
for the first time

271
00:24:25,140 --> 00:24:27,660
about what the British
inquiry found.

272
00:24:27,660 --> 00:24:31,060
He's asked to remain anonymous.

273
00:24:31,060 --> 00:24:34,700
At least 2,000 people were
murdered during the violence.

274
00:24:34,700 --> 00:24:36,820
The vast majority were Muslim.

275
00:24:36,820 --> 00:24:39,180
We described it as a pogrom,

276
00:24:39,180 --> 00:24:41,540
a deliberate and
politically driven effort

277
00:24:41,540 --> 00:24:44,060
targeted at the Muslim community.

278
00:24:44,060 --> 00:24:46,900
The violence was widely reported
to have been organised

279
00:24:46,900 --> 00:24:51,180
by an extremist Hindu
nationalist group - the VHP -

280
00:24:51,180 --> 00:24:53,580
who have a relationship
with the RSS.

281
00:24:55,460 --> 00:25:00,740
"The VHP and its allies could not
have inflicted so much damage

282
00:25:00,740 --> 00:25:05,580
"without the climate of impunity
created by the state Government."

283
00:25:05,580 --> 00:25:09,500
"Narendra Modi is
directly responsible."

284
00:25:09,500 --> 00:25:13,220
The report contained
an extraordinary claim.

285
00:25:13,220 --> 00:25:16,060
"Reliable contacts have told us

286
00:25:16,060 --> 00:25:20,780
"Narendra Modi met senior police
officers on the 27th of February

287
00:25:20,780 --> 00:25:24,380
"and ordered them not to intervene
in the rioting.

288
00:25:24,380 --> 00:25:27,340
"Police contacts deny
this meeting happened."

289
00:25:28,740 --> 00:25:30,580
There were pretty credible reports

290
00:25:30,580 --> 00:25:34,140
he had specifically instructed
the police not to intervene.

291
00:25:34,140 --> 00:25:37,900
The police contact who we talked
to consistently denied that,

292
00:25:37,900 --> 00:25:42,420
so we did have conflicting reports
on what his direct role had been,

293
00:25:42,420 --> 00:25:45,860
but we did feel it was clear
there was a culture of impunity

294
00:25:45,860 --> 00:25:49,580
that created the environment
for the violence to take place.

295
00:25:49,580 --> 00:25:52,620
That undoubtedly came from Modi.

296
00:25:53,940 --> 00:25:58,780
"While Modi remains in power,
reconciliation will be impossible."

297
00:26:02,860 --> 00:26:05,100
It was very shocking.

298
00:26:05,100 --> 00:26:08,380
These were very serious claims
that Chief Minister Modi

299
00:26:08,380 --> 00:26:14,260
had played a pretty active part
in pulling back the police

300
00:26:14,260 --> 00:26:19,260
and in tacitly encouraging
the Hindu extremists.

301
00:26:19,260 --> 00:26:25,700
That was a particularly egregious
example of political involvement,

302
00:26:25,700 --> 00:26:29,740
really, to prevent the police
from doing their job,

303
00:26:29,740 --> 00:26:31,900
which was to protect
both communities -

304
00:26:31,900 --> 00:26:33,980
the Hindu and the Muslims.

305
00:26:36,220 --> 00:26:39,580
The options open to us
were fairly limited.

306
00:26:39,580 --> 00:26:44,180
We were never going to break
diplomatic relations with India,

307
00:26:44,180 --> 00:26:46,180
but it is obviously a stain
on his reputation.

308
00:26:46,180 --> 00:26:47,780
There's no way out of that.

309
00:26:47,780 --> 00:26:49,780
CHANTING

310
00:26:54,460 --> 00:26:57,660
The European Union carried out
an investigation

311
00:26:57,660 --> 00:26:59,420
at around the same time.

312
00:27:02,220 --> 00:27:06,660
It reportedly found that ministers
took active part in the violence

313
00:27:06,660 --> 00:27:09,460
and senior police officers
were instructed

314
00:27:09,460 --> 00:27:11,700
not to intervene in the rioting.

315
00:27:14,580 --> 00:27:17,780
They looked upon this in terms
of the...the suffering,

316
00:27:17,780 --> 00:27:20,900
which had happened
to the Muslim community,

317
00:27:20,900 --> 00:27:24,140
and if you look at it in that way,
you're certainly bound to come

318
00:27:24,140 --> 00:27:27,980
to this conclusion that there was...
It was completely one-sided,

319
00:27:27,980 --> 00:27:31,340
and that there was nothing done
on the part of the administration

320
00:27:31,340 --> 00:27:35,500
to seriously check this,
that it was a deliberate,

321
00:27:35,500 --> 00:27:41,500
pre-planned, motivated assault
on Muslims by mobs who were not

322
00:27:41,500 --> 00:27:45,860
restrained is, to my mind,
an exaggeration.

323
00:27:45,860 --> 00:27:48,900
It was unstoppable for anyone.

324
00:27:48,900 --> 00:27:51,020
And as a chief minister,

325
00:27:51,020 --> 00:27:53,220
Modi did all the effort.

326
00:27:53,220 --> 00:27:58,580
And after three days, he was able
to stop with the help of police.

327
00:27:58,580 --> 00:28:00,460
Modi definitely shows contrition.

328
00:28:00,460 --> 00:28:03,220
He even puts in
his resignation to the BJP,

329
00:28:03,220 --> 00:28:05,140
but the BJP reject it.

330
00:28:06,300 --> 00:28:10,220
It was quite a smart thing to do
because, politically, if you offer

331
00:28:10,220 --> 00:28:13,820
the resignation at that particular
juncture and it is turned down,

332
00:28:13,820 --> 00:28:16,740
that's the end of
your resignation drama.

333
00:28:31,540 --> 00:28:33,420
My name is Cedric Prakash.

334
00:28:34,580 --> 00:28:35,980
I'm a Jesuit priest.

335
00:28:37,060 --> 00:28:41,380
My background has been on
human rights, justice and peace.

336
00:28:43,740 --> 00:28:48,420
In Gujarat, human rights workers
set up a citizens' tribunal,

337
00:28:48,420 --> 00:28:52,780
headed by three retired judges,
to investigate the violence.

338
00:28:54,060 --> 00:28:56,060
Father Cedric helped them.

339
00:28:57,180 --> 00:29:01,420
We wanted people from
the government, officials,

340
00:29:01,420 --> 00:29:05,180
to come and depose before
the citizens' tribunal.

341
00:29:05,180 --> 00:29:07,300
It was not easy.
They were frightened.

342
00:29:07,300 --> 00:29:09,340
Their careers were at stake.

343
00:29:13,940 --> 00:29:15,740
On a flight to Delhi,

344
00:29:15,740 --> 00:29:18,900
I happened to be seated
next to a minister

345
00:29:18,900 --> 00:29:20,500
of the Gujarat government.

346
00:29:20,500 --> 00:29:22,940
He belonged to the BJP.

347
00:29:22,940 --> 00:29:26,620
Haren Pandya was responsible
for the home affairs

348
00:29:26,620 --> 00:29:28,980
of the state for several years.

349
00:29:28,980 --> 00:29:33,020
He just very recently relinquished
office when Modi took

350
00:29:33,020 --> 00:29:36,060
over as Chief Minister of the state.

351
00:29:36,060 --> 00:29:40,140
He was telling me, "I know
everything what was happening."

352
00:29:40,140 --> 00:29:42,780
Then I said, "We have the citizens'
tribunal - would you...?"

353
00:29:42,780 --> 00:29:45,660
He said,
"Of course I'll be willing."

354
00:29:45,660 --> 00:29:47,740
He swore us to secrecy.

355
00:29:47,740 --> 00:29:53,140
We tried to do everything possible
in order to protect his identity

356
00:29:53,140 --> 00:29:55,220
because he was big catch.

357
00:29:59,700 --> 00:30:02,780
The tribunal was examining
Mr Modi's role -

358
00:30:02,780 --> 00:30:06,500
including the directions he had
given to the police.

359
00:30:06,500 --> 00:30:12,140
I think Haren Pandya wanted to
explain what had transpired

360
00:30:12,140 --> 00:30:13,940
on the 27th of February,

361
00:30:13,940 --> 00:30:15,740
so he came to my office.

362
00:30:17,380 --> 00:30:21,260
Mr Pandya told the tribunal
he had attended a late night

363
00:30:21,260 --> 00:30:26,460
meeting with Mr Modi and senior
officials, and he claimed Mr Modi

364
00:30:26,460 --> 00:30:30,780
said the police should not interfere
with the Hindu reaction

365
00:30:30,780 --> 00:30:33,140
to what happened at Godhra.

366
00:30:33,140 --> 00:30:37,380
Mr Pandya was very clearly
blaming Modi for the violence.

367
00:30:37,380 --> 00:30:40,500
He felt he was responsible
and he should be brought to book.

368
00:30:40,500 --> 00:30:41,700
That was clear.

369
00:30:44,780 --> 00:30:48,660
This was the real first indication
from within the government

370
00:30:48,660 --> 00:30:51,740
that there was actually
a decision taken.

371
00:30:51,740 --> 00:30:57,220
He is indicating that the chief
minister of the state was party to

372
00:30:57,220 --> 00:31:02,020
a decision where the law and
agencies do not do their work,

373
00:31:02,020 --> 00:31:04,300
let Muslims be attacked.

374
00:31:06,140 --> 00:31:10,460
Mr Pandya wanted to remain
anonymous, but news about his

375
00:31:10,460 --> 00:31:15,500
evidence leaked out, and he resigned
from Mr Modi's government.

376
00:31:15,500 --> 00:31:19,340
Narendra Modi has said he gave
categorical and clear-cut

377
00:31:19,340 --> 00:31:23,980
instructions to maintain peace
and communal harmony at any cost.

378
00:31:25,620 --> 00:31:28,060
So was Haren Pandya lying?

379
00:31:28,060 --> 00:31:30,300
Frankly, I don't know.
I wasn't at the meeting,

380
00:31:30,300 --> 00:31:31,940
so I don't know exactly what it is.

381
00:31:31,940 --> 00:31:36,780
But a chief minister of a state
cannot give a blank cheque

382
00:31:36,780 --> 00:31:38,380
to people to run riot.

383
00:31:40,860 --> 00:31:46,140
Last year, India's Supreme Court
said Mr Pandya's claim was false.

384
00:31:46,140 --> 00:31:49,220
Its findings were based
on an official inquiry

385
00:31:49,220 --> 00:31:52,980
which found Mr Pandya was not
at the meeting.

386
00:31:52,980 --> 00:31:57,460
The inquiry heard that others
who were there disputed his presence

387
00:31:57,460 --> 00:32:01,260
and records showed his government
mobile was several miles away

388
00:32:01,260 --> 00:32:03,180
at the time.

389
00:32:03,180 --> 00:32:07,620
But some questioned the inquiry's
credibility and thoroughness.

390
00:32:13,980 --> 00:32:18,620
For most politicians, allegations
like this would be devastating.

391
00:32:21,460 --> 00:32:24,060
But in the midst of all
the criticism,

392
00:32:24,060 --> 00:32:27,780
Narendra Modi did something
unexpected -

393
00:32:27,780 --> 00:32:30,220
he called an election in Gujarat.

394
00:32:33,500 --> 00:32:38,460
NEWS CORRESPONDENT: This election is
all about one man - Narendra Modi.

395
00:32:38,460 --> 00:32:42,820
To his supporters, he preaches an
extreme form of Hindu nationalism,

396
00:32:42,820 --> 00:32:46,380
offering hope and security
against Muslim extremists.

397
00:32:47,860 --> 00:32:51,260
We're just after the events of 9/11,
which, in many ways,

398
00:32:51,260 --> 00:32:54,620
has legitimised actions against
Muslims across the globe.

399
00:32:54,620 --> 00:32:59,660
This, at the very least, emboldens
what the BJP are doing in Gujarat.

400
00:33:00,980 --> 00:33:05,780
Mr Modi realised that there was
a very strong sentiment of Hindu

401
00:33:05,780 --> 00:33:09,620
victimhood, and he decided
to harness that electorally.

402
00:34:03,260 --> 00:34:07,060
The violence against Muslims
became part of the messaging

403
00:34:07,060 --> 00:34:11,180
that Narendra Modi used
in the election campaign.

404
00:34:11,180 --> 00:34:15,420
It is the violence and how he
reacted to it that has constructed

405
00:34:15,420 --> 00:34:17,460
the persona of Narendra Modi.

406
00:34:24,580 --> 00:34:28,060
UNTRANSLATED

407
00:34:28,060 --> 00:34:30,900
Narendra Modi doesn't tend
to be very media friendly.

408
00:34:30,900 --> 00:34:32,740
You follow what I say?
A little bit, yes.

409
00:34:32,740 --> 00:34:35,340
So for him to agree to do
a sit-down interview with us

410
00:34:35,340 --> 00:34:36,980
felt like a bit of a scoop.

411
00:34:36,980 --> 00:34:38,540
HE CHUCKLES

412
00:34:38,540 --> 00:34:42,380
He struck me as a very charismatic,

413
00:34:42,380 --> 00:34:44,100
very powerful,

414
00:34:44,100 --> 00:34:46,740
quite menacing figure.

415
00:34:46,740 --> 00:34:48,700
So you're now coming up
to elections.

416
00:34:48,700 --> 00:34:50,780
This seems to me to be
a state in turmoil.

417
00:34:50,780 --> 00:34:52,660
We're seeing repeated violence.

418
00:34:52,660 --> 00:34:54,460
We're seeing people living in fear.

419
00:34:54,460 --> 00:34:58,540
What has gone wrong with this
breakdown in law and order here?

420
00:34:58,540 --> 00:35:01,340
I think you have to correct
your information first.

421
00:35:02,780 --> 00:35:05,300
The state is very, very peaceful.

422
00:35:05,300 --> 00:35:08,580
So, the Muslims who would say
that they are still terrified,

423
00:35:08,580 --> 00:35:11,220
they are still frightened to go back
to their homes... I am not...

424
00:35:11,220 --> 00:35:13,940
..they still fear that the people
who murdered their relatives

425
00:35:13,940 --> 00:35:16,300
have not been brought to justice.
What would you say to them?

426
00:35:16,300 --> 00:35:18,420
I'm not agreeing with your analysis.

427
00:35:18,420 --> 00:35:20,260
I'm not agreeing with your
information.

428
00:35:20,260 --> 00:35:24,540
This absolutely misguided
information to you.

429
00:35:24,540 --> 00:35:27,780
From where you have picked up this
type of garbage, I do not know.

430
00:35:27,780 --> 00:35:31,620
Some people have been accusing
your government of not doing enough

431
00:35:31,620 --> 00:35:36,100
to stop this, of not
protecting Muslims even now.

432
00:35:36,100 --> 00:35:40,780
These are also false propaganda
made by our opponents.

433
00:35:40,780 --> 00:35:44,420
And you are also a captive
of this false propaganda.

434
00:35:51,140 --> 00:35:54,500
Can you explain more? Who is
perpetuating this false propaganda?

435
00:35:54,500 --> 00:35:56,980
The information I am reporting
is taken from what I have seen

436
00:35:56,980 --> 00:35:59,220
with my own eyes, both at
the times of the riot and now.

437
00:35:59,220 --> 00:36:00,740
Those who are our opponents.

438
00:36:00,740 --> 00:36:02,940
And the independent reports
that have already

439
00:36:02,940 --> 00:36:05,140
been published
into what has happened?

440
00:36:05,140 --> 00:36:07,780
They have no right to talk
about the internal matter

441
00:36:07,780 --> 00:36:09,260
of any government.

442
00:36:09,260 --> 00:36:10,860
I'm very, very clear in my mind.

443
00:36:10,860 --> 00:36:12,660
If they have done,
they have done wrong.

444
00:36:12,660 --> 00:36:14,180
Some would say it is a human right.

445
00:36:14,180 --> 00:36:16,060
There is a general
international interest.

446
00:36:16,060 --> 00:36:17,940
Please don't try to preach us
the human rights.

447
00:36:17,940 --> 00:36:20,180
We know what the human rights are.

448
00:36:20,180 --> 00:36:22,820
You British should not
preach us human rights.

449
00:36:22,820 --> 00:36:26,020
When you look back over the last
month, you've been the leader

450
00:36:26,020 --> 00:36:28,180
of this state through
a very difficult period.

451
00:36:28,180 --> 00:36:31,340
Do you think there's anything that
you should have done differently?

452
00:36:31,340 --> 00:36:32,700
Yes.

453
00:36:32,700 --> 00:36:36,660
One area where I was very, very big.

454
00:36:36,660 --> 00:36:39,260
And that was how
to handle the media.

455
00:36:39,260 --> 00:36:42,300
SHOUTING AND CHANTING

456
00:36:44,860 --> 00:36:48,260
NEWSREEL: Ecstatic crowds of BJP
supporters started to celebrate

457
00:36:48,260 --> 00:36:51,260
the election win
before it was official.

458
00:36:51,260 --> 00:36:54,100
The architect of victory,
Narendra Modi,

459
00:36:54,100 --> 00:36:57,140
the controversial
Chief Minister of Gujarat.

460
00:36:59,420 --> 00:37:04,380
The more Mr Modi was attacked,
the stronger he became by simply

461
00:37:04,380 --> 00:37:07,860
saying that he was being targeted
only because he was standing

462
00:37:07,860 --> 00:37:09,900
up for the rights of Hindus.

463
00:37:12,140 --> 00:37:14,620
A new repertoire had taken shape.

464
00:37:15,820 --> 00:37:19,900
You polarise your vote, and you get
the majority supporting you.

465
00:37:34,260 --> 00:37:37,980
I just entered a taxi
and suddenly I got a call

466
00:37:37,980 --> 00:37:40,620
from a journalist friend of mine

467
00:37:40,620 --> 00:37:45,060
and she said, "Do you know what
has happened to Haren Pandya?"

468
00:37:48,740 --> 00:37:51,460
She told me that he was...
he was killed.

469
00:37:55,660 --> 00:38:00,180
He's found dead in a car under
very suspicious circumstances.

470
00:38:00,180 --> 00:38:04,260
The entry point of the bullet
wound is at the groin.

471
00:38:04,260 --> 00:38:08,860
There is no blood lying there
where there should have been blood.

472
00:38:08,860 --> 00:38:12,140
There is no way from the position
he was in that he could

473
00:38:12,140 --> 00:38:14,340
have been killed sitting in the car.

474
00:38:14,340 --> 00:38:16,620
Evidence suggests he was killed
elsewhere,

475
00:38:16,620 --> 00:38:18,780
his body put in the car
and placed there.

476
00:38:22,300 --> 00:38:26,260
The death of Haren Pandya
is a mystery -

477
00:38:26,260 --> 00:38:28,180
a well-kept mystery, probably.

478
00:38:28,180 --> 00:38:31,580
There is, to my knowledge,
no serious investigation.

479
00:38:32,980 --> 00:38:35,380
The murder of Haren Pandya
remains one of the big

480
00:38:35,380 --> 00:38:37,780
mysteries, even today.

481
00:38:37,780 --> 00:38:40,940
Mr Pandya was killed in a murder
which has really not

482
00:38:40,940 --> 00:38:42,340
been answered yet.

483
00:38:43,580 --> 00:38:46,620
12 men were jailed in connection
with his murder,

484
00:38:46,620 --> 00:38:48,620
but this verdict was overturned -

485
00:38:48,620 --> 00:38:51,580
the court blaming
a botched investigation.

486
00:38:51,580 --> 00:38:53,860
NEWSREEL: All accused in the Haren
Pandya murder case

487
00:38:53,860 --> 00:38:55,100
have been acquitted.

488
00:38:55,100 --> 00:38:57,700
Haren Pandya was the former home
minister, you might remember,

489
00:38:57,700 --> 00:38:59,220
of Gujarat...

490
00:38:59,220 --> 00:39:04,820
In 2019, India's Supreme Court
upheld the original verdict,

491
00:39:04,820 --> 00:39:08,460
but even some in Mr Modi's
own party have doubts

492
00:39:08,460 --> 00:39:11,820
about the investigation
into Mr Pandya's death.

493
00:39:13,340 --> 00:39:15,100
I knew him personally.

494
00:39:15,100 --> 00:39:21,900
I think the killing of Mr Pandya
was tragic and suspicious,

495
00:39:21,900 --> 00:39:24,980
and the
circumstances explained to me

496
00:39:24,980 --> 00:39:26,300
don't make me believe in it.

497
00:39:26,300 --> 00:39:29,860
I'd like to know
who organised it so well.

498
00:39:31,220 --> 00:39:37,380
It is not some, just a stray, say,
killer or somebody taking revenge...

499
00:39:38,820 --> 00:39:40,860
..but it is well-organised.

500
00:39:40,860 --> 00:39:44,300
I don't think it has
been properly investigated.

501
00:39:46,220 --> 00:39:49,300
He was killed by terrorists
who wanted to kill him

502
00:39:49,300 --> 00:39:52,900
so that the blame could be
apportioned to Narendra Modi.

503
00:39:52,900 --> 00:39:54,820
The investigation was thorough.

504
00:39:54,820 --> 00:39:58,820
It went into every stage
of the Indian judicial process

505
00:39:58,820 --> 00:40:01,020
and culminated in
a Supreme Court judgment.

506
00:40:01,020 --> 00:40:03,820
I think we should leave it at that.

507
00:40:14,420 --> 00:40:18,980
In Yorkshire, the Dawood family
were losing faith that the police

508
00:40:18,980 --> 00:40:21,460
in Gujarat would catch the men
who killed

509
00:40:21,460 --> 00:40:23,540
Saeed, Shakil and Mohammed.

510
00:40:25,980 --> 00:40:29,620
There were some serious doubts
arising in terms of what the Indian

511
00:40:29,620 --> 00:40:32,860
police were doing, because on
the one hand they were saying

512
00:40:32,860 --> 00:40:34,420
that they were doing everything.

513
00:40:34,420 --> 00:40:37,500
On the other hand, we were seeing
no results whatsoever.

514
00:40:40,180 --> 00:40:43,420
In respect to the investigation,

515
00:40:43,420 --> 00:40:46,220
we had no confidence in the Indian
police.

516
00:40:46,220 --> 00:40:51,740
It turned out that the police hadn't
even done basic investigations.

517
00:40:51,740 --> 00:40:54,980
They hadn't gone to the scene
of the crime.

518
00:40:54,980 --> 00:40:58,820
Family members went to the
crime scene themselves and made

519
00:40:58,820 --> 00:41:00,900
a terrible discovery.

520
00:41:00,900 --> 00:41:07,220
They found burnt remains, including
bone fragments, bits of teeth.

521
00:41:07,220 --> 00:41:11,620
It seemed from what everybody
was indicating that those remains

522
00:41:11,620 --> 00:41:15,300
were Saeed and Shakil's.

523
00:41:17,780 --> 00:41:21,820
The police seemed to be putting
up a wall and were completely

524
00:41:21,820 --> 00:41:25,060
disinterested in helping
us get to the truth.

525
00:41:27,980 --> 00:41:30,980
Then there was an unexpected
development.

526
00:41:30,980 --> 00:41:34,020
NEWSREEL: The controversial chief
minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi,

527
00:41:34,020 --> 00:41:36,100
has arrived in London
on a short visit.

528
00:41:36,100 --> 00:41:39,180
He presides over the state
where as many as 2,000 people

529
00:41:39,180 --> 00:41:40,820
were killed in communal rioting...

530
00:41:40,820 --> 00:41:43,460
I thought this was a great
opportunity for the family

531
00:41:43,460 --> 00:41:47,820
and for the victims for him
to be arrested here in the UK.

532
00:41:47,820 --> 00:41:51,940
The idea was that the family
would go to court and seek

533
00:41:51,940 --> 00:41:54,340
to prosecute Narendra Modi.

534
00:41:54,340 --> 00:41:58,860
We had pages - hundreds
of pages - of reports.

535
00:41:58,860 --> 00:42:04,660
All of them were clear
that this was a massacre.

536
00:42:05,900 --> 00:42:09,340
Most importantly,
that there was state collusion.

537
00:42:10,580 --> 00:42:15,260
And so the chain of command went
all the way to the Chief Minister.

538
00:42:15,260 --> 00:42:19,860
Although the offence took place
in India, it could be prosecuted

539
00:42:19,860 --> 00:42:21,100
in this country.

540
00:42:24,380 --> 00:42:30,420
An Indian diplomat said when news of
the plan leaked, there was panic.

541
00:42:30,420 --> 00:42:35,780
Mr Modi was reportedly urged to
leave Britain on the next plane.

542
00:42:35,780 --> 00:42:40,220
I argued in front of the judge
for Narendra Modi's arrest.

543
00:42:40,220 --> 00:42:42,860
The judge said, "I can see
all the things that you've put

544
00:42:42,860 --> 00:42:44,860
"before me, Mr Kahn, but really

545
00:42:44,860 --> 00:42:47,260
"what I need is the witness
statements."

546
00:42:47,260 --> 00:42:50,180
The evidence that we would
need to prosecute it

547
00:42:50,180 --> 00:42:53,260
would have been somebody
somewhere along the chain of command

548
00:42:53,260 --> 00:42:56,100
saying, "Yes, there was an order

549
00:42:56,100 --> 00:42:59,940
"not to take any action,
allowing this to happen."

550
00:42:59,940 --> 00:43:03,980
Mr Khan says that the evidence
that has emerged since then -

551
00:43:03,980 --> 00:43:07,460
even though it is fiercely
contested - has made him

552
00:43:07,460 --> 00:43:11,300
more convinced of the merits
of his case.

553
00:43:11,300 --> 00:43:14,740
Knowing what we now know, and the
information that we now have,

554
00:43:14,740 --> 00:43:18,820
if we had had that at that time,
I'm pretty sure that a summons

555
00:43:18,820 --> 00:43:21,740
would have been issued
for Modi's arrest.

556
00:43:23,500 --> 00:43:26,140
We were bitterly disappointed
the judge didn't issue the warrant,

557
00:43:26,140 --> 00:43:32,020
but we understood this was going
to be a quite a long campaign

558
00:43:32,020 --> 00:43:35,460
in terms of getting answers
and getting justice and holding

559
00:43:35,460 --> 00:43:36,660
people to account.

560
00:43:47,260 --> 00:43:51,540
Western governments began to take
action against Narendra Modi

561
00:43:51,540 --> 00:43:54,060
over the Gujarat violence.

562
00:43:54,060 --> 00:43:58,220
The UK imposed a diplomatic boycott
and de facto travel ban.

563
00:43:59,580 --> 00:44:03,700
There was essentially a travel
ban imposed on Modi.

564
00:44:03,700 --> 00:44:06,900
I would like to have seen much
stronger action, but I think

565
00:44:06,900 --> 00:44:10,020
we probably did end up doing
as much as we could.

566
00:44:10,020 --> 00:44:15,500
In 2005, the US government formally
revoked a visa for Mr Modi

567
00:44:15,500 --> 00:44:20,140
under a law that targets government
officials responsible for severe

568
00:44:20,140 --> 00:44:22,380
violations of religious freedom.

569
00:44:23,420 --> 00:44:25,860
The US are saying this is not
acceptable.

570
00:44:25,860 --> 00:44:29,540
Mr Modi? Would you like
to speak to the BBC, Mr Modi?

571
00:44:29,540 --> 00:44:32,220
Barred from entering
the United States,

572
00:44:32,220 --> 00:44:34,540
barred from entering
the United Kingdom.

573
00:44:34,540 --> 00:44:37,780
On the international stage,
it makes him somewhat of a pariah.

574
00:45:07,860 --> 00:45:13,180
In 2007, a reporter went undercover
in Gujarat to investigate

575
00:45:13,180 --> 00:45:16,220
what had happened during
the violence.

576
00:45:16,220 --> 00:45:18,300
Posing as a Hindu extremist,

577
00:45:18,300 --> 00:45:22,180
he secretly filmed one of
the killers boasting about the role

578
00:45:22,180 --> 00:45:23,340
he had played.

579
00:45:24,420 --> 00:45:29,660
Babu Bajrangi was accused of leading
a mob that killed around 100 people.

580
00:45:49,340 --> 00:45:54,220
Mr Bajrangi made an extraordinary
claim about Narendra Modi.

581
00:45:54,220 --> 00:45:57,660
He said that when he was arrested
for murder, several months

582
00:45:57,660 --> 00:46:02,500
after the massacre, Mr Modi helped
him get bail by changing the judge.

583
00:46:15,140 --> 00:46:18,620
Mr Bajrangi later claimed
he was reading from a script given

584
00:46:18,620 --> 00:46:20,620
to him by the reporter.

585
00:46:20,620 --> 00:46:26,300
Though a judge ruled the veracity
of the sting was not in dispute.

586
00:46:26,300 --> 00:46:29,500
In 2012, Mr Bajrangi was jailed
for murder.

587
00:46:30,900 --> 00:46:35,820
And he wasn't the only one who made
damaging claims about Mr Modi.

588
00:46:35,820 --> 00:46:38,740
Haresh Bhatt,
a local BJP politician,

589
00:46:38,740 --> 00:46:42,620
said he was at a political meeting
addressed by Mr Modi

590
00:46:42,620 --> 00:46:44,980
shortly after the train burning.

591
00:47:17,100 --> 00:47:21,340
Mr Bhatt later said he told
the reporter an imaginary story.

592
00:47:22,980 --> 00:47:26,620
Mr Modi has said allegations
against him in the recordings

593
00:47:26,620 --> 00:47:28,420
are false and incorrect.

594
00:47:31,100 --> 00:47:35,380
You often find that activists
at the lower level...

595
00:47:37,060 --> 00:47:38,020
..make claims...

596
00:47:39,660 --> 00:47:43,500
..which are, in hindsight,
quite preposterous.

597
00:47:43,500 --> 00:47:46,140
They exaggerate their own
importance.

598
00:47:47,980 --> 00:47:51,420
But pressure was now building
for a new investigation

599
00:47:51,420 --> 00:47:52,700
into the violence.

600
00:48:01,180 --> 00:48:05,220
By the beginning of 2011,
Narendra Modi had run Gujarat

601
00:48:05,220 --> 00:48:06,700
for nearly a decade.

602
00:48:09,900 --> 00:48:13,100
Despite the controversies,
some were now tipping him

603
00:48:13,100 --> 00:48:15,380
for an even bigger job -

604
00:48:15,380 --> 00:48:18,220
India's next Prime Minister.

605
00:48:18,220 --> 00:48:22,100
Modi started to think
about national politics

606
00:48:22,100 --> 00:48:26,460
very early on, projecting
himself as a national leader

607
00:48:33,660 --> 00:48:35,940
It was already clear
that he was headed

608
00:48:35,940 --> 00:48:40,140
on a course which would lead him
to the national state.

609
00:48:40,140 --> 00:48:42,700
But Mr Modi had a problem.

610
00:48:44,420 --> 00:48:46,260
SHOUTING

611
00:48:47,940 --> 00:48:52,300
India's Supreme Court had ordered
a wide-ranging investigation

612
00:48:52,300 --> 00:48:55,220
into the Gujarat violence.

613
00:48:55,220 --> 00:49:00,300
A special investigation team -
or SIT - was examining the Dawood

614
00:49:00,300 --> 00:49:04,220
family murders and allegations
made by Ehsan Jafri's

615
00:49:04,220 --> 00:49:09,620
widow that Mr Modi was part
of a criminal conspiracy that led

616
00:49:09,620 --> 00:49:12,820
to the disorder and killings
across the state.

617
00:49:15,300 --> 00:49:17,340
NEWSREEL: Modi seems to be
unstoppable.

618
00:49:17,340 --> 00:49:20,380
But the ghosts of the past don't
leave him alone.

619
00:49:20,380 --> 00:49:24,020
Grilled for nine hours
on the case in 2010, the stain

620
00:49:24,020 --> 00:49:25,460
on his image remains.

621
00:49:26,900 --> 00:49:29,540
The mandate was to look
into the possibility

622
00:49:29,540 --> 00:49:32,380
that there was a criminal
conspiracy by the government

623
00:49:32,380 --> 00:49:33,700
led by Narendra Modi.

624
00:49:33,700 --> 00:49:37,100
But the criminal conspiracy
is a particular term in law

625
00:49:37,100 --> 00:49:40,180
which requires a very strong
standard of evidence.

626
00:49:40,180 --> 00:49:43,060
For the first time in the history
of independent India, a sitting

627
00:49:43,060 --> 00:49:46,380
chief minister, Narendra Modi,
has been questioned on the role

628
00:49:46,380 --> 00:49:50,020
of his government in mass murders
in connection with the post-Godhra

629
00:49:50,020 --> 00:49:51,340
riots in Gujarat.

630
00:49:51,340 --> 00:49:54,380
I think Mr Modi definitely
was very worried.

631
00:49:54,380 --> 00:49:57,740
The special investigation team
was definitely a very serious

632
00:49:57,740 --> 00:50:01,020
threat to Mr Modi's
political career.

633
00:50:01,020 --> 00:50:04,660
An important witness was the former
head of police intelligence

634
00:50:04,660 --> 00:50:10,340
in Gujarat, RB Sreekumar, who'd made
a string of claims about police

635
00:50:10,340 --> 00:50:12,940
and government failures.

636
00:50:12,940 --> 00:50:16,460
He claimed that, on the night
of the Gujarat train burning,

637
00:50:16,460 --> 00:50:19,860
Mr Modi instructed officials
to allow Hindus

638
00:50:19,860 --> 00:50:21,860
to give vent to their anger.

639
00:50:23,300 --> 00:50:26,580
He claimed Gujarat's police chief
had told him this -

640
00:50:26,580 --> 00:50:28,860
though the chief denied it.

641
00:50:28,860 --> 00:50:32,180
Without Sreekumar, the case
against the Narendra Modi

642
00:50:32,180 --> 00:50:34,340
government would be much weaker

643
00:50:34,340 --> 00:50:36,780
simply because there would
have been no information

644
00:50:36,780 --> 00:50:39,740
from inside the government which
would tell you what was happening.

645
00:50:39,740 --> 00:50:44,460
In that sense, he was a central
figure in this investigation.

646
00:50:44,460 --> 00:50:48,500
Another senior police officer,
Sanjiv Bhatt, gave evidence.

647
00:50:50,180 --> 00:50:53,220
NEWSREEL: The ghost of the Godhra
riots back to haunt Narendra Modi.

648
00:50:53,220 --> 00:50:56,500
This time it's senior police officer
Sanjiv Bhatt who alleges

649
00:50:56,500 --> 00:50:58,860
that Modi was complicit
in the Godhra riots.

650
00:50:58,860 --> 00:51:02,420
In an affidavit filed in the Supreme
Court, Bhatt says that he was

651
00:51:02,420 --> 00:51:04,980
present at the crucial law and order
meeting chaired by Modi.

652
00:51:04,980 --> 00:51:06,140
I know my truth.

653
00:51:06,140 --> 00:51:10,220
I've stated my truth and I have sent
there a note in an affidavit

654
00:51:10,220 --> 00:51:12,740
submitted to the highest court
of the land.

655
00:51:12,740 --> 00:51:15,540
When he started reporting
before the SIT inquiry,

656
00:51:15,540 --> 00:51:19,180
my father stated that
the control room contacted him,

657
00:51:19,180 --> 00:51:21,860
saying that an unofficial
meeting has been called

658
00:51:21,860 --> 00:51:25,740
at the Chief Minister's residence
and that his presence was required.

659
00:51:27,180 --> 00:51:31,580
He said that Narendra Modi ended
up saying that the emotions

660
00:51:31,580 --> 00:51:34,860
were running very high in the Hindus
and it was imperative

661
00:51:34,860 --> 00:51:38,260
that the Hindus be allowed
to vent their anger.

662
00:51:39,580 --> 00:51:43,300
He said that Narendra Modi
had directed the police force

663
00:51:43,300 --> 00:51:46,220
to step down, look the other way.

664
00:51:46,220 --> 00:51:50,700
Mr Modi and other officials at
the meeting said Mr Bhatt did not

665
00:51:50,700 --> 00:51:55,180
attend, but an independent adviser
to the Supreme Court said

666
00:51:55,180 --> 00:51:59,900
there was enough evidence
to consider prosecuting Mr Modi.

667
00:51:59,900 --> 00:52:03,980
This is a prominent legal person
who has reached his own conclusions

668
00:52:03,980 --> 00:52:06,940
about what is there and I think some
of those conclusions needed

669
00:52:06,940 --> 00:52:08,340
to be taken note of.

670
00:52:11,500 --> 00:52:13,260
In major relief for Narendra Modi,

671
00:52:13,260 --> 00:52:16,340
the Supreme Court-appointed rights
panel has found no evidence

672
00:52:16,340 --> 00:52:18,020
against the Gujarat Chief Minister.

673
00:52:18,020 --> 00:52:21,180
The complainant, Zakia Jafri,
had accused Modi of ordering

674
00:52:21,180 --> 00:52:23,380
officials to give rioters
a free hand -

675
00:52:23,380 --> 00:52:26,860
the only complaint that named him.

676
00:52:26,860 --> 00:52:32,260
After three years, the SIT ruled
that Mr Modi would face no charges.

677
00:52:33,780 --> 00:52:38,140
It said RB Sreekumar's account
was hearsay, and Sanjiv Bhatt's

678
00:52:38,140 --> 00:52:41,300
account could not be relied on.

679
00:52:41,300 --> 00:52:43,900
It said claims about
the instructions Mr Modi

680
00:52:43,900 --> 00:52:46,100
had given were not established.

681
00:52:49,940 --> 00:52:51,620
NEWSREEL: So, what next for Modi?

682
00:52:51,620 --> 00:52:56,100
Legal experts say he has not got
a clean chit in the rights -

683
00:52:56,100 --> 00:52:58,500
just that there is no evidence.

684
00:52:58,500 --> 00:53:00,180
But it could...

685
00:53:00,180 --> 00:53:03,420
The ruling did not stop the debate
over what had happened.

686
00:53:04,980 --> 00:53:08,980
The special investigation team
could not succeed, for many,

687
00:53:08,980 --> 00:53:10,580
many different reasons.

688
00:53:10,580 --> 00:53:14,460
The investigation team had to rely
somewhat on the Gujarat police.

689
00:53:15,580 --> 00:53:20,700
Much of the investigation on the
ground is done by police officers,

690
00:53:20,700 --> 00:53:23,740
and among the people
who stand indicted

691
00:53:23,740 --> 00:53:26,780
are the Gujarat police force itself.

692
00:53:26,780 --> 00:53:31,260
The SIT report is really
very superficial.

693
00:53:31,260 --> 00:53:37,140
It doesn't explain how
this pogrom could take place.

694
00:53:37,140 --> 00:53:42,020
So, of course, it underestimates -
I mean, it minimises the roles

695
00:53:42,020 --> 00:53:44,660
of the top leaders,
the chain of command.

696
00:53:44,660 --> 00:53:49,020
To establish criminal conspiracy
in law is often very difficult.

697
00:53:49,020 --> 00:53:52,380
Just because they have arrived
at the conclusion there was no

698
00:53:52,380 --> 00:53:56,260
criminal conspiracy is not
the same as saying the conduct

699
00:53:56,260 --> 00:53:59,500
is above question, that
there were not serious lapses.

700
00:53:59,500 --> 00:54:03,780
That in no way takes away
all the important questions

701
00:54:03,780 --> 00:54:07,100
that still stand
on the 2002 violence.

702
00:54:07,100 --> 00:54:10,340
Yes, there were some people who said
they were at a particular meeting

703
00:54:10,340 --> 00:54:11,860
when others said they were not.

704
00:54:11,860 --> 00:54:15,860
Agenda was to destroy
Narendra Modi politically.

705
00:54:15,860 --> 00:54:18,060
The agenda was explicitly political.

706
00:54:18,060 --> 00:54:21,020
I don't think they were
concerned about Muslim victims,

707
00:54:21,020 --> 00:54:24,060
and these included a section
of the media, these included

708
00:54:24,060 --> 00:54:26,140
journalists, these included NGOs.

709
00:54:26,140 --> 00:54:29,740
I think ultimately at the end
of the day, the SIT findings

710
00:54:29,740 --> 00:54:31,620
didn't implicate Mr Modi.

711
00:54:34,020 --> 00:54:36,860
The SIT gave a clean chit
to Narendra Modi.

712
00:54:36,860 --> 00:54:40,540
We have to have faith on our
institution and we have to put

713
00:54:40,540 --> 00:54:43,980
a full stop on something
and we have to move forward.

714
00:54:43,980 --> 00:54:46,620
CROWD CHEERING

715
00:54:46,620 --> 00:54:49,820
The verdict cleared the way
for Mr Modi to run

716
00:54:49,820 --> 00:54:51,700
for prime minister.

717
00:54:51,700 --> 00:54:53,860
The travel bans were lifted.

718
00:54:55,100 --> 00:54:58,540
Diplomatic relations with the West
were restored.

719
00:55:00,060 --> 00:55:02,660
I don't think that I had any doubt
that Mr Modi

720
00:55:02,660 --> 00:55:05,420
is going to be the next
prime minister.

721
00:55:07,140 --> 00:55:10,260
NEWSREEL: Narendra Modi,
India's next Prime Minister,

722
00:55:10,260 --> 00:55:12,820
riding into Delhi in triumph,

723
00:55:12,820 --> 00:55:16,660
after he won an election landslide
with his promise that good days

724
00:55:16,660 --> 00:55:18,260
are coming for India.

725
00:55:32,540 --> 00:55:35,580
Sanjiv Bhatt was jailed
for life in 2019

726
00:55:35,580 --> 00:55:39,860
over a death-in-custody case
dating back 30 years.

727
00:55:41,060 --> 00:55:46,140
His family insists he's innocent,
and many say his trial was unfair.

728
00:55:47,980 --> 00:55:51,220
The government will try to do
whatever they can to ensure

729
00:55:51,220 --> 00:55:53,860
that my father's voice is not heard.

730
00:55:55,620 --> 00:55:59,700
He is the sole surviving
witness who can tie Narendra Modi

731
00:55:59,700 --> 00:56:01,740
to the carnage of 2002.

732
00:56:04,980 --> 00:56:09,100
No-one has ever been convicted
for the Dawood family murders.

733
00:56:12,140 --> 00:56:15,780
Still feeling very angry,
very frustrated.

734
00:56:17,020 --> 00:56:20,140
It feels like
there's no justice there.

735
00:56:23,780 --> 00:56:29,380
Ehsan Jafri's widow challenged
the findings of the SIT in court.

736
00:56:29,380 --> 00:56:34,980
In June 2022, India's Supreme Court
upheld the findings,

737
00:56:34,980 --> 00:56:38,340
saying there was no larger
conspiracy.

738
00:56:38,340 --> 00:56:42,060
It ruled the testimonies
of Sanjiv Bhatt and RB Sreekumar

739
00:56:42,060 --> 00:56:47,260
were replete with falsehood and said
those involved in abuse of process

740
00:56:47,260 --> 00:56:49,500
need to be in the dock.

741
00:56:49,500 --> 00:56:53,780
Shortly after, Mr Modi's
closest political ally

742
00:56:53,780 --> 00:56:55,300
spoke out about the case.

743
00:57:26,500 --> 00:57:31,340
The police arrested Mr Sreekumar and
a high-profile human-rights worker

744
00:57:31,340 --> 00:57:34,780
who helped Mrs Jafri bring the case.

745
00:57:34,780 --> 00:57:39,660
Sanjiv Bhatt, already in prison, was
named in the police complaint, too.

746
00:57:40,900 --> 00:57:45,180
All three are accused
of fabricating evidence.

747
00:57:45,180 --> 00:57:49,420
20 years on, the Gujarat
violence remains controversial.

748
00:57:52,940 --> 00:57:56,540
None of the people arrested
were sources for our report

749
00:57:56,540 --> 00:58:00,380
and the findings of our
investigation still stand.

750
00:58:00,380 --> 00:58:04,460
2,000 people were murdered
in Gujarat in 2002

751
00:58:04,460 --> 00:58:09,020
in a campaign of violence that
was clearly well organised.

752
00:58:10,140 --> 00:58:12,180
That remains a fact.

753
00:58:12,180 --> 00:58:14,820
Now Mr Modi is in power,

754
00:58:14,820 --> 00:58:18,060
it seems to me that history
is being rewritten.

755
00:58:22,340 --> 00:58:25,780
The Supreme Court gave a judgment
which actually brought the whole

756
00:58:25,780 --> 00:58:27,380
matter to a closure.

757
00:58:27,380 --> 00:58:29,220
The closure was necessary.

758
00:59:39,300 --> 00:59:41,900
My name is Alishan Jafri.

759
00:59:41,900 --> 00:59:45,620
I am a journalist reporting
on hate crimes

760
00:59:45,620 --> 00:59:48,460
and the rise of extreme politics.

761
00:59:50,980 --> 00:59:56,660
India is a state where calls
for genocide against Muslims

762
00:59:56,660 --> 00:59:57,780
are on the rise.

763
01:00:13,420 --> 01:00:16,260
There is a very direct call
to violence

764
01:00:16,260 --> 01:00:19,100
to make India a Hindu nation.

765
01:00:29,580 --> 01:00:33,060
The Prime Minister of this country
should have spoken against it.

766
01:00:34,020 --> 01:00:35,860
But he does not speak up.

767
01:00:37,860 --> 01:00:41,140
CROWD CHANTS: Modi! Modi! Modi!

768
01:00:46,540 --> 01:00:48,220
REPORTER: The man of the moment.

769
01:00:49,260 --> 01:00:51,780
Prime Minister of India.

770
01:00:51,780 --> 01:00:55,500
He is the leader
of the world's biggest democracy.

771
01:00:55,500 --> 01:00:59,900
Narendra Damodardas Modi.

772
01:01:01,100 --> 01:01:05,580
He came to power promising
a new age of prosperity.

773
01:01:08,220 --> 01:01:11,100
CHEERING

774
01:01:12,500 --> 01:01:15,700
But his rule has been marred
by religious turmoil.

775
01:01:15,700 --> 01:01:17,860
REPORTER: There have been
violent protests

776
01:01:17,860 --> 01:01:19,820
in opposition to a new
citizenship law,

777
01:01:19,820 --> 01:01:21,340
which many see as discriminating

778
01:01:21,340 --> 01:01:23,340
against the nation's
Muslim minority.

779
01:01:23,340 --> 01:01:26,380
REPORTER: Many in India see this law
as anti-Muslim.

780
01:01:26,380 --> 01:01:28,020
REPORTER: Massive pelting.

781
01:01:28,020 --> 01:01:30,820
Massive pelting as of now
is going on.

782
01:01:35,540 --> 01:01:38,980
This series tells the story
of Narendra Modi's

783
01:01:38,980 --> 01:01:42,860
troubled relationship
with India's Muslims.

784
01:01:42,860 --> 01:01:47,740
As a young child, Mr Modi joined
an organisation which believes

785
01:01:47,740 --> 01:01:50,780
that this is a country
of the Hindus.

786
01:01:50,780 --> 01:01:53,460
Could he have done more
to prevent violence

787
01:01:53,460 --> 01:01:55,740
that killed hundreds of Muslims?

788
01:01:57,260 --> 01:02:00,980
We were hearing that those orders
to let all this happen

789
01:02:00,980 --> 01:02:02,620
were coming from the top.

790
01:02:02,620 --> 01:02:04,580
It is obviously a stain
on his reputation.

791
01:02:04,580 --> 01:02:06,420
There's no way out of that.

792
01:02:06,420 --> 01:02:08,420
I'm not agree with your analysis.

793
01:02:08,420 --> 01:02:10,300
I'm not agree with your information.

794
01:02:10,300 --> 01:02:13,180
From where you have picked up
this type of garbage, I do not know.

795
01:02:14,460 --> 01:02:17,580
He was cleared
of criminal conspiracy,

796
01:02:17,580 --> 01:02:21,860
a finding upheld
by India's highest court.

797
01:02:21,860 --> 01:02:25,260
Agenda was to destroy
Narendra Modi politically.

798
01:02:25,260 --> 01:02:27,500
The agenda was explicitly political.

799
01:02:27,500 --> 01:02:30,700
But concerns will not go away.

800
01:02:30,700 --> 01:02:33,500
Questions remained over Mr Modi's
head for a long time,

801
01:02:33,500 --> 01:02:36,060
and they remain over him now.

802
01:02:36,060 --> 01:02:40,140
Narendra Modi has promised
to build a new India.

803
01:02:40,140 --> 01:02:44,020
But what does that mean for
the millions of people who belong

804
01:02:44,020 --> 01:02:46,020
to its largest minority?

805
01:02:46,020 --> 01:02:49,660
This regime wants to disenfranchise
the Muslims

806
01:02:49,660 --> 01:02:52,900
and make India a Hindu nation.

807
01:04:20,300 --> 01:04:24,340
HORNS HONK, THEY SHOUT

808
01:04:37,860 --> 01:04:41,980
Mariam's husband,
Alimuddin, was a Muslim.

809
01:04:41,980 --> 01:04:44,060
His attackers were Hindu.

810
01:05:24,900 --> 01:05:27,100
Prior to Modi coming to power,

811
01:05:27,100 --> 01:05:29,540
there is intercommunal violence
in India.

812
01:05:29,540 --> 01:05:35,420
Sometimes this involves lynchings
of Muslims, of Hindus, of Sikhs.

813
01:05:35,420 --> 01:05:36,900
But definitely we can say

814
01:05:36,900 --> 01:05:39,220
that after 2014
there are increased

815
01:05:39,220 --> 01:05:41,300
numbers of lynchings
towards the Muslim population.

816
01:05:45,140 --> 01:05:48,580
Alimuddin's attackers accused him
of trading beef,

817
01:05:48,580 --> 01:05:51,980
something that had been becoming
increasingly controversial

818
01:05:51,980 --> 01:05:54,100
under Narendra Modi's rule.

819
01:05:54,100 --> 01:05:57,380
Hindus consider cows to be sacred.

820
01:05:57,380 --> 01:06:00,300
REPORTER: Two Muslim women were
beaten, allegedly by the members

821
01:06:00,300 --> 01:06:01,780
of a Hindu radical group.

822
01:06:01,780 --> 01:06:03,620
REPORTER: Now, this happened
when the police

823
01:06:03,620 --> 01:06:05,580
received a tip-off that two women

824
01:06:05,580 --> 01:06:08,340
on a local train were bringing beef
to sell...

825
01:06:08,340 --> 01:06:10,940
A large mob dragged 50-year-old
Mohammad Akhlaq Saifi

826
01:06:10,940 --> 01:06:12,300
out of his home,

827
01:06:12,300 --> 01:06:15,740
killing him in front of his family
with the equipment he uses for...

828
01:06:15,740 --> 01:06:18,500
And it began with a speech
that the Prime Minister made.

829
01:06:34,300 --> 01:06:38,260
Mr Modi said that India
was participating in what he called

830
01:06:38,260 --> 01:06:39,620
the Pink Revolution.

831
01:06:39,620 --> 01:06:42,260
The Pink Revolution refers
to the export of beef

832
01:06:42,260 --> 01:06:45,780
and the sort of bloody images
of meat.

833
01:06:45,780 --> 01:06:50,980
In response to that, the BJP states
criminalised the possession of beef.

834
01:06:54,220 --> 01:06:56,740
After that, the violence began.

835
01:06:58,220 --> 01:07:00,260
Over three and a half years,

836
01:07:00,260 --> 01:07:05,620
vigilantes would kill 44 people
and injure around 280

837
01:07:05,620 --> 01:07:07,220
in cow-related violence.

838
01:07:08,220 --> 01:07:10,980
Most victims were Muslim.

839
01:07:10,980 --> 01:07:13,500
Few of the attackers
were brought to justice.

840
01:07:15,580 --> 01:07:19,620
There were calls for Mr Modi
to condemn the violence,

841
01:07:19,620 --> 01:07:21,460
but he was largely silent.

842
01:07:22,900 --> 01:07:26,100
His silence is heard by the people
as appreciation.

843
01:07:26,100 --> 01:07:28,540
It is a clear signal that -
go ahead,

844
01:07:28,540 --> 01:07:30,580
nothing will be done against you.

845
01:07:33,420 --> 01:07:35,380
Amid mounting criticism,

846
01:07:35,380 --> 01:07:39,300
on the day of Alimuddin's murder,
Mr Modi spoke out.

847
01:07:54,020 --> 01:07:56,820
Then there was
a surprising development.

848
01:07:58,420 --> 01:08:02,740
REPORTER: Three days after Alimuddin
Ansari was killed by cow vigilantes,

849
01:08:02,740 --> 01:08:06,940
the first political arrest
in the case, Nityanand Mahato,

850
01:08:06,940 --> 01:08:09,220
the BJP's district spokesman.

851
01:08:09,220 --> 01:08:13,260
Police say a video of the incident
shows Mahato dragged Ansari

852
01:08:13,260 --> 01:08:15,060
out of the van.

853
01:08:15,060 --> 01:08:20,340
BJP spokesman Nityanand Mahato was
found guilty of Alimuddin's murder

854
01:08:20,340 --> 01:08:23,420
and sentenced to life in prison.

855
01:08:23,420 --> 01:08:27,100
But one of Mr Modi's
government ministers helped him

856
01:08:27,100 --> 01:08:30,500
and the other convicted men
with their legal fees.

857
01:08:31,540 --> 01:08:33,100
And when they were bailed,

858
01:08:33,100 --> 01:08:36,980
he welcomed them
with garlands of flowers.

859
01:08:36,980 --> 01:08:38,820
REPORTER: Jayant Sinha remains
brazen,

860
01:08:38,820 --> 01:08:40,660
despite outrage over his move

861
01:08:40,660 --> 01:08:45,220
to welcome and garland the eight
convicts of the 2017 lynching.

862
01:08:45,220 --> 01:08:49,380
So is there tacit support
by the state for actions like these?

863
01:08:51,020 --> 01:08:54,900
Mr Sinha said he assisted the men
because they were poor.

864
01:08:54,900 --> 01:08:59,300
He criticised the way photos of him
with them had been misused,

865
01:08:59,300 --> 01:09:01,700
but said he would not do it again.

866
01:09:11,620 --> 01:09:15,660
Over four years later,
the men are still free.

867
01:09:15,660 --> 01:09:19,500
The clear message is that
this is a Hindu majoritarian country

868
01:09:19,500 --> 01:09:22,540
and anybody who does anything
or takes any action

869
01:09:22,540 --> 01:09:26,580
which is against the sentiment
of the Hindus of India

870
01:09:26,580 --> 01:09:28,380
are going to be targeted.

871
01:09:29,420 --> 01:09:32,500
If there is evidence
that certain people

872
01:09:32,500 --> 01:09:35,620
have been guilty of things
like lynching,

873
01:09:35,620 --> 01:09:38,060
it is not the business
of a political party

874
01:09:38,060 --> 01:09:41,580
to condone them or felicitate them.

875
01:09:42,980 --> 01:09:47,700
At the same time, to generalise
from this incident

876
01:09:47,700 --> 01:09:50,700
to mean that this is the standard
practice in India,

877
01:09:50,700 --> 01:09:56,820
this is the character of
the BJP, is, to my mind,

878
01:09:56,820 --> 01:09:58,700
an unwarranted assumption.

879
01:10:03,100 --> 01:10:04,540
If you look back at it now,

880
01:10:04,540 --> 01:10:07,500
the lynchings are the beginnings

881
01:10:07,500 --> 01:10:10,260
of things that became bigger
and bigger.

882
01:10:13,460 --> 01:10:16,100
They are so disturbing
and horrifying.

883
01:10:17,500 --> 01:10:21,340
They were the early warning system
of what was coming.

884
01:10:24,940 --> 01:10:28,500
CROWD CHANTS: Modi! Modi! Modi!

885
01:10:33,020 --> 01:10:36,860
When Mr Modi ran for a second term
as Prime Minister,

886
01:10:36,860 --> 01:10:39,100
his brand of Hindu nationalism

887
01:10:39,100 --> 01:10:42,140
was backed by a record number
of Indian voters.

888
01:10:44,180 --> 01:10:48,220
His party won the largest majority
it had ever seen.

889
01:10:50,580 --> 01:10:52,260
India's Prime Minister,
Narendra Modi,

890
01:10:52,260 --> 01:10:54,980
has secured a second five-year term

891
01:10:54,980 --> 01:10:57,340
in the country's historic
general election.

892
01:10:59,220 --> 01:11:02,660
For the first time, the BJP won in
areas which they had NEVER won in.

893
01:11:03,660 --> 01:11:06,500
You got stupendous victories.

894
01:11:06,500 --> 01:11:08,860
Modi had really, truly become
a pan-India figure.

895
01:11:25,220 --> 01:11:28,060
A victory for Mr Modi was
interpreted

896
01:11:28,060 --> 01:11:31,700
as a mandate
for the muscular nationalism

897
01:11:31,700 --> 01:11:35,340
that Mr Modi and his government
had been projecting.

898
01:11:35,340 --> 01:11:37,580
CROWD CHANTS: Modi! Modi! Modi!

899
01:11:39,220 --> 01:11:41,460
REPORTER: The man of the moment

900
01:11:41,460 --> 01:11:45,660
who will take oath
of secrecy and office

901
01:11:45,660 --> 01:11:49,220
for the second time
as Prime Minister of India.

902
01:11:51,620 --> 01:11:54,700
He was now one of
the most powerful politicians

903
01:11:54,700 --> 01:11:57,460
the country had ever seen.

904
01:12:00,140 --> 01:12:03,380
They realise that they can quickly
instigate their agenda.

905
01:12:04,420 --> 01:12:08,300
The fundamental aim is to Hinduise
the way that India functions

906
01:12:08,300 --> 01:12:10,620
and irrevocably change
the political, social

907
01:12:10,620 --> 01:12:12,140
and cultural nature of India.

908
01:12:12,140 --> 01:12:13,900
Essentially, the gloves are off.

909
01:12:24,220 --> 01:12:27,780
Mr Modi is definitely trying to make
India a majoritarian country,

910
01:12:27,780 --> 01:12:30,420
you know, where Hindu primacy
is established.

911
01:12:30,420 --> 01:12:33,380
I don't think
that there's any doubt about that.

912
01:12:33,380 --> 01:12:36,540
This regime wants to accommodate
the Hindus

913
01:12:36,540 --> 01:12:40,500
and basically disenfranchise
the Muslims.

914
01:12:40,500 --> 01:12:45,060
The idea is to make India
a Hindu nation.

915
01:12:45,060 --> 01:12:46,700
There is a Hindu population
in India.

916
01:12:46,700 --> 01:12:48,740
It's more than... Around 80%.

917
01:12:48,740 --> 01:12:51,780
Major support for BJP
comes from those people,

918
01:12:51,780 --> 01:12:54,820
those who consider themselves
as Hindu.

919
01:12:54,820 --> 01:12:57,180
That doesn't mean
anti-Muslim party or anti-Sikh

920
01:12:57,180 --> 01:12:58,660
or anti-Christian party.

921
01:13:00,260 --> 01:13:03,500
It is the most centralised
government that has ever

922
01:13:03,500 --> 01:13:04,940
been run in India.

923
01:13:04,940 --> 01:13:07,580
There's almost no pushback
to any kind of order

924
01:13:07,580 --> 01:13:09,460
that comes from Narendra Modi.

925
01:13:09,460 --> 01:13:12,420
All decision-making
is directly controlled.

926
01:13:15,900 --> 01:13:19,620
Mr Modi would quickly turn
his attention to the only part

927
01:13:19,620 --> 01:13:22,020
of India with a Muslim majority.

928
01:13:37,420 --> 01:13:39,100
I'm Habeel Iqbal.

929
01:13:39,100 --> 01:13:44,060
I'm a lawyer
and I work in Kashmir.

930
01:13:46,980 --> 01:13:52,060
Many rumours were going on that
the government are going to change

931
01:13:52,060 --> 01:13:53,420
Jammu and Kashmir.

932
01:13:56,260 --> 01:14:00,180
What the politicians were saying
made it clear that something

933
01:14:00,180 --> 01:14:02,140
sinister is in the offing.

934
01:14:06,740 --> 01:14:10,140
Kashmir is one of India's
most sensitive areas...

935
01:14:11,540 --> 01:14:13,620
..marred by years of terrorism

936
01:14:13,620 --> 01:14:17,300
and part of a bitter conflict
with neighbouring Pakistan.

937
01:14:19,860 --> 01:14:21,180
For some 70 years,

938
01:14:21,180 --> 01:14:25,180
special rules had allowed Kashmiris
to run their own affairs.

939
01:14:26,620 --> 01:14:29,900
But this was unacceptable
to the party in power.

940
01:14:33,220 --> 01:14:38,820
The BJP's manifestos,
right from the '90s or even earlier,

941
01:14:38,820 --> 01:14:42,860
had certain particular demands
which were there.

942
01:14:42,860 --> 01:14:46,140
One was the rescinding
of Article 370,

943
01:14:46,140 --> 01:14:49,540
which gives special status
to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

944
01:14:49,540 --> 01:14:52,180
We regard the whole of Kashmir
as a part of India.

945
01:14:52,180 --> 01:14:54,820
So we said, "Why should we have

946
01:14:54,820 --> 01:14:59,060
"this Article 370
to keep Kashmir differently?"

947
01:15:00,180 --> 01:15:02,940
Nine weeks
after Mr Modi's swearing in,

948
01:15:02,940 --> 01:15:04,740
troops were sent into Kashmir.

949
01:15:05,980 --> 01:15:08,460
REPORTER: The government approves
sending in 10,000

950
01:15:08,460 --> 01:15:12,100
additional paramilitary troops
to Jammu and Kashmir.

951
01:15:12,100 --> 01:15:15,020
REPORTER: The centre is now rushing
about 25,000 more

952
01:15:15,020 --> 01:15:17,340
paramilitary personnel
to the valley.

953
01:15:17,340 --> 01:15:21,740
Now, this is all for a massive
security drive to counter terrorism

954
01:15:21,740 --> 01:15:23,940
and bolster the security
preparedness.

955
01:15:25,140 --> 01:15:26,940
REPORTER: Major politicians
in the region

956
01:15:26,940 --> 01:15:28,580
were placed under house arrest.

957
01:15:28,580 --> 01:15:32,180
Internet and phone services
are completely cut off.

958
01:15:35,260 --> 01:15:38,260
Strict curfew was put
throughout Kashmir.

959
01:15:40,140 --> 01:15:44,020
There was a complete
communication blackout.

960
01:15:44,020 --> 01:15:47,460
Completely, we were cut off
from the outside world.

961
01:15:48,660 --> 01:15:51,260
The fear and anxiety
was creeping up.

962
01:15:53,540 --> 01:15:58,020
On the 5th of August, Mr Modi's
government scrapped the arrangement

963
01:15:58,020 --> 01:16:02,260
that gave Kashmir autonomy
and took direct control.

964
01:16:03,260 --> 01:16:05,940
REPORTER: India's government has
made a significant move

965
01:16:05,940 --> 01:16:09,420
to take direct control
of the state of Kashmir.

966
01:16:09,420 --> 01:16:12,220
Opposition parties have called this
one of the darkest days

967
01:16:12,220 --> 01:16:13,820
for Indian democracy.

968
01:16:15,180 --> 01:16:19,100
Now you can say that Jammu and
Kashmir is ruled from New Delhi.

969
01:16:20,780 --> 01:16:25,900
And a new policy of
"Indianisation" is taking place.

970
01:16:28,060 --> 01:16:31,500
Three days later,
Mr Modi addressed the nation.

971
01:17:03,860 --> 01:17:07,260
It was a hugely popular decision
within the country.

972
01:17:08,500 --> 01:17:11,140
It may have been contested
and there might have been other

973
01:17:11,140 --> 01:17:14,900
issues which, vis-a-vis relations
with Pakistan,

974
01:17:14,900 --> 01:17:17,740
but within the country
it was hugely popular.

975
01:17:19,860 --> 01:17:22,860
But in Kashmir,
the reaction was stark.

976
01:17:22,860 --> 01:17:26,500
EXPLOSION, PEOPLE SHOUT

977
01:17:26,500 --> 01:17:28,020
REPORTER: In spite of a curfew,

978
01:17:28,020 --> 01:17:31,620
hundreds of protesters clashed
with police after Friday prayers.

979
01:17:35,940 --> 01:17:39,340
The government knew that
there would be huge protests.

980
01:17:40,820 --> 01:17:44,860
But the response of the state
has been the same

981
01:17:44,860 --> 01:17:47,700
whenever any protest takes place

982
01:17:47,700 --> 01:17:52,140
to suppress
and to silence the protesters.

983
01:17:56,420 --> 01:17:59,340
People were arbitrarily detained.

984
01:17:59,340 --> 01:18:02,100
They were arresting people
left, right and centre.

985
01:18:03,940 --> 01:18:05,420
It was like a horror show.

986
01:18:12,500 --> 01:18:17,060
Nearly 4,000 people were detained
in the first month alone.

987
01:18:18,620 --> 01:18:22,820
Habeel says he began to hear claims
of beatings and torture

988
01:18:22,820 --> 01:18:25,780
at the hands of the authorities.

989
01:18:25,780 --> 01:18:29,340
People had been taken
in the dead of the night

990
01:18:29,340 --> 01:18:33,780
and they were subjected
to extreme physical torture.

991
01:18:36,100 --> 01:18:37,980
One guy I met,

992
01:18:37,980 --> 01:18:40,100
torture was being done on him

993
01:18:40,100 --> 01:18:41,700
and at the same time,

994
01:18:41,700 --> 01:18:45,380
a public address system
was kept near him

995
01:18:45,380 --> 01:18:49,700
so that the entire village
could hear him cry.

996
01:18:52,700 --> 01:18:57,500
It was the tactic to intimidate
the entire population.

997
01:18:57,500 --> 01:19:01,860
They don't want the world to see
what is happening in Kashmir.

998
01:19:03,900 --> 01:19:07,460
The Indian army has vigorously denied
claims of torture.

999
01:19:09,580 --> 01:19:13,500
But the UN's most senior
human rights expert spoke out.

1000
01:19:14,820 --> 01:19:17,500
I am deeply concerned
about the impact of recent actions

1001
01:19:17,500 --> 01:19:20,580
by the government of India
on the human rights of Kashmiris,

1002
01:19:20,580 --> 01:19:24,620
including restrictions on internet
communication and peaceful assembly

1003
01:19:24,620 --> 01:19:27,660
and the detention of local
political leaders and activists.

1004
01:19:32,300 --> 01:19:34,860
Kashmir is very important
for Mr Modi

1005
01:19:34,860 --> 01:19:38,580
to harness the Hindu vote
in other parts of the country.

1006
01:19:40,020 --> 01:19:45,100
Showing that the Kashmiri Muslim
citizens are being controlled,

1007
01:19:45,100 --> 01:19:47,980
are being checked, are being shown
their place

1008
01:19:47,980 --> 01:19:51,580
is very important for Mr Modi's
political sustenance.

1009
01:19:55,300 --> 01:19:58,340
After, you know, 70 years of this
being in a limbo,

1010
01:19:58,340 --> 01:20:00,740
Jammu and Kashmir is back
to where it should be.

1011
01:20:00,740 --> 01:20:04,820
It's a fully integrated part
of the Indian Union.

1012
01:20:04,820 --> 01:20:07,660
NEWSREADER: There is a growing set
of concerns

1013
01:20:07,660 --> 01:20:10,220
over a wave of killings
targeting Hindus

1014
01:20:10,220 --> 01:20:13,340
in Indian-administered Kashmir.

1015
01:20:13,340 --> 01:20:15,020
In the years that followed,

1016
01:20:15,020 --> 01:20:18,220
there were incidents
of anti-Hindu violence.

1017
01:20:19,740 --> 01:20:21,620
REPORTER: The Indian government
denies

1018
01:20:21,620 --> 01:20:23,820
that there's an atmosphere of fear
in Kashmir.

1019
01:20:23,820 --> 01:20:26,980
It says its policies are bringing
peace and development.

1020
01:20:39,140 --> 01:20:43,220
During his election campaign,
Mr Modi had promised to tackle

1021
01:20:43,220 --> 01:20:46,460
a major concern for Hindu
nationalists -

1022
01:20:46,460 --> 01:20:49,180
illegal immigration.

1023
01:20:49,180 --> 01:20:51,100
He said he would introduce

1024
01:20:51,100 --> 01:20:53,940
a national register
of Indian citizens.

1025
01:21:12,660 --> 01:21:15,700
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

1026
01:21:33,580 --> 01:21:38,260
The NRC was already being tested
in Assam, in a long-term trial

1027
01:21:38,260 --> 01:21:40,900
monitored by India's Supreme Court.

1028
01:21:42,460 --> 01:21:45,780
For decades, large numbers of Hindus
and Muslims

1029
01:21:45,780 --> 01:21:49,220
had migrated here from neighbouring
Bangladesh.

1030
01:21:51,780 --> 01:21:55,580
The Muslim migration into Assam
has been for economic reasons.

1031
01:21:55,580 --> 01:21:59,420
The Hindu migration was basically
because of religious persecution

1032
01:21:59,420 --> 01:22:02,900
and edging out of the minorities
from Bangladesh.

1033
01:22:04,860 --> 01:22:07,700
If you want to create
a modern state where citizens

1034
01:22:07,700 --> 01:22:10,340
should have all the rights,
so at least you should define

1035
01:22:10,340 --> 01:22:12,140
who your citizens are.

1036
01:22:12,140 --> 01:22:15,820
In every other country, there is
a national population register.

1037
01:22:15,820 --> 01:22:19,020
BJP wanted to do that
and they should do that.

1038
01:22:19,020 --> 01:22:20,860
They have all the right.

1039
01:22:20,860 --> 01:22:26,820
Some feared what the NRC would mean
for Assam's large Muslim population.

1040
01:22:26,820 --> 01:22:32,500
But Mr Modi said it would only
target illegal immigrants.

1041
01:22:32,500 --> 01:22:36,580
What it said was, if you could show
documentary evidence

1042
01:22:36,580 --> 01:22:42,820
of your ancestors being in the state
of Assam before 1971,

1043
01:22:42,820 --> 01:22:46,060
you would be included in this
National Register of Citizens.

1044
01:22:47,780 --> 01:22:50,660
If you could not do so,
this would become a problem.

1045
01:22:54,300 --> 01:22:56,900
One of those who had to prove
he was Indian

1046
01:22:56,900 --> 01:23:00,060
was Muslim rickshaw driver
Nur Hussain.

1047
01:24:03,100 --> 01:24:06,340
with the papers
for Nur's wife, Zahara.

1048
01:24:06,340 --> 01:24:08,460
So she was arrested, too.

1049
01:24:36,780 --> 01:24:39,780
Nur and Zahara took their children
with them.

1050
01:24:39,780 --> 01:24:44,100
They would all spend the next
18 months in a detention centre.

1051
01:24:46,140 --> 01:24:50,620
This is not a country that is trying
to manage a refugee problem.

1052
01:24:50,620 --> 01:24:53,540
This is a country
that's manufacturing refugees

1053
01:24:53,540 --> 01:24:56,180
out of its own population,
you know?

1054
01:24:56,180 --> 01:24:57,700
This is incredible.

1055
01:24:59,500 --> 01:25:04,260
Under the National Register
of Citizens, 700,000 Muslims

1056
01:25:04,260 --> 01:25:07,900
were reportedly declared
illegal immigrants,

1057
01:25:07,900 --> 01:25:10,500
but so were more than a million
Hindus.

1058
01:25:11,700 --> 01:25:14,740
The government proposed
a controversial amendment

1059
01:25:14,740 --> 01:25:19,660
to India's Citizenship Act
that would help solve this problem.

1060
01:25:19,660 --> 01:25:23,740
The CAA says that those people
who migrated to India

1061
01:25:23,740 --> 01:25:26,780
without documentation
from Afghanistan, Bangladesh

1062
01:25:26,780 --> 01:25:29,380
or Pakistan, which are India's
neighbours,

1063
01:25:29,380 --> 01:25:31,780
before December 31st, 2014, would be

1064
01:25:31,780 --> 01:25:34,060
given citizenship automatically,

1065
01:25:34,060 --> 01:25:35,500
unless they were Muslim.

1066
01:25:35,500 --> 01:25:41,300
It's meant, purely, in my opinion,
to go after Muslims in this country.

1067
01:25:41,300 --> 01:25:44,260
It was not against any particular
community or group.

1068
01:25:44,260 --> 01:25:47,500
It was in favour of persecuted
minorities, which includes

1069
01:25:47,500 --> 01:25:50,900
Hindus, Sikh, Christians, Buddhists
from Bangladesh,

1070
01:25:50,900 --> 01:25:53,300
Pakistan and Afghanistan.

1071
01:25:53,300 --> 01:25:56,740
Unfortunately, it was misinterpreted
in some quarters as meaning

1072
01:25:56,740 --> 01:25:59,660
that it could lead
to the citizenship of some people

1073
01:25:59,660 --> 01:26:01,460
being taken away.

1074
01:26:01,460 --> 01:26:04,380
The law never said that anything
can be taken away.

1075
01:26:04,380 --> 01:26:07,980
The law spoke about giving
citizenship to people.

1076
01:26:09,420 --> 01:26:12,140
Was Mr Modi right in getting this
into parliament

1077
01:26:12,140 --> 01:26:14,180
and getting it enacted? Yes.

1078
01:26:14,180 --> 01:26:17,540
It is something that was welcomed
all over India.

1079
01:26:18,660 --> 01:26:20,820
THEY CHANT

1080
01:26:20,820 --> 01:26:24,020
But protesters took to the streets
to voice concern

1081
01:26:24,020 --> 01:26:28,540
about the future for Muslims
in Narendra Modi's India.

1082
01:26:28,540 --> 01:26:30,900
REPORTER: Thousands gathered
to protest against the bill

1083
01:26:30,900 --> 01:26:32,460
in several states in India,

1084
01:26:32,460 --> 01:26:35,020
describing it as a discriminatory
legislation

1085
01:26:35,020 --> 01:26:37,620
intended to target Muslims.

1086
01:26:39,260 --> 01:26:44,700
TRANSLATION: This bill will not harm
even a little bit any minority,

1087
01:26:44,700 --> 01:26:49,100
especially our Muslim brothers and
sisters who live in this country,

1088
01:26:49,100 --> 01:26:51,700
because this bill only gives
citizenship.

1089
01:26:51,700 --> 01:26:53,820
It doesn't take it away
from anybody.

1090
01:26:53,820 --> 01:26:57,300
In this bill, they are targeting
a community without naming it.

1091
01:26:57,300 --> 01:27:00,220
It violates the basic structure
of the Constitution.

1092
01:27:00,220 --> 01:27:02,700
It is divisive and exclusive.

1093
01:27:02,700 --> 01:27:07,100
They are directly saying
that all refugees are welcome

1094
01:27:07,100 --> 01:27:08,740
except Muslim refugees.

1095
01:27:12,020 --> 01:27:16,740
You're just putting
a whole population into insecurity.

1096
01:27:16,740 --> 01:27:22,300
So that was the basis on which
these huge protests rose up.

1097
01:27:23,820 --> 01:27:27,900
REPORTER: Many in India see this law
as anti-Muslim and say it goes

1098
01:27:27,900 --> 01:27:32,140
against the fundamentals of India's
constitution, which says everyone

1099
01:27:32,140 --> 01:27:33,900
is equal before the law.

1100
01:27:37,620 --> 01:27:41,060
The reaction in the country
was massive.

1101
01:27:41,060 --> 01:27:43,220
The stake was very high.

1102
01:27:43,220 --> 01:27:45,900
It defined the identity of India.

1103
01:27:45,900 --> 01:27:48,740
The very identity, the very nature

1104
01:27:48,740 --> 01:27:51,620
of the Indian state was at stake.

1105
01:27:57,100 --> 01:28:00,540
In Delhi, students at a prestigious
university

1106
01:28:00,540 --> 01:28:04,180
gathered for a protest march
on India's parliament.

1107
01:28:05,620 --> 01:28:09,420
All we wanted was one march
to the parliament

1108
01:28:09,420 --> 01:28:13,660
to register our protest
against the CAA and the NRC.

1109
01:28:14,740 --> 01:28:19,620
I strongly believe that the CAA
can make a lot of Muslims stateless.

1110
01:28:20,660 --> 01:28:23,500
That is why, you know,
we've been very vocal.

1111
01:28:25,540 --> 01:28:28,580
The police barricaded the road
and, you know, stopped the students

1112
01:28:28,580 --> 01:28:30,620
from marching forward.

1113
01:28:30,620 --> 01:28:33,860
That is when some students tried
to cross the barricade.

1114
01:28:37,660 --> 01:28:39,100
Tear-gas shell is fired,

1115
01:28:39,100 --> 01:28:41,740
and it just falls
right in front of me.

1116
01:28:41,740 --> 01:28:43,420
I just couldn't breathe.

1117
01:28:45,460 --> 01:28:48,940
One of my friends, he was completely
drenched in blood.

1118
01:28:51,140 --> 01:28:55,180
We did not expect that a students'
protest would be met out

1119
01:28:55,180 --> 01:28:57,620
with such brutality by the police.

1120
01:29:02,180 --> 01:29:04,740
It was an unbelievable situation
to be in,

1121
01:29:04,740 --> 01:29:07,140
in Delhi, in the heart of capital.

1122
01:29:08,980 --> 01:29:10,820
It suddenly seemed like a war zone
now.

1123
01:29:14,700 --> 01:29:17,820
The violence prompted
more student protests.

1124
01:29:21,500 --> 01:29:23,620
The demonstrations spread.

1125
01:29:24,740 --> 01:29:26,620
Then, at the university,

1126
01:29:26,620 --> 01:29:28,820
the police decided to move in.

1127
01:29:29,900 --> 01:29:32,420
THUDDING, SCREAMING

1128
01:29:33,700 --> 01:29:36,420
Suddenly, the police burst inside...

1129
01:29:37,660 --> 01:29:40,900
..beating people like anything.

1130
01:29:40,900 --> 01:29:45,740
SHOUTING

1131
01:29:46,980 --> 01:29:49,380
Students were hiding
under the tables and, you know,

1132
01:29:49,380 --> 01:29:52,340
they were shouting for help,
for mercy,

1133
01:29:52,340 --> 01:29:55,620
but the police action continued
indiscriminately.

1134
01:29:55,620 --> 01:29:57,660
GLASS SHATTERS

1135
01:30:00,980 --> 01:30:03,100
SHOUTING CONTINUES

1136
01:30:10,740 --> 01:30:13,380
REPORTER: Students try to hide
from the police

1137
01:30:13,380 --> 01:30:18,020
and shield themselves
from the tear gas in the air.

1138
01:30:18,020 --> 01:30:20,900
In the men's bathroom,
an injured student,

1139
01:30:20,900 --> 01:30:24,340
and another one,
who lay unconscious.

1140
01:30:24,340 --> 01:30:27,500
Dozens of them were taken
to the local hospital.

1141
01:30:27,500 --> 01:30:29,820
Police came inside.
They dragged us all...

1142
01:30:29,820 --> 01:30:32,940
They say they were beaten
by the police for protesting

1143
01:30:32,940 --> 01:30:35,580
against India's new citizenship law.

1144
01:30:39,780 --> 01:30:41,620
They beat up the students.

1145
01:30:41,620 --> 01:30:43,860
They vandalised the university,

1146
01:30:43,860 --> 01:30:47,420
created an environment of fear and
terror, to teach us a lesson,

1147
01:30:47,420 --> 01:30:49,020
to never protest again.

1148
01:30:51,020 --> 01:30:55,140
The police said they were trying
to restore law and order.

1149
01:30:56,180 --> 01:30:59,220
Their actions led to even
bigger protests.

1150
01:31:06,780 --> 01:31:08,740
REPORTER: Today, people marched...

1151
01:31:10,180 --> 01:31:12,260
..in Delhi...

1152
01:31:12,260 --> 01:31:14,740
..Mumbai...

1153
01:31:14,740 --> 01:31:18,820
..Kolkata, against what they see
as a divisive law

1154
01:31:18,820 --> 01:31:22,580
that discriminates against Muslim
migrants.

1155
01:31:22,580 --> 01:31:25,020
An unprecedented show of dissent

1156
01:31:25,020 --> 01:31:28,700
against the country's
Hindu nationalist leadership.

1157
01:31:30,580 --> 01:31:32,620
REPORTER: Protests have now
escalated

1158
01:31:32,620 --> 01:31:35,700
and it's across the country.
It's now a pan-India agitation.

1159
01:31:39,980 --> 01:31:42,580
NEWSREADER: There have been violent
protests in major cities

1160
01:31:42,580 --> 01:31:45,580
across India, mostly in opposition
to a new citizenship law,

1161
01:31:45,580 --> 01:31:47,820
which many see as discriminating

1162
01:31:47,820 --> 01:31:50,700
against the nation's large Muslim
minority.

1163
01:31:52,700 --> 01:31:56,340
In Delhi, protesters occupied parts
of the city

1164
01:31:56,340 --> 01:32:00,020
and said they'd stay
until the new law was repealed.

1165
01:32:01,060 --> 01:32:03,260
Safoora Zargar was among them.

1166
01:32:08,580 --> 01:32:11,780
I think more and more people become
aware of the consequences

1167
01:32:11,780 --> 01:32:13,500
of the CAA and NRC,

1168
01:32:13,500 --> 01:32:18,420
you know, and that is why I feel
that this protest became a movement.

1169
01:32:20,540 --> 01:32:23,700
I'm puzzled as to why there should
have been

1170
01:32:23,700 --> 01:32:27,460
a significant Muslim protest
in places like Delhi.

1171
01:32:27,460 --> 01:32:32,660
They were very much Muslims
who'd been settled in Delhi

1172
01:32:32,660 --> 01:32:34,340
for a long, long time.

1173
01:32:34,340 --> 01:32:36,380
They were not threatened in any way.

1174
01:32:36,380 --> 01:32:40,140
And in my view, this was not
a protest about citizenship.

1175
01:32:40,140 --> 01:32:44,580
This was a protest about Muslims
feeling

1176
01:32:44,580 --> 01:32:48,220
that they had lost
their foothold

1177
01:32:48,220 --> 01:32:51,020
in the political system
over the past...

1178
01:32:52,260 --> 01:32:53,660
..seven, eight years.

1179
01:32:58,780 --> 01:33:03,540
Hardline Hindu clerics made threats
against the Muslim protesters.

1180
01:33:23,900 --> 01:33:27,660
Supporters of Mr Modi held
their own demonstrations.

1181
01:33:33,020 --> 01:33:36,060
You had senior BJP politicians
appearing

1182
01:33:36,060 --> 01:33:39,540
and threatening the protesters.

1183
01:33:39,540 --> 01:33:42,700
As the protests
entered their third month,

1184
01:33:42,700 --> 01:33:47,100
Narendra Modi's India had never
seemed so divided.

1185
01:33:47,100 --> 01:33:50,340
But support for the embattled
Prime Minister

1186
01:33:50,340 --> 01:33:53,740
came from an unexpected quarter.

1187
01:33:53,740 --> 01:33:57,060
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

1188
01:34:06,140 --> 01:34:08,420
We now invite the dynamic,

1189
01:34:08,420 --> 01:34:13,140
dedicated and determined architect
of New India,

1190
01:34:13,140 --> 01:34:16,540
Honourable Prime Minister
Shri Narendra Modi

1191
01:34:16,540 --> 01:34:18,340
for his welcome remarks.

1192
01:34:22,700 --> 01:34:24,620
CHEERING

1193
01:34:27,460 --> 01:34:28,860
CHEERING

1194
01:34:35,820 --> 01:34:37,540
Friends,

1195
01:34:37,540 --> 01:34:40,900
I present to you, my friend...

1196
01:34:41,940 --> 01:34:48,580
..India's friend, the President
of the United States of America,

1197
01:34:48,580 --> 01:34:50,860
Mr Donald Trump.

1198
01:34:50,860 --> 01:34:53,700
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

1199
01:34:53,700 --> 01:34:54,700
Namaste, Trump!

1200
01:34:56,060 --> 01:34:57,460
Namaste, Trump!

1201
01:34:59,580 --> 01:35:02,220
Namaste, namaste.

1202
01:35:02,220 --> 01:35:05,140
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

1203
01:35:05,140 --> 01:35:08,340
Let me begin by expressing
my profound gratitude

1204
01:35:08,340 --> 01:35:10,860
to an exceptional leader,

1205
01:35:10,860 --> 01:35:13,340
a great champion of India,

1206
01:35:13,340 --> 01:35:20,540
a man who works night and day

1207
01:35:20,540 --> 01:35:22,340
Prime Minister Modi.

1208
01:35:22,340 --> 01:35:25,060
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

1209
01:35:25,060 --> 01:35:29,660
Your nation has always been admired
around the Earth as the place

1210
01:35:29,660 --> 01:35:33,220
where millions upon millions
of Hindus and Muslims

1211
01:35:33,220 --> 01:35:36,460
worship side by side in harmony.

1212
01:35:39,580 --> 01:35:42,580
Your unity is an inspiration
to the world.

1213
01:35:46,100 --> 01:35:48,940
We love you.
We love you, India, very much.

1214
01:35:48,940 --> 01:35:50,540
Thank you. Thank you.

1215
01:35:50,540 --> 01:35:53,220
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

1216
01:35:59,660 --> 01:36:01,060
LOUD BANG

1217
01:36:03,980 --> 01:36:07,140
REPORTER: The situation is
deteriorating as we speak.

1218
01:36:07,140 --> 01:36:10,380
Anti and pro-CAA protesters
clashing.

1219
01:36:10,380 --> 01:36:12,780
Violence and vandalism continues.

1220
01:36:13,780 --> 01:36:16,660
REPORTER: This violence between
anti and pro-CAA protesters

1221
01:36:16,660 --> 01:36:18,820
took a turn for the worse.

1222
01:36:18,820 --> 01:36:21,260
REPORTER: You can see the situation
is very volatile.

1223
01:36:21,260 --> 01:36:23,100
Both the sides are clashing with
each other.

1224
01:36:23,100 --> 01:36:25,380
You can see again, massive pelting.

1225
01:36:25,380 --> 01:36:28,140
Massive pelting as of now
is going on.

1226
01:36:36,060 --> 01:36:38,660
REPORTER: The national capital,
a battleground.

1227
01:36:40,900 --> 01:36:44,780
Violent clashes between Hindus
and Muslims have rocked the city.

1228
01:37:09,940 --> 01:37:13,620
ANIMATED CONVERSATION

1229
01:37:15,820 --> 01:37:18,180
LOUD CRACK, HE CRIES OUT

1230
01:37:56,740 --> 01:37:59,980
HE SINGS QUIETLY

1231
01:38:17,620 --> 01:38:19,660
RAGGED SINGING

1232
01:38:19,660 --> 01:38:21,100
PROTESTER GROANS

1233
01:38:21,100 --> 01:38:23,020
POLICEMAN SHOUTS

1234
01:40:37,660 --> 01:40:40,820
The video of Faizan's beating
went viral.

1235
01:40:44,700 --> 01:40:48,300
This Muslim man was beaten to death
by the police.

1236
01:40:48,300 --> 01:40:50,300
Faizan was 23.

1237
01:40:52,300 --> 01:40:55,900
When I saw that video,
I really thought,

1238
01:40:55,900 --> 01:40:58,700
what a disgusting society we are.

1239
01:40:58,700 --> 01:41:01,220
What a disgusting society we are.

1240
01:41:06,140 --> 01:41:07,660
EXPLOSION

1241
01:41:07,660 --> 01:41:10,940
The violence lasted for six days.

1242
01:41:22,780 --> 01:41:25,940
They are meant to protect
all of India's people.

1243
01:41:25,940 --> 01:41:29,820
But here, the police are seen
with Hindus throwing

1244
01:41:29,820 --> 01:41:31,580
stones towards Muslims.

1245
01:41:33,460 --> 01:41:37,540
Videos like these have been emerging
since the violence last week.

1246
01:41:47,660 --> 01:41:50,740
500 people were injured
during the riots.

1247
01:41:51,900 --> 01:41:54,180
53 were killed.

1248
01:41:56,860 --> 01:42:00,260
Two thirds of the dead were
reportedly Muslim.

1249
01:42:06,380 --> 01:42:09,820
An investigation by Amnesty
International concluded

1250
01:42:09,820 --> 01:42:14,900
that the police committed serious
human rights violations, including

1251
01:42:14,900 --> 01:42:19,980
torture and ill treatment,
excessive and arbitrary use of force

1252
01:42:19,980 --> 01:42:24,500
on protesters, and active
participation in the violence.

1253
01:42:26,500 --> 01:42:30,700
The Amnesty report on the violence
in Delhi showed that the police

1254
01:42:30,700 --> 01:42:33,580
did not act as it should have acted.

1255
01:42:33,580 --> 01:42:36,860
Where it did act,
it often named the wrong people.

1256
01:42:36,860 --> 01:42:42,340
Often the victims were named
as the perpetrators of the violence.

1257
01:42:42,340 --> 01:42:46,300
And we called for a proper
investigation into these acts,

1258
01:42:46,300 --> 01:42:48,380
which hasn't happened so far.

1259
01:42:50,660 --> 01:42:54,500
Delhi police said the Amnesty report
was lopsided,

1260
01:42:54,500 --> 01:42:58,580
biased against the police,
and maliciously made a case

1261
01:42:58,580 --> 01:43:00,580
of human rights violations.

1262
01:43:02,300 --> 01:43:04,260
In the larger scheme of things,

1263
01:43:04,260 --> 01:43:08,740
the Delhi riots were not important,
but they were important to the media

1264
01:43:08,740 --> 01:43:12,580
because it means less work
and you can get good media footage

1265
01:43:12,580 --> 01:43:14,220
just at your doorstep.

1266
01:43:17,220 --> 01:43:21,260
No police officers have been charged
over the beatings

1267
01:43:21,260 --> 01:43:22,820
of Asim and Faizan.

1268
01:43:24,980 --> 01:43:28,420
Delhi police say their investigation
continues.

1269
01:43:53,220 --> 01:43:58,100
The police arrested more than 2,000
people over the violence,

1270
01:43:58,100 --> 01:44:00,940
both Hindus and Muslims.

1271
01:44:00,940 --> 01:44:05,340
And in the weeks that followed,
they launched operations to arrest

1272
01:44:05,340 --> 01:44:08,620
those they considered ringleaders
of the riots.

1273
01:44:18,380 --> 01:44:21,620
On 10th April, the doorbell rang.

1274
01:44:21,620 --> 01:44:24,100
My husband came and he just said,

1275
01:44:24,100 --> 01:44:26,860
"Some people have come
to ask you questions."

1276
01:44:27,980 --> 01:44:32,020
A group of seven or eight
policemen said, "Pack your bags."

1277
01:44:33,060 --> 01:44:35,340
I was not expecting my arrest.

1278
01:44:37,420 --> 01:44:38,700
They took me.

1279
01:44:42,380 --> 01:44:45,500
And the roads are completely
empty and deserted.

1280
01:44:46,780 --> 01:44:49,140
I couldn't see anybody.

1281
01:44:49,140 --> 01:44:51,100
That was the scary part of it.

1282
01:44:51,100 --> 01:44:53,300
That feeling of being so alone.

1283
01:44:56,580 --> 01:45:00,300
There were charges against me,
including hate speech, rioting,

1284
01:45:00,300 --> 01:45:02,700
criminal conspiracy,

1285
01:45:02,700 --> 01:45:03,860
murder.

1286
01:45:03,860 --> 01:45:06,140
Attempt to murder.

1287
01:45:06,140 --> 01:45:09,820
The maximum sentence would be
lifetime imprisonment.

1288
01:45:15,660 --> 01:45:17,780
This is the Tihar Jail.

1289
01:45:20,340 --> 01:45:24,620
India's most-hardened criminals
are kept here.

1290
01:45:24,620 --> 01:45:29,300
Muslim student Safoora was arrested
and charged under a new legal

1291
01:45:29,300 --> 01:45:31,980
provision in an anti-terrorism law

1292
01:45:31,980 --> 01:45:38,220
called the Unlawful
Activities Prevention Act, or UAPA.

1293
01:45:38,220 --> 01:45:41,100
The first act of Mr Modi
after becoming Prime Minister

1294
01:45:41,100 --> 01:45:45,340
in his second tenure was to make
an amendment in the UAPA

1295
01:45:45,340 --> 01:45:48,780
which permitted the government
to declare individual citizens

1296
01:45:48,780 --> 01:45:52,740
as terrorists, which was completely
different from organisations

1297
01:45:52,740 --> 01:45:54,940
being declared as
terrorist organisations.

1298
01:45:54,940 --> 01:45:58,540
Anybody could be declared
a terrorist and be put behind bars

1299
01:45:58,540 --> 01:46:02,180
and would not be able to get bail
for a long period of time.

1300
01:46:03,740 --> 01:46:07,060
First of all, I was put
into complete isolation.

1301
01:46:08,700 --> 01:46:11,460
There's a cell, a very small cell.

1302
01:46:14,180 --> 01:46:18,020
I was pregnant
and it was my first baby.

1303
01:46:20,260 --> 01:46:23,980
My biggest nightmare was
giving birth in jail.

1304
01:46:23,980 --> 01:46:27,740
I couldn't imagine doing it
all alone inside a prison.

1305
01:46:29,780 --> 01:46:33,260
Safoora spent 74 days in jail.

1306
01:46:36,820 --> 01:46:41,420
Safoora Zargar, the pregnant Jamia
Millia Islamia student, was granted

1307
01:46:41,420 --> 01:46:44,780
bail today by the High Court
after the police did not

1308
01:46:44,780 --> 01:46:47,660
oppose her bail
on humanitarian grounds.

1309
01:46:50,340 --> 01:46:55,300
She is one of 16 Muslims accused
of being key conspirators

1310
01:46:55,300 --> 01:46:59,740
in the Delhi riots,
and charged under anti-terror laws.

1311
01:47:01,300 --> 01:47:02,380
TOY SQUEAKS

1312
01:47:09,020 --> 01:47:12,860
It started like a complete witch
hunt of all those people who were

1313
01:47:12,860 --> 01:47:15,540
involved in the anti-CAA protests.

1314
01:47:15,540 --> 01:47:18,780
And, you know, to suppress dissent,
to make an example out of us

1315
01:47:18,780 --> 01:47:21,020
and to put us behind bars.

1316
01:47:21,020 --> 01:47:23,980
I'm very confident that
they will not be able to prove even

1317
01:47:23,980 --> 01:47:25,660
one charge against us.

1318
01:47:29,100 --> 01:47:30,980
There was CCTV footage,

1319
01:47:30,980 --> 01:47:33,620
there were messages,
there were WhatsApp group chats.

1320
01:47:33,620 --> 01:47:36,140
On the basis of that,
they got arrested.

1321
01:47:36,140 --> 01:47:38,740
And they were people from different
communities,

1322
01:47:38,740 --> 01:47:41,420
not from a particular community.

1323
01:47:41,420 --> 01:47:48,220
The irony is that when...after
the riots were over, the victims

1324
01:47:48,220 --> 01:47:51,820
became the guilty men and women,

1325
01:47:51,820 --> 01:47:55,980
and were accused of being
responsible for the riots.

1326
01:47:55,980 --> 01:48:00,100
So, many were sent to jail,
and they are still in jail.

1327
01:48:12,740 --> 01:48:19,700
By now, India was battling
a new threat - coronavirus.

1328
01:48:19,700 --> 01:48:23,180
Strict lockdowns made further protest
impossible.

1329
01:48:24,580 --> 01:48:28,220
But enmity between
Hindus and Muslims remained.

1330
01:48:49,780 --> 01:48:54,380
I am a journalist reporting
on hate crimes and the rise

1331
01:48:54,380 --> 01:48:56,860
of extreme politics.

1332
01:48:56,860 --> 01:49:02,460
Mostly my job is to go through
videos of violence and hate speech.

1333
01:49:11,340 --> 01:49:16,340
India is a state where calls
for genocide against Muslims

1334
01:49:16,340 --> 01:49:17,580
are on the rise.

1335
01:49:19,140 --> 01:49:22,900
A colleague was reporting
from the Dharma Sansad,

1336
01:49:22,900 --> 01:49:25,900
that is basically Hindu
religious parliament.

1337
01:49:27,620 --> 01:49:30,980
What they talked about was
how Muslims should be eradicated

1338
01:49:30,980 --> 01:49:32,620
from the face of the earth.

1339
01:49:41,180 --> 01:49:44,420
Generally, we come across
10 to 12 videos per week.

1340
01:49:44,420 --> 01:49:47,420
Sometimes there are 10 to 12 videos
per day.

1341
01:49:47,420 --> 01:49:50,460
These videos spread like wildfire.

1342
01:49:50,460 --> 01:49:52,140
They just go viral.

1343
01:50:06,740 --> 01:50:10,820
Muslims have got the message that
they should not expect the state

1344
01:50:10,820 --> 01:50:12,020
to protect them.

1345
01:50:13,780 --> 01:50:18,340
We are talking to each other saying,
"Do you think it will happen?

1346
01:50:18,340 --> 01:50:22,700
"Do you think it's really
going to be like Rwanda?"

1347
01:50:22,700 --> 01:50:26,260
Why do I speak to you on this film?

1348
01:50:26,260 --> 01:50:31,140
Only so that there's a record
somewhere that all of us

1349
01:50:31,140 --> 01:50:33,180
didn't agree with this, you know?

1350
01:50:33,180 --> 01:50:36,820
But it's not a call for help,
because no help will come.

1351
01:50:38,660 --> 01:50:42,340
In June last year,
a BJP spokeswoman made comments

1352
01:50:42,340 --> 01:50:46,580
about the Prophet Muhammad on TV
that angered Muslims in India

1353
01:50:46,580 --> 01:50:48,220
and around the world.

1354
01:50:49,820 --> 01:50:53,660
Two Muslim men killed a Hindu
who they said supported

1355
01:50:53,660 --> 01:50:55,740
the politician's comments.

1356
01:50:55,740 --> 01:50:59,540
The men were arrested after
they posted a film of the killing

1357
01:50:59,540 --> 01:51:03,020
online and made threats
against Mr Modi.

1358
01:51:05,260 --> 01:51:08,420
There are extremist groups
from either side.

1359
01:51:08,420 --> 01:51:10,540
And because of the provocation
of social media,

1360
01:51:10,540 --> 01:51:13,180
that has become a phenomena,
you can say.

1361
01:51:13,180 --> 01:51:17,260
Even if there are calls
from Hindu groups, then there

1362
01:51:17,260 --> 01:51:19,060
are Muslim groups also.

1363
01:51:19,060 --> 01:51:21,740
This is happening from both sides,
and this should be stopped.

1364
01:51:21,740 --> 01:51:24,780
We should take action,
whether it's said by Hindus,

1365
01:51:24,780 --> 01:51:27,220
whether it's said by Muslims,
whether it's said by Sikhs,

1366
01:51:27,220 --> 01:51:30,540
or whoever, there are boundaries
of free speech...

1367
01:51:32,260 --> 01:51:33,820
..in India.

1368
01:51:33,820 --> 01:51:35,140
And there should be.

1369
01:51:35,140 --> 01:51:38,780
I think the larger issue
that we do not promote any form

1370
01:51:38,780 --> 01:51:42,580
of extremism has been said
by Mr Modi many times.

1371
01:51:50,380 --> 01:51:54,020
The work that many of us do
is very dangerous.

1372
01:51:55,620 --> 01:52:00,100
I have received death threats,
but that does not deter me.

1373
01:52:02,740 --> 01:52:06,780
Reporting today has become
more risky, more dangerous,

1374
01:52:06,780 --> 01:52:10,380
more difficult, and quite frankly,

1375
01:52:10,380 --> 01:52:12,460
based on where we are today,

1376
01:52:12,460 --> 01:52:14,540
the path looks even rockier.

1377
01:52:16,980 --> 01:52:22,460
Today in India, reporters face
violence, intimidation and arrest

1378
01:52:22,460 --> 01:52:23,900
for doing their jobs.

1379
01:52:28,020 --> 01:52:32,020
Campaigners say press freedom
has declined since Narendra Modi

1380
01:52:32,020 --> 01:52:35,660
came to power, and is now in crisis.

1381
01:52:39,340 --> 01:52:42,780
He views independent media
as something that is going to do

1382
01:52:42,780 --> 01:52:46,060
damage to him and that is hostile
to him.

1383
01:52:46,060 --> 01:52:50,460
I think he believes in the politics
of full-spectrum dominance.

1384
01:52:51,900 --> 01:52:56,540
From his point of view, throttling
the media, or exercising a high

1385
01:52:56,540 --> 01:53:01,220
degree of control over the media,
is essential to his project.

1386
01:53:02,740 --> 01:53:07,220
Human rights campaigners say
they are also under attack.

1387
01:53:07,220 --> 01:53:11,380
Amnesty in India says it was forced
to suspend operations

1388
01:53:11,380 --> 01:53:13,460
by the government.

1389
01:53:13,460 --> 01:53:17,100
The government said the group had
broken the law by circumventing

1390
01:53:17,100 --> 01:53:20,100
rules around foreign donations.

1391
01:53:20,100 --> 01:53:23,580
What he has done, in effect,
is to be able

1392
01:53:23,580 --> 01:53:27,180
to shut down a very large part
of civil society in this country.

1393
01:53:27,180 --> 01:53:31,660
Thousands of NGOs have shut
after 2015, and it's quite dire.

1394
01:53:31,660 --> 01:53:35,380
I don't think that the NGO space,
the civil society space,

1395
01:53:35,380 --> 01:53:39,220
has seen such a time ever
in the history of independent India.

1396
01:53:41,060 --> 01:53:46,140
When Narendra Nodi came to power
in 2014, India was considered

1397
01:53:46,140 --> 01:53:51,980
to be a free country by
the US think-tank Freedom House.

1398
01:53:51,980 --> 01:53:54,820
Now it is only partly free.

1399
01:53:57,700 --> 01:53:59,740
Our democracy may not be perfect.

1400
01:54:01,380 --> 01:54:02,980
But it keeps on improving.

1401
01:54:02,980 --> 01:54:08,500
And I think there's enough elbow
room for everybody to have opinions,

1402
01:54:08,500 --> 01:54:13,020
whether they are...rational
or otherwise.

1403
01:54:17,140 --> 01:54:20,140
Safoora Zargar remains on bail.

1404
01:54:22,300 --> 01:54:25,100
They have dehumanised Muslims
in the country.

1405
01:54:25,100 --> 01:54:26,980
It is being made very clear -

1406
01:54:26,980 --> 01:54:29,980
Muslims will have to live
like second-class citizens.

1407
01:54:33,460 --> 01:54:37,900
Kismatun is still fighting
to identify the police officers

1408
01:54:37,900 --> 01:54:40,100
who beat her son to death.

1409
01:54:51,820 --> 01:54:55,220
The men accused of attacking
Alimuddin Ansari are

1410
01:54:55,220 --> 01:54:57,260
still out on bail.

1411
01:55:10,660 --> 01:55:14,620
Under Narendra Modi,
India has been transformed.

1412
01:55:16,340 --> 01:55:19,540
He remains enormously popular

1413
01:55:19,540 --> 01:55:21,340
and hugely divisive.

1414
01:55:22,860 --> 01:55:27,700
What was politically incorrect
has now become the consensus.

1415
01:55:29,540 --> 01:55:36,060
No longer does a Hindu think
that it is wrong to demand special

1416
01:55:36,060 --> 01:55:37,860
rights for Hindus.

1417
01:55:39,300 --> 01:55:42,340
Mr Modi has been able
to successfully give voice

1418
01:55:42,340 --> 01:55:43,540
to this sentiment.

1419
01:55:46,820 --> 01:55:50,540
Muslims in India are in a position
that they've never been before,

1420
01:55:50,540 --> 01:55:54,580
and I don't know how it is that
we'll be able to come out of it.

1421
01:55:54,580 --> 01:55:59,140
The perception that Mr Modi
is anti-Muslim is widespread.

1422
01:55:59,140 --> 01:56:02,460
I don't deny that. It's there.

1423
01:56:02,460 --> 01:56:08,740
But I think what is important to
realise is that - is there a single

1424
01:56:08,740 --> 01:56:13,820
institutional obstacle
which debars Muslims or gives

1425
01:56:13,820 --> 01:56:16,220
Hindus exceptional privilege?

1426
01:56:16,220 --> 01:56:18,260
There isn't.

1427
01:56:21,340 --> 01:56:26,460
The West is looking at India
as the best way

1428
01:56:26,460 --> 01:56:28,260
to balance China.

1429
01:56:28,260 --> 01:56:34,900
And that is the reason why they will
not criticise, they will not condemn

1430
01:56:34,900 --> 01:56:38,420
most of the decisions
which have been made.

1431
01:56:38,420 --> 01:56:42,820
Human rights are not very high
on the list any more

1432
01:56:42,820 --> 01:56:45,940
because there is a bigger challenge.

1433
01:56:47,820 --> 01:56:52,220
It is important to the West not only
economically but also politically.

1434
01:56:52,220 --> 01:56:54,660
Any big conversation
in international affairs,

1435
01:56:54,660 --> 01:56:58,460
climate change, global finance,
requires India to be in the room.

1436
01:56:58,460 --> 01:57:01,140
There can be no solution
without India.

1437
01:57:01,140 --> 01:57:05,020
But it looks to be descending
into some form of authoritarianism

1438
01:57:05,020 --> 01:57:07,860
where power is in the hands
of one individual.

1439
01:57:07,860 --> 01:57:10,500
I think with a high degree
of certainty, he'll win the next

1440
01:57:10,500 --> 01:57:13,340
election, maybe he'll win
the election after that.

1441
01:57:13,340 --> 01:57:16,780
And that means for young people
in India that that will be the only

1442
01:57:16,780 --> 01:57:18,140
India they know.