End of an Illusion

How corruption and divisive ideology systematically eroded the Indian dream. An extract

At 7:43 a.m. on February 27, 2002, the Sabarmati Express from Ayodhya pulled into the Godhra Junction railway station in eastern Gujarat. On board were kar sevaks (religious volunteers) returning frustrated from Ayodhya. They had been unable to begin building their much-cherished temple to Lord Ram on the site where frenzied kar sevaks like them had demolished the Babri Masjid in December 1992. Many kar sevaks belonged to the Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of the VHP, the principal instigator of the fever to build a temple in place of the masjid. These angry Hindus returning form Ayodhya had picked fights along the journey and were itching form more.

At the Godhra Junction railway station platform, some of the younger kar sevaks refused to pay a cigarette vendor and threw tea in the face of a tea vendor. Allegedly, they also molested a girl. Godhra was a Muslim-majority town, where Muslims lived in ghetto-like conditions. After the train moved away from the station, Muslims threw bottles, stones, and burning rags at the train cars. One car caught fire, and fifty-nine kar sevaks perished.

According to one account, rather than the angry Muslims outside, passengers on board accidentally ignited the cooking fuel they were carrying. But,