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www.GOALias.blogspot.com188 Politics in India since Independence“On 27 February1947,at the very first meeting ofthe Advisory Committee ofthe Constituent Assembly onFundamental Rights, Minoritiesand Tribals and Excluded Areas,Sardar Patel asserted:“It is for us to prove that it is abogus claim, a false claim, andthat nobody can be more interestedthan us, in India, in the protectionof our minorities. Our mission isto satisfy every one of them. Letus prove we can rule ourselvesand we have no ambition to ruleothers”.“The tragic events in Gujarat,starting with the Godhra incidentand continuing with the violencethat rocked the state for over twomonths, have greatly saddenedthe nation. There is no doubt, inthe opinion of the Commission,that there was a comprehensivefailure on the part of the stategovernment to control thepersistent violation of the rightsto life, liberty, equality and dignityof the people of the state. It is,of course, essential to heal thewounds and to look to a futureof peace and harmony. But thepursuit of these high objectivesmust be based on justice andupholding of the values of theconstitution of the republic andthe laws of the land.“National Human RightsCommission, Annual Report2001-2002.Canwe ensurethat thosewho plan, executeand support suchmassacres are broughtto the book? Or atleast punishedpolitically?Is this goingto continue to be ourfuture? Is there no way wecan make all this a matter ofpast?