Zakia Jafri: Human rights activist and Gujarat riots widow dies aged 86

Zakia Jafri, a quality rights activist who sought justness for the sidesplitting of her MP husband during the 2002 Gujarat riots successful India, has died astatine the property of 86.

Jafri’s decease marks the extremity of a two-decade-long conflict to clasp governmental figures accountable for the unit that claimed the beingness of her husband, Congress Party person Ehsan Jafri, and 68 others successful a massacre astatine Gulberg Society, a Muslim neighbourhood successful Ahmedabad.

Jafri’s hubby was 1 of an estimated 1,180 people, mostly Muslims, who died connected 28 February 2002 during spiritual riots crossed Gujarat that followed the burning of the Sabarmati Express, a bid carrying Hindu pilgrims, successful Godhra.

Her son, Tanveer Jafri, confirmed she had died, saying she had completed her accustomed greeting regular earlier feeling unwell. A doc was called but declared her dormant astir 11.30am. Jafri lived successful Surat with her lad but had been staying with her daughter, Nishrin, successful Ahmedabad during her last days.

Teesta Setalvad, a chap quality rights activistic and long-time co-petitioner successful ineligible challenges related to the riots, mourned Jafri's loss. Setalvad wrote connected societal media that Jafri was "a compassionate person of the quality rights community," and expressed solidarity with her family. "Her visionary beingness volition beryllium missed by the nation, family, friends, and the world," Setalvad wrote.

In 2002, a Hindu mob dragged her 72-year-old hubby out of their plush bungalow successful Gulberg Society, past tortured and killed him successful beforehand of her eyes.

Jafri, 64 astatine the time, could bash thing to prevention her husband. The authorities was nether lockdown pursuing the massacre of 59 Hindu pilgrims connected the Sabarmati Express the time before. The lockdown was called by the extremist right-wing Hindu radical the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

The 59 killed connected the Sabarmati Express were mostly volunteers of Hindu organisations who perished erstwhile their manager was acceptable connected occurrence astatine Gujarat’s Godhra presumption by a suspected Muslim mob, though who lit the occurrence is often disputed.

It unleashed unit connected specified a standard crossed the authorities that it led to heavy governmental ramifications and irreversibly altered relations betwixt India’s bulk Hindu and number Muslim communities.

By the extremity of the day, Jafri had witnessed a violent mob not lone termination her husband, but ransack the neighbourhood and acceptable occurrence to her location of 30 years, forcing her and scores of her neighbours to permission barefoot successful hunt of information successful a authorities simmering with communal tension.

Police and authorities officials were accused of directing the rioters and giving them a database of Muslim-owned properties, portion India’s premier curate Narendra Modi – who was main curate of Gujarat astatine the clip – was accused of condoning the violence. Mr Modi has ever denied immoderate wrongdoing.

Suspicions that Mr Modi softly supported the riots led the US, UK and EU to contradict him a visa astatine the time. Those moves were aboriginal reversed, and a committee appointed by India’s Supreme Court recovered determination was “no prosecutable evidence” of complicity involving either Mr Modi oregon elder officials from his authorities government.

Jafri’s ineligible efforts were pivotal successful the re-investigation of respective riot cases, including the massacre astatine Gulberg Society, ordered by the Supreme Court successful 2008. But her pleas for governmental accountability were consistently dismissed by the courts, culminating successful a 2022 verdict that cleared Mr Modi of wrongdoing.

Despite these setbacks, Jafri continued to sojourn the ruins of Gulberg Society, wherever she and her household had erstwhile lived, up until past year.

“We were readying to spell again, this 28 February,” her lad Tanveer Jafri told the Indian Express. “She fought from 2002 to 2022… and till the Supreme Court verdict (in 2022) she had hopes that she would get justice.”

Among those offering their condolences for her decease included Kerala’s main curate Pinarayi Vijayan, who praised Jafri's ineligible combat arsenic a "shining chapter" successful the past of secular India, portion Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said Jafri "saw her anticipation for justness dice earlier her eyes".

"Future generations volition perceive the past of the 'new India' successful Zakia Jafri's tears, sobs, combat for justice, and past her defeat," Khera wrote successful a station connected X.