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              play a major role in keeping the conflict alive, alongside the govern-
              ments backing for the Hindu cause. Consequently, Hindu militants

              torch Muslim houses and assault Muslim women and many innocent
              people inevitably lose their lives.


                   THOUSANDS OF MUSLIMS WERE BRUTALLY
                   MARTYRED DURING THE CLASHES IN GUJARAT

                   Attacks like the one on the Babur mosque have become almost com-
              mon practice in India over the years. Every conflict leads up to the torch-
              ing of Muslim’s houses, workplaces and cars. In many cases Muslims
              have perished in the flames when their homes were set alight as they
                   96
              slept. The government appears to take preventive action, but in reality,
              certain radical groups (that are in fact sometimes in the administration)
              give silent yet decisive support to such attacks. This is a fact established
              by human rights organizations. For instance, Human Rights Watch has
              prepared a number of reports on Muslims’ persecution in India, reveal-
              ing the conduct of government officials, local governments, and the se-
                                                        97
              curity forces based on eyewitness accounts. Radical Hindus, encour-
              aged by Hinduism’s racist philosophy continue to carry out such at-
              tacks.
                   The behind the scenes politics that led to the destruction of the
              Babur Mosque and the tensions thus created, are the same as in the
              events that began with an arson attack on a train in mid -2002 and cul-
              minated in the martyrdom of 2,000 Muslims. A train carrying a group of
              radical Hindus was torched. It was claimed that Muslims were respon-
              sible for this attack, but soon enough, voices were heard suggesting that

              a provocative conspiracy was at work. A report filed by the BBC ap-
              peared to confirm this version of events; some people on the train
              claimed that a group of Muslims stopped the train, and then started the



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