The Dawood family launched civil actions against senior figures responsible for organising the Gujarat Genocide, including the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the belief that only a sustained international campaign can ensure justice. Five years on. Yusuf Dawood marks the anniversary of losing loved family members in the Gujarat carnage and discusses the journey their campaign has taken.

CultivAsian: 5 years on - how has the family dealt with what happened in February 2002?

Yusuf: As best as we can really. It has not been easy and the sudden loss of loved ones under such tragic circumstances has been very painful and will take a long time to get over. The need to get closure and move on emotionally has been extremely difficult partly because there has never been a funeral and also because there has been no proper investigation/ justice.

The death of our loved ones has simply not been taken seriously and this makes it hard to come to terms with. They were very precious to us and have left behind young children, yet, it pains me to say that as far as the Gujarati and Indian authorities are concerned they have behaved in a very inhumane fashion and done nothing. This inaction has partly been made easier for them because the community and community leaders / media have walked away from Gujarat.

CultivAsian: Where does your current legal challenge stand?

Yusuf: We asked for a fresh investigation into the criminal case and asked for the case to be transferred outside of Gujarat (for obvious reasons); the whole matter has been tied up in bureaucracy despite the fact the Indian Govt and UK have a bilateral agreement for co-operation and such cooperation if extended to our family would have brought justice; yet, the Indian authorities have consistently ignored our requests even when the PM and Foreign Secretary have offered assistance.

In view of the Gujarat Authorities being the investigators and perpetrators of the crimes against my family and the Muslims of Gujarat, the family launched a civil case against Modi and senior members of the Gujarat Government. and Police. The latest on the case is that the Supreme Court has stipulated that it must be heard in Gujarat, a decision which we are all flabbergasted by. How can you expect a case to be held in Gujarat to succeed when witnesses are too scared?

Let me give you an example; the Doctor who treated my nephew who was stabbed and left for dead, was himself a Hindu; yet, he saved my nephews life and for helping a young Muslim his community in Gujarat have threatened his life, drove him out of his home and then we was imprisoned. There's been no awareness of this. This is the reality of Gujarat today; we talk of the civil rights movement in the US in the 60's, the anti apartheid campaign, the Palestinian cause; yet where is Gujarat. All that we are told is that Gujarat is vibrant and good for business. How can such inhumane treatment be good for business?

In spite of all the obstacles, our brave legal team, which is comprised from Hindus and Muslims is proceeding with the case and we will take the case outside of India if necessary.

CultivAsian: Your campaign for justice for the Dawood family seems to have become bigger than justice for your family - Would you agree? If so, how and when did this happen?

Yusuf: Given that we have launched civil cases against the perpetrators of the Genocide; yes, on that level it is not just about one family. This challenge is about accountability and without accountability this kind of incident is more likely to be repeated. The case against Modi et al is the only legal challenge of its kind and we need support to make it a feasible challenge.

CultivAsian: What are the barriers that you have come up against in this journey?

Yusuf:

• Both the Gujarat Authorities and Indian Authorities have done nothing to help gain justice.

• The UK Government has treated the matter with a ridiculous level of 'sensitivity' and they have not pressed hard enough for justice.

• In terms of awareness, the media were interested at the beginning but this quickly evaporated. The media and community support is quite important to ensure that the political dimension works, however a lack of interest from these groupings has made our work difficult.

• Resourcing is difficult; we are fighting a Chief Minister and a State Govt. yet we are operating with little support. The main support has come to us from Suresh Grover and the Monitoring Group, without whom the Campaign would not have been possible.

CultivAsian: What have been your glimmers of hope that those responsible will be held to account?

Yusuf: There was one glimmer of hope when Congress came to power. The family even wrote to PM Manmohan Singh. However, despite the letter being hand delivered by the UK authorities, we had no response and Congress have done nothing at all so this slight glimmer of hope faded.

Looking into the future, we have strong legal team in India and Public Interest Law team at Oxford University are now on board, so we'll keep plugging away because Modi won’t be Chief Minister forever and one day, either in India or Europe he will have to answer for his crimes.

CultivAsian: What difference can communities make here to ensure that the violence that we saw in Gujarat never happens again? What kind of support have you had?

Yusuf: Communities in the UK benefit from peace, security and harmony. They should not import hatred from Gujarat and should not export it, by way of financial and other assistance. The involvement of communities is crucial to bring matters to prominence; the Steven Lawrence case is a good example of this.

If I am honest, the support from the UK communities has been minimal. Most people don't know what happened and don't know what they can do about it. I wish I had something more positive to say, but the truth is that I had expected community organisations to be lobbying and taking the challenge of their own awareness campaigns up and down the country. 5 years on, where is the community?

This struggle for justice is so crucial and it's a sad state of affairs that the barbaric murders, mass rapes and killings in Gujarat have been brushed aside. We should make a noise about this, never again means just that.

CultivAsian: What do you think the episode in Gujarat tells us about the lessons learnt by our communities 60 years on from the communal violence we saw when India was partitioned?

Yusuf: On this occasion the pattern of violence was unique. We had a Chief Minister and ruling party that organised Genocide and used the machinery of the Government. i.e Police etc to carry out its wishes and reap votes. How can this happen in the modern world? How can the BJP and Modi attract so much support? Its crazy and the tragic thing is that in the UK, well to do respectable persons are pumping money and assistance into Gujarat for their hate campaigns and there's little to no awareness of it.