Our conscience-keeper (1951-2014)
Can a person, doggedly fighting injustices wherever he found them, be so polite and humble? This rare combination was in Mukul Sinha who breathed his last on 12 May 2014. Mukul Sinha’s journey from a science teacher, to a scientist in the prestigious Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad, to a trade unionist, and finally as an advocate fighting to establish truth behind the torching of the S-6 compartment of Sabarmati Express on the fateful day of 27 February 2002, and the riots that followed, was tedious and eventful.
I first met Mukul Sinha in the year 1989-90 when I was a young activist working among tribals in the Dangs district. We were persecuted by the forest department and the police, as we were exposing their corruption. Mukul took me to a senior advocate and not only provided the necessary legal assistance, but also offered his house whenever I needed to stay in Ahmedabad. He took me to Gandhinagar to meet the officials whose case he was fighting. Those officials couldn’t help much, but it shows the role he wanted the unions to play – not to fight only for their immediate benefit, but to take up the problems of other oppressed sections of society as well. He desired that the forest workers union should not only fight for their permanency and promotions, but should also extend solidarity and help to the adivasis (tribals) fighting against corruption and for conservation of the forest. From a scientist in PRL, Mukul took on the role of a trade unionist when 133 workers of PRL were sacked. Mukul expressed his solidarity with the workers and was eventually removed from PRL himself during the struggle. He did his law during that period and fought for the workers. Along with others, he formed the Gujarat Federation of Trade Unions, organising the workers in various industries, particularly the unorganised and small-scale industry. He also organised the marginalised in other fields, and in 1990 he formed the Jan Sangharsh Manch. He was a socialist and believed in economic justice and equity, however, he was not dogmatic and doctrinaire in his approach.
The turning point in his life was when the S-6 compartment of Sabarmati Express was burnt in Godhra and the incident was used to trigger off the anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat. Seeing the mayhem around him, he dedicated himself to the task of justice for the victims of the riots. Mukul meticulously collected evidence to disprove the conspiracy theory propounded by the Gujarat government. He single-handedly fought the battle on behalf of the victims before the Nanavati-Shah Commission. He analysed the call data records that showed that during the riots, police officials were moving away from the place where riots were taking place, rather than moving towards the locality. It is due to his efforts that Maya Kodnani and Babu Bajrangi were convicted by the trial court.
Later, he also fought for the victimised IPS officials, including Rahul Sharma and Rajnish Rai, as they were exposing the role of powers that be in the communal riots, and planned murders of Ishrat Jehan and Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai in 2004, Sohrabuddin Sheikh in 2005 and Tulsiram Prajapati in 2006, which were passed off as encounters of deadly terrorists. Mukul stood firm with the victims’ families. Mukul wrote and posted all his evidence on the website called “Truth of Gujarat” and exposed the so-called Gujarat Model of Development as much of a hype rather than truth.
Mukul`s activities pinched the Gujarat government so much that they tried to get his sanad cancelled. Mukul Sinha’s efforts will not go waste. His struggle is being carried on by his wife Nirjhari and son Pratik, and other leaders of Jan Sangharsh Manch. Truth and justice shall prevail. But we will truly miss you Mukul, you were a milestone in that struggle.