Scarred: Experiments with Violence in Gujarat

by Dionne Bunsha

Experiments with Violence in Gujarat asserts the existence of a much larger politics of violence, and tells the story of a disaster in Hindutva’s laboratory which etched deep faults in Gujarat’s social landscape. While capturing the predicament of the Sabarmati Express survivors, Scarred is an intense, moving portrait of refugees whose lives have been changed forever by the violence that followed. It tells the story of people fighting for justice amidst fear and turmoil, unable to return home. It is also an insightful look into the minds of the perpetrators of this violence, and the world they seek to construct—a world where the ghettoization and socio-economic boycott of Muslims have become the norm. What exactly happened in Gujarat in February 2002? Why did the country’s political leaders fiddle while Gandhi’s Gujarat burned? In this honest and thought-provoking book, Dionne Bunsha tries to answer these and many of the questions that we are still left with.

Genres: Nonfiction, India

332 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Aakash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scarred is an important book to be read by every indian. It takes us throught the untold stories of the 2002 riots of gujarat and reveals the horrific side of communalism persisting in the streets and town of the state. Dionne Bunsha is meticulous about the details she provides to raise the kind of thought provoking questions she raises. The numbers and details and its rich source of bibliography make it a perfect "first-book" for those who want to dig deep into the riots. Its great source for academics and casual readers alike.

[Kinjal Parekh]

This book educated me a lot. Politics is indeed the dirtiest business in the entire f'ing universe. Just .. forget it.
Read it if you want to know what happened in Gujarat in 2002. It's a perfect book for the same.
P.S. You might lose all your faith in humanity so incase you decide to read this one, don't say I didn't warn you.

Brilliantly written by Dionne Bunsha.

[Avid reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horrifying.