Best Bakery Case

Siddharth Varadarajan's article in The Hindu: "The latest act in the tragedy that is Zahira."

Zahira may or may not have taken money but she and her family will always remain the principal victims in the case. Each time she turns hostile, she enacts another chapter in the tragedy that is Gujarat.

Apart from the obvious issue of witness protection, the Supreme Court needs to take a hard look at the question of financial compensation for the riot victims.

The pittance that the Modi Government has offered as compensation for the lives lost or homes and businesses destroyed often forces victims who have lost everything to forsake the elusive chimera of justice for the immediate relief of a pay-off.

The worst that can be said about Zahira Sheikh is that having lost everything while the rulers of Gujarat sat back and enjoyed the show, she is trying to get the best she can out of a politico-legal system that rarely delivers justice to the poor.

But if "greed" is the vice which has afflicted her, it pales into insignificance before the greater immorality of those who are so determined to ensure that the perpetrators of the communal carnage in Gujarat are never brought to book.

Amardeep Singh's post: "Tell it to the Tehelka: Communalism and Corruption in Gujurat." Amardeep puts things in perspective, and the post has many relevant links.