The pogrom in Gujarat has justifiably led to a considerable amount of soul-searching on the causes of mass murder. How can people, living, and working with each other, suddenly turn and kill their neighbours? For most people, the first explanation is in terms of poverty or unemployment. On closer examination, this is neither necessary nor sufficient; indeed, it might even be said that poor people do not go out and murder on a whim; who knows, they might have to turn to the very same people for food and jobs the next day.

Most recent examples of mass murders would include the pogrom against the Sikhs in 1984, the pogrom against the Tutsis (and moderate Hutus) in Rwanda in 1994, the pogrom against the Muslims in Bosnia, and the pogrom against the Muslims in Gujarat. Is there a common element running thru the three continents? Yes, a very strong denominator - the participation of the state in willful murder. But to explain this needs a little digression.

History suggests that the capacity and proclivity of neighbours to kill neighbours is large and universal. And not a function of the level of development. Rich and poor countries, civilized and uncivilized, all have within them elements who will wantonly kill, if the state permitted them to do so, without punishment. Post September 11 two innocent Indians got killed in the US for the simple reason that they had the same color of skin as Osama'a henchmen. Everybody seems to find it convenient to look the other way; Europeans did this shamelessly during the Bosnian genocide, the Congress partymen looked the other way with some embarrassment in 1984 (excluding those that were participating in the pogrom); the world, the UN, the United States, the people who could do something, looked the other way in 1994 in Rwanda; and now, there is mass murder and most ruling party members are not even embarrassed, let alone disgusted, with what the state helped bring about in Gujarat.

These examples contain in them the following consistent explanation. Every society, at all times, has a reasonable minority of its adult (and male) population of approximately 10 percent (2 percent of entire population). This segment is born without the capacity to be civilized. This minority, for lack of a better word, does not have any values. It is there for hire, for murder, for violence, anything that can be described as depraved behavior. If such people exist, and in such large numbers, then why haven't there been more pogroms than we have witnessed? For the simple reason that the mark of a civilization, and a civil government, is whether it protects the 98 percent of its population from the intentions of the "born evil" 2 percent. And how is this protection enforced? By punishment and enforcement of justice.

If this simple definition of civilization is employed, then the US emerges as a very civilized society. In a land where there are more guns than people, there were only two racial hatred murders after Sept. 11? How come? Some explanation is available after the fact. Within six months of the murders, the two murderers have been tried and convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. While this punishment does not bring the innocents back, it helps very importantly in preventing future injustices. It is an important deterrent. Looked at this way, the reason that only two such murders were committed is because the people (especially the 10 percent) knew what would be their fate if they exercised individual license.

Now when was the last time anybody got punished in India? For anything? To be sure, our jails are full, and our courts are busy (with taking bribes). But does anybody recall anybody being punished? Some were tried for pogrom 1984. No convictions. The Babri Masjid mosque is razed to the ground, and parties get elected. Which is fine, because that tells us what people will do. But no punishment means that society and its apparatus has failed - that is inexcusable. Which means that the 10 percent can act wantonly. As it did in Gujarat in March 2002, as it did with Milosevic in Bosnia, as it did with the X in Rwanda in 1994. 

Rwanda holds interesting lessons for what civilized societies do. When almost a 10th of the population (close to 800,0000) is murdered, as in Rwanda in 1994, civilization is not a word that comes to mind. True.

Rwanda is a poor country, and poorer still by most criteria. India is three times as rich as Rwanda; this poor African country has had virtually no growth for 40 years; the life expectancy there has stayed constant around only 45 years. Its infant mortality rate is a high 123 deaths per 1000 births, and less than 2 percent of the population completes middle school. In terms of political and civil liberties (an index developed by Freedom House according to which 1 represents the least liberty and 7 the most) Rwanda is at 1.5 and India is at 5.5.

As noted above, nobody has yet been punished in India for any crimes against humanity. But look at what Rwanda is doing to come to terms with its past - and make sure it does not happen again in the future. There is the UN International Tribunal which has convicted six, including the first head of state to be ever convicted, Jean Kambanda. These individuals are now serving a life sentence in Mali because Rwanda is not safe for them. According to LIPRODHOR, a Rwanda based human rights group, local Rwandan courts have tried "lesser" genocide perpetrators than heads of state, and sentenced 400 to death. Twenty-two people have publicly been executed. The Rwandan people, and its judiciary, have also set up a local, panchayati level justice system known as "gacaca". These "courts" bring out the accused (more than 125,000 such are in over-crowded Rwandan jails) in a public gathering and ask if anybody present knows whether the accused has committed a crime. If no one comes forth, the person is released. A 18 year old boy, Byumbu Aron, was released in this manner (he was 14 at the time of arrest, and 11 at the time of the genocide).

There are holes in the Rwandan justice system; just as there are holes here. But it is likely that with the punishment that is being meted out to the guilty, and the innocents being set free, and participation by all in Rwandan society via the "people's court", that Rwanda is not only showing signs of civilized behavior today, but is preventing the chance of such occurrences in the future. And what about India? Do the 10 percent feel threatened, or are they looking forward to the next joy ride (as they did at Bhagalpur, Delhi, Surat, Kanpur, Mumbai, Ahmedabad), knowing that the state, and its justice, is with them.