1992 Bombay riots: The pictures show consequences of a vicious atmosphere: Justice Srikrishna | Mumbai news

MUMBAI: It’s been 32 years, but photojournalist Sherwin Crasto still trembles recalling the violence that rocked Bombay during the 1992 riots and 1993 bomb blasts. As a photographer for a newspaper (‘The Independent’), he saw the death and destruction all around – a history captured on film, for all to see and remember in the future. On Saturday, keeping that last promise, an exhibition of 44 photographs taken by 14 of the city’s top photojournalists, titled ‘Forty four thousand words’ was inaugurated at the Mumbai Press Club.

“A train had arrived from Gujarat. Just as the travellers started walking from Bandra Terminus to the Bandra station, residents from the next neighbourhood descended upon them, and stabbed two people in front of my eyes,” said Crasto, detailing the backstory of a photograph of his that the then-home minister would allege was fabricated. “It was only afterwards that I realised there was a third stabbing in the photo of a person facing me, his attacker behind. On the wayside, which is cropped out, one man stood ready to throw stones at me and another was hurtling towards me with a bamboo stick. I fled on my scooter.”

The allegations of fabrication then set the police after him, with Crasto hiding out in the dark room, as the newspaper prepared to publish a rebuttal with photographs from his film reel depicting the sequences of events of the day.

But what came to his rescue was fellow journalist of another newspaper (‘The Indian Express’), Rajesh Kakade, also featured in the exhibition. “Raju went to Bhabha Hospital where he found the three stabbed victims, with the DCP, which cemented the truth of the photo,” he said.

The 44 frames at the exhibition depict traumatic stories of the city torn in the wake of the communal violence that started after the Babri Masjid demolition on December 6, 1992, that followed into January of 1993, and then sparked again with the bomb blasts in March.

The black and white pictures tell a thousand words: a girl running for her life past a dead body; bodies lying around burning cars; the injured being taken to hospital; men in acts of violence, wielding swords; children rescued from mob violence and carrying jugs of water during relaxed curfew hours; the army and police on guard.

Kakade narrated the story behind his photograph of a burning body sticking out of a BEST bus that went up in flames from the impact of the bomb blast at Century Bazar. “I heard the blast from my house in Prabhadevi, and immediately set out on my bike,” he said. “It was chaotic. It felt like we were in a war zone. Cars were burning, a head was on the street, the police would call me for verification. We shot what we saw.”

The photographers’ proclivity and need to seek out the action meant putting their own safety at stake. “The very first day after the riots in 1992 a few photographers were beaten up,” said Crasto. “As the head of the Photographers Association, we decided to meet at the police press room and head out in groups, on our bikes. We roamed with the police, who were the first to get the information.”

“During the 1993 blasts, I was in the office when our glass windows shattered. I rushed downstairs, and I could see – and capture – people running out from the Air India building,” said veteran photographer Mukesh Parpiani, who helmed the photo team at The Indian Express in the mid-’90s.

The exhibition was inaugurated by former judge of the Supreme Court, BN Srikrishna, who chaired the Srikrishna Commission to investigate the violence.

“A long time ago, when the Holocaust Museum in LA was questioned why they chose to perpetuate such horrific memories, the organisers gave an apt reply,” he said, “The answer was two-fold; one, that you cannot wipe out history, and the second, is that it is a good model of what one should not repeat. I’m happy that these photographs present to the youth of today the consequences of the vicious atmosphere that was created, that therefore will be a model of what not to do in the future.”

Speaking about how he reconciled his position as a devout Hindu while being a part of the committee that released its report in 1998, he said, “I love my religion, and that is why I am prepared to respect every other religion. In my role as a judge, I judge according to the oath I’ve taken on the Constitution.”

“It was very important we capture what happened in the city for the papers the next day,” said photographer Sudharak Olwe. “The city was burning. Religious frenzy had enveloped people and the atmosphere was politically charged; people who were once friends, turned against each other. The city had changed,” said Olwe.

The other photographers with works on display are Gajanan Dhudhalkar, Neeraj Priyadarshi, Shailendra Yashwant, Akela Srinivas, Ashesh Shah, Prakash Parsekar, Datta Khedekar, Jayprakash Kelkar and Santosh Nimbalkar.

The exhibition will be open to public till April 30.