What makes Communalism Combat quite outstanding is the way it has stayed with and followed up the stories it has published. It has not abandoned the victims to be left on their own. Some of the victims who were helped by Communalism Combat include victims of the Mumbai riots who were denied relief, victims from a village in Konkan who were picked up and tortured when police mistakenly believed bobbins used in the textile industry to be ‘rockets’, and victims of the Gujarat riots such as Kutubuddin Ansari or Zahira Sheikh. That the conviction rate for the perpetrators of crimes against humanity has been dismal in the past remains a challenge to be met.

For too long now, some activists have perceived the issues of justice and reconciliation as separate. As someone who has been involved in bringing hope, healing and reconciliation in the aftermath of violence across the country for twenty years, I can say that the work has not become any easier over the years. Since Gujarat, I have often asked myself the question – Where have we, as activists, failed? Why have we not been able to prevent the outbreak of violence, nor found ways to build social support systems to help riot victims or rape victims? How should we combine the justice and reconciliation issues?

Communalism Combat has made regular efforts to publish stories about people of different communities helping each other during times of strife. Its recent issue (June-July 2003), containing translated stories from Aman ke Farishte, which tell us about ordinary people who showed extraordinary courage in saving people during the Malegaon riots, is testimony to that.

However, the magazine has not yet developed a strong and regular column that discusses issues of reconciliation in the Indian or South Asian context. Combat could also improve on its coverage of Jammu & Kashmir. Tackling these issues would help those who want to help at the grassroot/community level but have doubts such as – Can we talk about reconciliation without getting justice for the victims? Can we have reconciliation without justice or justice without reconciliation? What approaches should be adopted for reconciliation? When should we start the reconciliation process?

In the aftermath of Malegaon, Gujarat and the other longer-term violent conflicts in Kashmir, North-east India or other parts of South Asia, these issues have become extremely urgent. None of us have readymade answers or techniques to offer but we can all learn from each other’s experiences or struggles. Communalism Combat would do a great service if it were to start a discussion on these issues through its pages.