28 ... ... ... ... .. S I T UAT I O N I N G U JA R AT Situation in Gujarat CHAPTER 3 3.1 The preceding annual report of the Commission dealt in some detail with the human rights situation in Gujarat, beginning with the tragedy that occurred in Godhra on 27 February 2002 when the Sabarmati Express was attacked and set on fire, and the large-scale communal violence that subsequently ensued. 3.2 That report, inter alia, referred to the circumstances in which the Commission took suo-motu cognizance of the situation on 1 March 2002, its subsequent Proceedings of 6 March 2002, the visit of the high-level team of the Commission led by its then Chairperson to Gujarat between 19-22 March 2002, and the Proceedings of the Commission dated 1 April 2002 and 31 May 2002, both of which were annexed in full to that report given the importance of the issues that they considered. 3.3 It is a matter of some regret to the Commission that the principal recommendations and observations made by it in those Proceedings, particularly in paragraph 21 of the Proceedings of 1 April 2002 and paragraphs 19, 20, 27, 29 & 64 of the Proceedings of 31 May 2002, received an inadequate response from the Government of Gujarat. In consequence, it came as no surprise to the Commission that many of the grave misgivings that it expressed in those Proceedings subsequently proved to be well-founded. Sadly, therefore, the initial failure to protect human rights was compounded by the failure - at least thus far - to provide justice to those whose rights had been violated. 3.4 This being said, for reasons of brevity, the present report will not traverse N AT I O N A L H U M A N R I G H T S C O M M I S S I O N