Irfan Engineer
(Secular Perspective January 16-31, 2015)
Communal Violence in UP:
UP was most continued this year too to report most incidents of communal violence with 129 incidents in which 25 persons died and 364 persons were injured. Though these were less incidents compared to 2013, UP continues to be communal conundrum. Most ordinary event could lead to tension between members of two communities. For example, death of a 20 year old Brahmin woman in on 17th August who was in regular touch with Nadeem and who allegedly beat her up led to tensed moments for the Faizabad police as it could trigger off communal violence. (Express News Service, 2014) Communal riots in UP were not only between Hindus and Muslims, but also between Muslims and Sikhs. The riots were over petty issues like loudspeakers at religious places or use of fire crackers during processions. Most of these riots were in West UP where elections to by polls were to be held in November. There were in six out of twelve constituencies where by polls were to be held.
On Monday 24th February, members of two communities clashed in Muhammedpur area of Azamgarh over construction of a platform around a banyan tree where idols were worshipped. One person, Vijay Pratap Yadav was killed and another received gunshot injuries. Shops were rampaged and vehicles were set on fire. Violence began at 7 pm and continued for two hours before police could bring it under control. Four FIRs were registered – three cross FIRs by the two groups and one by the Station Officer. (The Indian Express, 2014)
On 10th May, there were clashes between Hindus and Muslims over possession of a well adjacent to a mosque in Teer Gran area of Meerut town. Two motorcycles were torched. The clashes were just two days before the by polls were to take place. Muslims were trying to install a water cooler and a gate which was objected to by the Hindus. There was a dispute since 1952 and the Nagar Nigam had taken the well in its possession. The riots went on for about two hours and 12 persons were injured, four in firing. One person who had sustained bullet injury died. (Rai, 2014) The riots spread to Bazaza Bazar, Lala Bazar and Budhana Bazar. Vijay Anand was first to reach the spot and object to the gate being constructed. Photographs of the youth who was critically injured was uploaded on WhatsApp by local BJP leaders. (Sharma, 2014)
On 4th June members of two communities clashed over work on a sewer line at Chausana village in Shamli district. Muslim pradhan of the village had proposed the line which was to displace a Hindu place of worship. This led to rioting between the two communities in which 20 people were injured. Many of them suffered serious head injuries. (Bhardwaj, 2014) canes, brickbats and swords were used. Members of both communities lodged complaint of attempt to murder against each other.
On 4th July, there were clashes in Kanth area of Moradabad wherein more than 50 persons, including the DM, were injured. The clashes occurred when BJP workers organized a mahapanchayat defying police orders against removal of loudspeakers from a temple by police. Jatavs (SC), traditional base of BSP, are a minority in Kanth village. They installed loudspeaker on their temple in the month of Ramzan which was removed by the police. The Jatavs and the Muslims of the village had reached an agreement on use of loudspeaker. Yet it was politically expedient to violate the agreement and incite violence. BJP MPs Satyapal Saini, Yashwant Singh, Sarvesh Kumar, Rajendra Agarwal and Nepal Singh orgainsed the mahapanchayat demanding that the loudspeaker be reinstalled. BJP has never led movements for rights of dalits to enter temples but they were keen to aggravate conflict with Muslims by installing loudspeakers over their temple. The BJP was trying to weaken the BSP by appearing to be on their side in the conflict and mobilizing the dalits for Hindutva agenda. The motivation for the clash seems to be the by polls for Thakurdwara constituency after the BJP MLA Kunwar Sarvesh Singh was elected as MP. Mr. Singh of BJP was behind SP’s Hasan in Thakurdwara segment by 475 votes (Tripathi, 2014).
On 26th July there were communal clashes in Saharanpur between the Muslims and the Sikhs. Three people were killed and 27[1] people were injured in the incident. There was a conflict over a disputed plot of 3,400 square feet with Masjid on it which was part of 3,500 square yard plot that was sold to Sikhs for construction of a Gurudwara near the railway station. A section of Muslims claim that the 3,400 square feet of plot with Masjid on it was not a part of the deal, Sikhs claim otherwise. Curfew was imposed across 6 police stations. A section of Muslims claimed that the land belonged to the Waqf Board whereas a section of Sikhs claimed that they had bought the land about 15 years ago (Kumar & Mathur, 2014). During the riots some men came to the Muslim locality along with police and fired rubber bullets, smashed window panes of the mosques, torched cars, and damaged shops. More than two dozen vehicles were torched and 70 shops were set on fire. B S Chawla told Indian express that the police were nowhere from 7 am to 9 am when the men broke into their shops and looted them. (Bhardwaj, 2 killed in Saharanpur clash, 2014). BJP’s Raghav Lakhan Pal had contested Lok Sabha elections and won. His Assembly constituency fell vacant and by polls had to be held. The UP Govt.’s 5 member panel led by state minister Shivpal Yadav too blamed Raghav Lakhan Pal for inciting communal violence. 38 people were arrested and nine FIRs were filed. During the riots, a Hindu couple sheltered three Muslim women for three days during curfew, and an old Muslim offered to mortgage his home to help a Sikh whose shop had been reduced to rubble (Ghosh, 2014) and Muslims were rebuilding the shops of Sikhs burnt down during riots (Ali, 2014). The role of police also came in for criticism from the locals. Mohammed Abid Hasan and Tauheed Khan alleged that police were looting shops and burning houses (Upadhyay, 2014)
On 18th August there was communal flare up in Loni, Gaziabad with pelting stones and torching vehicles. One thirty year old Muslim youth – Jameel – was gunned down by two assailants. There were allegations of a rape of a 19 year old Hindu woman by a 60 year old man on Sunday, 17th August at about 4 pm. FIR was registered and the culprit was arrested at 10.30 pm on the same day. A false rumour was spread that the woman died which led to the communal violence (Gupta, 2014).
On 21st August, a minor quarrel between two 15 year old school children belonging to two different communities – Hindu and Muslim – spiralled into a communal riot in Bahadurgarh Village in Hapur Dist. stones were pelted and vehicles were torched. Half a dozen shops belonging to both communities were burnt and a mosque damaged in stone pelting. Police arrested 10 persons. No one was killed. (Express News Service, 2014)
On 24th August, one person – Ejaz was died from burns when his shop was gutted and 12 persons, including a woman who sustained 70% burns when her house was burnt, and 6 police personnel were injured, in a riot between two communities in Kanpur. Shops and houses were set ablaze in Ghatampur area. Two days back, two boys were allegedly caught stealing from a house in Bheetar village and beaten. The rumours that the two boys died led to communal violence. 13 people have been arrested (Press Trust of India, 2014)
On 29th August, four students belonging to a community were beaten up in a colony in Muzaffarnagar while returning from tuition classes claiming that they were involved eve-teasing. The boys were rescued by police and admitted into a hospital. Paramilitary force had to be deployed to ensure that the violence did not spread (The Times of India, 2014).
Frequency of incidents in Madhya Pradesh alarming
Madhya Pradesh experienced 42 incidents of communal violence in 2014. Half-a-dozen incidents of clashes and communal flare-ups have been reported in the month of July & August.
On July 30, one person was killed in Khandwa in communal violence. Tension forced the administration to fire in air and clamp curfew. After the curfew was lifted there was fresh tension and enforcement of Section 144. Earlier too there was an incident of murder. In Susner town in Agar district, communal clash erupted after a minor row when a person asked member of another community to remove his vehicle. and Raisen also witnessed communal flare-up.
In Raisen, many people were injured and property damaged in July during a communal clash. In Ujjain there was communal tension over objectionable Facebook posts, leading to mobs taking to streets. There was protest when case was not registered. The next day, there was tension after flesh was found near a place of worship. In Shahdol, an objectionable photograph on another social networking site led to tension in different places in the district. People took to the streets after the post was shared. The accused was subsequently arrested (Alavi & Sarkar, 2014).
References
Alavi, S. U., & Sarkar, S. (2014, August 20). Communal tension on rise in Madhya Pradesh. Retrieved December 29, 2014, from Hindustan Times: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/madhyapradesh/communal-tension-on-rise-in-madhya-pradesh/article1-1253724.aspx
Ali, M. (2014, September 7). Looking for peace in Saharanpur. The Hindu .
Bhardwaj, A. (2014, July 27). 2 killed in Saharanpur clash. The Sunday Express .
Bhardwaj, A. (2014, June 6). Twenty injured as Hindus, Muslims clash over sewer line in UP village. The Indian Express .
Express News Service. (2014, August 18). Faizabad tense as woman dies, ‘friend’ held. The Indian Express .
Express News Service. (2014, August 22). Quarrel between children sparks communal clashes in Hapur. The Indian Express .
Ghosh, A. (2014, September 8). Heroes emerge amid loot and arson in Saharanpur. The Times of India .
Gupta, S. (2014, August 19). Another crime, rumouts push UP town to the edge. Times of India .
Kumar, Y., & Mathur, S. (2014, July 27). Riot rocks UP, 3 dead in Saharanpur. Times of India .
Press Trust of India. (2014, August 24). One killed, 12 injured in communal clash in Kanpur. The Indian Express .
Rai, S. (2014, May 11). Communal riots rocks Meerut, 4 shot at & 1 dead. Sunday Times of India .
Sharma, A. (2014, May 11). 3 shot, many injured in Hindu-Muslim clashes in Meerut, BJP uploads photos. The Indian Express .
The Indian Express. (2014, February 26). Azamgarh Clash Leaves One Dead. The Indian Express .
The Times of India. (2014, August 31). Muzaffarnagar on the boil again. The Times of India .
Tripathi, A. (2014, August 7). UP unrest linked to bypolls? Times of India .
Upadhyay, K. (2014, July 28). Saharanpur violence: locals accuse police of plunder. The Hindu , p. 10.
[1] While Sunday Express dated 27/7/14 story filed by Ananya Bhardwaj claims 27 people were injured, including three policemen, The Times of India of same date reports 24 people were injured.
