BeyondHeadlines

Tag: Communal Violence

  • Persistence of a Sore: Communal Violence Today

    Persistence of a Sore: Communal Violence Today

    Ram Puniyani

    The events taking place in different parts of the country in October-November 2012 have been very disturbing to say the least. It is the continuance and recurrence of communal events, communal violence in different parts of the country, in UP, Assam and Hyderabad in particular. In UP since the Akhilesh Yadav Government has come to power there has taken place a series of acts of violence in UP. Since Samajwadi Party took over the reins of the state in March 2012, in the past few months’ communal violence took place in Mathura, Pratapgarh, Bareilly, Meerut, Allahabad and Lucknow. The latest in the series has been the tragic events of Faizabad, where On 24 October 2012, when the immersion procession of Durga was going on, a girl was molested by few miscreants. Making this as a pretext few people started stone throwing in the nearby areas. A rumor was spread in Faizabad that Muslims are doing the stone throwing. The mob went on to burn nearly 25 shops of Muslim traders. They also rampaged the office of bilingual (Urdu and Hindi) paper Aap Ki Takat. This paper is continuously giving the message of Peace and calling for Hindu-Muslim unity. They also vandalized the mosque.

    According to activist Yugal Kishore Sharan Shastri, this was a pre-planned attack. The editor of the paper Manzar Mehdi feels, this is an attempt to silence the voice of peace. The police took long time to reach the spot and did not intervene effectively. Similarly the fire brigade also took four hours to reach, by which time the shops were totally destroyed.

    In the far off Assam, the recurrence of violence resulted in the death of six people, and it seemed whether there is going to be recurrence of the tragic incidents of July 2012, when nearly four lakh, mainly Muslims, were displaced and sixty people died. Assam violence was a bit different than others as here the number of displaced were much more and it seemed that there is a plan to get the Bodo areas cleared from the presence of the Muslims. Here one also saw that in the process of rehabilitation the Government is having a lopsided approach and Muslims are not being rehabilitated as many of them do not fuilfil the criterion of proper records due to various reasons. This was one case of violence where apart from police playing its role of a mere onlooker, the propaganda, based on misconceptions was made the base of violence. It has been propagated that Muslims are infiltrators, Bangldeshis and have been encroaching the lands of Bodos. Lot has been written to dispel this myth. Muslims have mainly been coming from Bengal from 18th Century due to the British policy of reducing the pressure on overpopulated Bengal and to ensure that the stretches of Assam, having low population density are populated. Since the perceptions have made a deep root in social common sense, the violence against Muslims, the citizens of Assam-India have gone on and communal forces have taken full advantage of that.

    The third incidence is from the Southern state of Andhra, where the historic monument of Charminar is being vandalized by putting up renovation of Bhagyalaxmi temple, which is abutting the Charminar. This violates the norms of Archaeological Survey of India. The plea of ASI that the changes in temple may damage the Minar and that this an illegal act is falling on the deaf years and government has been letting the act of desecration of Charminar going on, much to the annoyance of the people of old city of Hyderabad and historic Charminar area. There have been minor skirmishes due to which many a people have been injured and the area saw the curfew for some time.

    These three incidents are very typical of as to what goes on to make a communal violence. There is preplanning in these acts, as is clear in all these cases. The pretext and rumours about violation of the modesty of women, is very much visible in the case of Faizabad. In case of Faizabad, apart from intimidating the minorities, burning their shops, the ransacking of the office of bilingual paper, Aap Ki Taqat is very symbolic. This paper is bilingual, Urdu and Hindi. Its belief is that Hindu Muslims are brothers and Hindi-Urdu are sisters. It has been talking of peace in Ayodhay and is opposed the communal politics which led to Babri demolition. In UP while the Samajvadi party (SP) is very much in the total control of situation, how come violence is taking place? SP has been always claiming to be secular and in past many a times it has come forward to protect the values of secularism. There seem to be deeper forces which are beyond the control of SP, or does SP sees a political benefit in letting violence happen remains to be seen. It is painfully obvious in case of UP, Faizabad also that police machinery is not interested in controlling the violence, even when it can. It either helps the rioters or looks the other way round when the violence is taking place. In Hyderabad one sees the use of historical places to incite the communal tension. How systematically communal forces built up the Ram Temple campaign leading to demolition of Babri Masjid is a sad reminder to what can happen in Hyderabad. In Ayodhya also Babri Masjid was a monument under control of ASI, but with political hysteria built around it, it was demolished in the broad day light with state, police very much in the know of things.

    The multiple factors which lead to communal violence remain unaddressed so the recurrence of these acts of violence goes on in such a painful way. Social activists and scholars have pointed out the role of communal forces, state machinery, irrespective of who is in power; the role of rumours, the ‘social common sense’ targeted against minorities persists. It is very sure that unless the problem is dealt with in its totality the country will keep suffering the pain of this violence and minorities in particular will keep suffering. It also reminds us as to what is the state of our democracy and the need for an effective and balanced Communal Violence Bill? No democracy can be satisfactory unless the minorities are safe and secure and are having equity in economic matters. These incidents are reminders to all those having faith and longing for a peaceful, secular, democratic society that we need to work against those who operate on communal ground, we need to ensure that social misconceptions are removed and an atmosphere of amity is created and that pressures have to bring in Communal Violence prevention Bill to punish the acts of commission or omission by political authorities and the police forces…

  • Celebrating Harmony and Peace

    Celebrating Harmony and Peace

    Ram Puniyani

    Communal violence is the sad reality of South Asian states. India in particular has been witnessing this violence more so after the coming of British. British in pursuance of their policy of ‘Divide and Rule’, introduced communal historiography and sections of population who wanted to preserve their feudal privileges, picked up this version of History and used religion as a cover for their politics. Both Hindu and Muslim communalism, in a way played a supplementary role to the British policy of divide and rule. The communal violence, which has been stalking the streets of India is due to numerous factors and is causing immense suffering to the society. Many a social group and many an individuals are doing their bit to ensure that the flames of communal violence are doused and amity prevails in the society.

    In this light, it was heartening to note the observance of ‘Peace and Harmony’ day, on the anniversary of Vasant–Rajab on 1st July in Ahmadabad. Vasant Rao Hegiste and Rajab Ali Lakhani were two friends who were working for the amity in the society. In the communal conflagration which broke out in Ahmadabad in the wake of post partition tragedy, both of them went in the city to restore peace and amity. The crowd, maddened by the feeling of hate, killed them. The day of their martyrdom is being celebrated in Gujarat by various groups. One recalls there have been many outstanding individuals, thinkers, social activists who have sacrificed their lives on the altar of communal peace. The name of Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi comes to one’s mind for his selfless work in the Kanpur violence of 1931. For Gandhi, father of the nation, the Hindu Muslim amity was on the top of agenda and when whole nation was celebrating the release from the clutches of colonial powers he was doing his best in the riot ravaged Noakhali and other places. His efforts were superhuman, as he did not care for his safety, what was paramount for him was as to how to restore the sanity amongst the violent mobs. It is because of this that Lord Mountbatten the last Viceroy of British Empire and First Governor General of Independent India called him as the ‘one man army’.

    One is sure there must be various glorious examples of such superhuman efforts in our community, who need to be remembered with respect. One needs to learn a lot from their values while celebrating their anniversaries. It is all the more important in today’s India as communal violence is, unfortunately marching with relentless speed, changing it’s form and nature constantly. One has seen that since the decade of 1980s the violence in many a north Indian cities, Meerut, Malyana, Bhagalpur and Delhi was in a way revival of this horrendous phenomenon in the Independent India. The massacre in Nellie and Delhi were too dangerous in their extent and damage to human lives. Further down the Mumbai violence of 1992-93 gave us a warning signal that things are worsening on the front of intercommunity relations. This was followed by targeting another minority, the Christians, and brutal murder of Pastor Stains and later the Kandhmal violence came as yet another eye opener for us.

    The root cause of the communal violence is the politics in the name of religion. In this the political, social, economic agenda of vested interests are presented in the language of religion. Unfortunately in India this phenomenon is running parallel to the process of global aims of Imperial powers that in pursuit of their control over oil wells have promoted fundamentalism and terrorism in the name of religion. The Imperial power has also demonized one of the major religious communities of the World. This present era has been the one where the deeper process of ‘alliance of civilizations’ has been undermined and the flagship of the vested interests has been the thesis of’ ‘Clash of civilizations’, which is a falsification of the reality of the human history. One knows that human society has progressed due to alliance of diverse civilizations and cultures. While the rulers and affluent have been fighting for increasing their power and wealth, the average people of the world have been allying, intermixing with each other leading to high degree of synthesis in all aspects of human culture, be it food habits, clothing, language, literature, architecture, or be

  • Can Fasting bring harmony, while the scars remain unattended to?

    Can Fasting bring harmony, while the scars remain unattended to?

     

    Ram Puniyani

    Life is full of strange paradoxes. Narendra Modi undertook fast for three days for Sadbhavna (Harmony), to mark complete peace, unity and harmony (Sept 2011). This came in the backdrop of the Supreme Court verdict which has asked the trial court to examine all the evidence and amicus curie’s report so that his culpability or otherwise in Gulbarg society case is decided. The Supreme Court order has directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to file its final report into the allegations of Narendra Modi being the architect-in-chief of the 2002 Gujarat massacre. This was interpreted by BJP as a clean chit to Modi. Modi in turn took sigh of relief and pronounced, ‘God is great’. Shrewd as Modi is, he has tried to project that this has exonerated him from his sins of Gujarat carnage 2002.

    On one hand this fast is seen as an attempt to project him on the national scene, as after the political absence of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the eclipse on the fortunes of Lal Krishna Advani, there is tussle for the top slot in BJP. So far Modi has been projecting an image of man for development, but we know that the minorities and many allies of NDA are keeping a safe distance from Modi. This is a hindrance for his Prime Ministerial ambitions. BJP on other hand is celebrating the Supreme Court verdict just to create an impression of victory, which it is not. Now the process of justice is wide open and the path is open for the legal battle in times to come. It also seems that many goals have merged together leading to this fast by Modi.

    One aim of course has been that Modi can never be acceptable for the Prime Ministerial candidate by NDA, unless he comes clean of his role in Gujarat 2002 by seeking an apology. This has a problem as seeking apology will also be a confession of guilt, which will alienate his hard core constituency who were made to believe that they are insecure because of the tiny Muslim minority. Cleverly Modi even refused to take the moral responsibility of 2002 by mocking the interviewer by retaliating as to what is this moral responsibility! The second goal seems to be a longing for image change over without really apologising for the 2002. The idea for such a fast must have come from the Anna’s fast, which was successfully elevated into a spectacle for the hidden goals of RSS and the corporate, the backbones of Anna movement. Seeing the success of Anna experiment, Modi has been quick to grab the idea of creating similar spectacle by using the public money. Thirdly, it seems that the ground is slipping from under Modi’s feet, so in order to retrieve the ground he undertook this exercise with the hope that it may help him retain Gujarat and then claim National leadership.

    As such the truth is that at National level most of the allies of NDA know that the allegations against Modi have gone down too deep in the psyche of people. The acts of commission and omission of this person who was called as the ‘classic fascist person’ by the prominent social scientist, Ashish Nandy, are too glaring to be put under the carpet. Modi is trying to deflect all the criticism against him by saying that it is an insult to the six crore Gujaratis. This ploy may not work as a large number of citizens from Gujarat know that Modi may be the elected Chief Minister of Gujarat, but he is not the one who represents the essence of ‘Gujarat of Gandhi’ or Gujarat of dalits, Adivasis and Minorities, who also live in Gujarat in large numbers. Modi has done his best to create an image of ‘man of development’, thanks to the policies which have supported the large corporate houses, who have got state loans at minimal rate of interest, while the farmers continued to commit suicide burdened by loans etc. It is remarkable that while ‘shining Gujarat’ is projected, the ‘whining Gujarat’ is cleverly hidden from public vision.

    The claims of Harmony in Gujarat are far from true. Those working at ground level know that post Gujarat carnage the divides between religious communities have widened. The place like Juhapura, Ahmadabad is a good example of that. In Juhapura Muslims from all over the state are trying to settle, in search of safety, physical and emotional, in the hostile environment created by post carnage situation. The average banking and other social facilities are not reaching to such places. Not only Muslims, even the Christians minorities are feeling insecure despite the lapse of close to a decade after the carnage. The Godhra train burning verdict clarified the attitude of state authorities, where the chief accused of the train burning Haji Umarji was tried for years without any evidence whatsoever and then was exonerated by the Court. The minorities are feeling discriminated against and marginalized. On the top of that the lack of justice for the victims is a major issue. Despite one after other police officer coming out with sworn affidavits the high handed attitude of state leadership continues.

    The beginning of Sadbhavna has to be by seeking sincere apologies by Naremndra Modi. You cannot have peace and amity on the foundations of ‘hidden hate’ and ‘overt injustice’ prevailing in Gujarat. The polarization of religious communities has become more or less structural and the victims of carnage are finding no respite in their daily lives. Even the Human rights activists who have been taking up the cases on behalf of victims are being targeted and there are no brakes on the authoritarian nature of Narendra Modi. The gimmick of fasting for peace is a hollow move as the beginning of harmony has to be with the remorse for injustices which have been heaped on the minorities. Times and over again the TV anchors and social activists have tried to urge upon Modi to begin the process of harmony by apologizing for the carnage of 2002, but all these well meaning appeals have fallen on the deaf years.

    The process of Harmony fast revealed many things about the nature of politics being pursued by Modi. While he was more than keen to be wearing the head gears offered by other priests, he refused to put on the Muslim cap. While he could mobilise some victims on the stage, many a victims of injustices were not permitted to come anywhere close to him. We also witnessed that protesters were not allowed to vent their grievances while the fast for amity was in progress. All this is a clear reflection of the shape of things to come. The attempt to win over minorities of the state and the country will not cut any ice. The factors related to mis-governance may come to the fore and be a counter to the five star fast undertaken by Modi.

    This present move of fasting has deeper political agenda and has nothing to do with the longing for peace. One wishes the genuine aspirations for harmony are begun through a process of remorse, reparation and proper justice to the victims who have been languishing in ghettoes, bereft of proper rights as citizens. We do need to distinguish between genuine efforts for harmony from these hollow attempts meant to consolidate the politics of Hate…

  • Gujarat Riot Victim, NGO Files Application to Have Complaint Registered With SIT


    BeyondHeadlines Correspondent

    Ahmedabad: The victims of 2002 Gujarat communal riots along with an NGO have moved an application before the designated court so that it could ask the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to complete investigation in the riot cases and submit the Action Taken Report (ATR) before the court.

    The application alleges that they had earlier in 2009 moved an application before the SIT, the team constituted by the apex court to investigate riot cases, seeking further investigation.

    The application filed by Salim Shaikh, a Naroda Gaam riot incident victim and Amrish Patel, convener, Jan Sangharsh Manch, have sought further investigation into the larger conspiracy behind the riots. The application stated that the SIT has not done anything on this aspect and have not yet submitted any report on investigation since the last two years.

    They had sought further investigation on the grounds of call record details. They had asked the SIT to probe the role of police officials with regards to their negligence in controlling the riots. In the application to the agency they also wanted the SIT to find out if the cops had connived with the accused and also explore the larger conspiracy behind the riots.

    They have alleged that officials of the SIT as well the counsel representing the SIT made a statement under oath that the investigation is in process and they are looking into all the aspect of the case.

    However, in the application, Shaikh and Patel have raised the question as why the agency did not bother to submit a report or chargesheet before the court despite the fact that two years have passed since they first made a representation to the SIT.

    In the application, the two have thus prayed to the court to direct the SIT to submit its report or chargesheet in the case and also ask the SIT to submit the action taken report before the designated court in the riot cases.

  • Mamata Joins Non-Congress CMs in Oppose Draft of Communal Violence Bill at NIC Meeting

    Mamata Joins Non-Congress CMs in Oppose Draft of Communal Violence Bill at NIC Meeting

    BeyondHeadlines Staff Reporter

    New Delhi:  The Trinamool Congress opposed the draft of the Communal Violence Bill at the 15th meeting of the National Integration Council (NIC) in the national capital today. The Mamata Banerjee-led party is the first Congress ally to oppose the draft prepared by Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC).

    Courtesy: The Hindu/PTI

    The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) too opposed the draft of the Communal Violence Bill calling it “dangerous”.

    Senior BJP leaders Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj took on the NAC, which has drafted the bill, and said its draft was “non-secular and denies equivalence even in terms of communal law.”

    The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The last meeting of the NIC was held in October 2008.

    Meanwhile, other leaders who joined the chorus in opposing the draft of the bill were Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan.

    Expressing his concern over the bill, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said it was intended to meet “vested interests” and may “undermine the country’s federal structure.”

    Making a strong pitch for the rejection of the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Regulations) Bill, 2011, which is under consideration of the Central government, he said its provisions may encourage feelings of intolerance on the basis of religion and casts.

    “The Bill expresses feeling of mistrust in the state government machinery and lack clarity in defining crimes for organised communal violence,” Chauhan said during the meeting.

    Speaking at the meeting, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati criticised the Centre for seeking the views of the state government on the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill without providing a draft of the bill to it.

    “It is important to tell that the Centre has not sent the proposed Communal Violence Bill to the state government. Hence it is not the opportune moment to comment on the Bill,” she said.

     

  • Critical Note on Section 20 of the Communal Violence Bill

    Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam

    Section 20 of the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill sets the rules to set up and constitute a National Authority for Communal Harmony, Justice and Reparation so as to exercise the powers and perform the functions assigned to it under the Act. Sub-section (3) of Section 20 specifies:

    20(3): “The National Authority shall consist of a Chairperson, a Vice Chairman and five other members.

    Provided that, at all times, not less than four members, including the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson, shall belong to a group as defined under this Act.

    Provided further that, at all times, there shall be:

    1. One member belonging to Scheduled caste/Scheduled tribes;
    2. Four women, whether Chairperson, Vice Chairperson or member;
    Provided further that, at all times, one woman, whether Chairperson, Vice Chairperson or member, shall belong to a religious or linguistic minority.

    Provided further that, all times, not more than two members, including the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson, shall be retired public servants.”

    From the above provisions, it is clear that out of seven members; only one member shall belong to the religious or linguistic minority. Thus, the very constitution of the National Authority is lopsided and imbalanced. Past experiences show that religious minorities like Muslims, Christians and Sikhs have been the victims of the communal and targeted violence. Linguistic minorities have hardly faced communal and targeted violence excepting a few incidences in the southern parts of India. Moreover, linguistic minorities have been identified on the basis of their distinct language and on regional basis.

    Though not mentioned, but this ACT is being enacted to protect religious minorities especially the three named above from the wrath of communal violence; but it is surprising that their representation in the National Authority has not been assured. In effect there can be a situation under the current provisions, that none of the seven members belong to any of the major religious minorities such as the Muslims, the Christians and the Sikhs.

    It is appropriate to mention that while this law should primarily be meant for the protection of religious minorities, yet there is merit in having representatives from the SCs/STs communities.

    However, to remove the anomaly currently inherent in Section 20 of the draft ACT the following suggestion must be incorporated:

    Suggestion: In order to make the National Authority a representative and effective body, it is necessary to give due representation to main religious minorities, viz, the Muslims, the Christians and the Sikhs. Section 20 (3) may therefore be amended accordingly to the effect the Muslim, the Christian and the Sikh community is represented with at least one member each on the National Authority. Any of such members can also hold the position as chairperson and as vice chairperson. Such representatives from the minority religious groups must be a woman at least during the alternate functional period of the National Authority

    (Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam is the Chairman  Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi.)