Ram Puniyani
In Saidabad and
Madannapeth areas of Hyderabad (April 1st week, 2012) violence was unleashed
against the local Muslims. In this violence several houses were damaged, many a
people were injured and women were raped. Just before the incident Praveen
Togadia had given an inflammatory speech in the area. There was news that
fundamentalists (read- Muslims) have thrown beef and green color in the Hanuman
temple. This news was enough to instigate the violence. The police succeeded in
arresting the culprits, who turned out to be those belonging to Hindu communal
outfits.
On the New Year eve, 1st January
(2012), in Sindagi town of Bijapur Pakistan flag was seen on the government
buildings. The news spread with rapid speed and violence which followed led to
the burning of six state transport buses and many other vehicles. As it turned
out it was the activists of Sri Ram Sene of Pramod Mutallik, an ex-RSS
Pracharak (Propagator), who first hoisted the Pakistan flag and then went about
telling people about the same.
Courtesy: http://cartoonistsatish.blogspot.in/ |
With partition process
Muslim communalism got deflated, violence changed its form and started assuming
different trend leading to rise of conservatism; orthodoxy amongst Muslims. The
minority communalism promoted more conservative values amongst minorities and
also gave provocations to the majority communalism. After the quiet period
after the ghastly post-partition riots, violence started surfacing after 1961
with Jabalpur violence, in the wake of which Pundit Nehru, the then Prime
minster of the country, constituted National Integration Council, which has
been playing some insignificant role in promoting national integration. It is
more of a debating club, meeting once a while, forgetting about the issue in
the intervening period.
The communal violence,
where two communities are made to pitch against each other has been changing
its character and now communal groups, who are on the provoking and attacking
spree have a clear goal of intimidating and subjugating the religious
minorities. At the same time the pretext is manufactured that Muslims are
violent or Christians have attacked, ‘they’ begin the violence and then get the
‘deserved’ punishment. This again is a totally make believe
construct. The two incidents which have taken place amply show the anatomy of
manufacturing a riot. The majoritarian communal streams have built up their
strength by polarizing the communities along religious lines. Founded on the
deeper biases against minorities, the rumors played the role of triggering the
violence, or rumors play the role of the precipitating factor in the
concentrated solution of ‘Hate other’. Many rumors have been used, killing of
the cow, abduction/rape of Hindu women, cutting of the breast of women,
discretion of the holy place/book etc. Adding on the list has come in this
Pakistan flag, which is a quiet an innovation during last some time.
The violence by and large is a planned one and
is made to look a spontaneous one, that too sparked by the minorities. The
Hyderabad and Sindagi incidents are new pointers to this. Earlier in the
Kandhamal, violence was triggered on the pretext of the death of Swami
Laxmananand, who as such was killed by Maoists. Swami Laxmananand’s dead body
was taken in a procession through Christian minority areas, and the rivers of
blood followed. The Gujarat violence was undertaken in a pre planned manner on
the pretext of the burning of train in Godhra and the merchants of death
followed. In Mumbai after the demolition of Babri Mosque, some Muslim youth
threw stones on the police station, the Shiv Sena activists threw Gulal (Orange
color of celebration used mostly by Hindus) on a mosque and Bal Thackeray gave
the call for ‘teaching them a lesson’. So far many inquiry commissions and citizen’s
tribunals have pointed out the role of the majoritarian communal organization.
Starting from the report of Bhivandi riots (Madon Commission) to Mumbai
violence (Sri Krishna Commission), their conclusions are similar to a large
extent. The riot instigation is done in a way, it is orchestrated it in such a
fashion, as if the Muslims have thrown the first stone or Christians have
precipitated the violence.
Dr. V.N. Rai, a police officer did his
doctoral work on the theme of riots between 1968-1980 (Combating Communal
Conflicts), and a longish quote from this book will enlighten us on the issue,
“very often the way in which the first stone is thrown or the first hand is
raised in aggression, suggests an outside agency at work, an agency that wants
to create a situation in which members of the minority community commit an act
which ignites severe retribution for themselves. In order to guard them against
external criticism and to preserve their self righteousness, violence is
projected to be started by Muslims. It is as if a weaker person is pushed into
the corner by a stronger, forcing him to raise his hand so that he may be
suitably punished for his `attack'. Before the punishment is meted out a
suitable hue and cry can be made about the fact that because the person
cornered is naturally wicked and violent, he is bound to attack first"
(Pg. 56-57).”
Now there is some change in the trajectory of
the riot instigation; there is a continuity and change in the issues used to
manufacture the riots. Now the communal elements are becoming bolder to hoist
the Pakistan flag or to throw the piece of beef and green color more boldly.
The other change is in the relative increase in the percentage of victims
belonging to minority community. By 1980s 65% of victims were Muslims (V.N.Rai)
in 1991 it was 80% (Union Home ministry data) and by 2001 this percentage has further
gone up. These data tell their own tale. The communal violence has polarized
the communities along religious lines, and has given flesh and blood to the
communal politics. It has laid the foundation for identity related issues
coming to the fore and marginalizing the core issues of society.
While large number of measures are needed to
curb the communal violence and to snub the organizations deliberately playing
mischief, it is imperative that multi layered approach is taken up to bring
peace and harmony in the society. We need to battle against the stereotypes and
biases at all the levels, amongst the people and amongst the administration. At
the same time a major step of setting up inter-religious committees in all the
areas can combat the rumors or find the truth as to who has hoisted the flag or
thrown beef, and this may prevent the violence in many a situations.
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