Institute of Islamic Studies and Centre for Study of Society and Secularism

Asghar Ali Engineer is a rights activist and heads two organisations, the Institute of Islamic Studies and the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism. He has authored or edited 44 books on such issues as Islam and communal and ethnic problems in India and South Asia in general. For links to his other articles, please go to the top page of this site.

COMMUNALISM AND COMMUNAL VIOLENCE-1999

Asghar Ali Engineer

(Secular Perspective Jan. 1-15, 2000) The year 1999 as far as communalism and communal violence is concerned was just like as 1998. There was no major communal riot claiming large number of lives as in the years after demolition of Babri Masjid . These years have been free of major communal flare up. However, it does not mean that communal violence has been absent or there have been no bouts of communal violence as in the eighties like Biharsharif, or Meerut or Bhagalpur. Also communalism has been quite rampant as the organisations like the VHP or Bajrang Dal etc. have been quite active throughout. The year 1998 closed with Suratkal riot in Karnataka which claimed more than 12 lives. The riot in Suratkal had broken out in the last week of December 1998. Also in the Dangs in Gujrat violence broke out against the Christian tribals with attacks on their churches. Some churches were demolished. According to The Times of India "...during the fortnight beginning on Christmas day, there was a series of attacks on Christian prayer halls in the Dangs and other parts of Gujarat. Even then the Government functionaries insisted it was wrong to say that churches had been targeted. Only 'small hutment's' serving as prayer halls had been attacked." Communal violence in Suratkal continued in January 1999 also. The trouble in Suratkal, in the Mangalore district, a BJP stronghold in Karnataka, had started with eve teasing incident on 8th December 1998 involving a Hindu girl and a Muslim boy. The Muslim youth was bashed up by the Hindus and three of them were arrested. The Hindu Jagran Vedike organised a big crowd at the police station demanding the release of those arrested. Later in the last week of December 1999 communal violence broke out in which Muslims suffered a great deal and it continued right into January 1999. The Chief Minister of Karnataka shri J.H.Patel ordered an inquiry into these riots. He said a High Court Judge will inquire into these disturbances. The inquiry report has still not been submitted. Inquiry is still going on. The trouble in Gujarat continued in January 1999. Reports from Ahmedabad said

that on 13th January a church in Lamancharia village of Dangs district was damaged when unidentified miscreants tried to set it ablaze. This was the second church which came under attack after the high profile visit to the Dangs of the Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee. Needless to say that the situation in the Dangs was so serious that it warranted the visit by the Prime Minister. Shri Vajpayee made a controversial statement before the press that conversions need a national debate. Where was the question of any debate when right to propagation of ones religion and citizen's right to convert to any religion is the fundamental right. Mr. Vajpayee later maintained that he did not mean debate but dialogue on conversion. This was obviously an after thought. Gujarat is one of the most communally sensitive area in the country. Surat, which had witnessed worst communal violence in December 1992 and January 1993 after demolition of Babri Masjid was reported to be very tense during Uttrayan Day in January 1999. A large police posse had to be deployed to keep the situation under control. Also, it was during January 1999 that the Catholic Bishops of India (CBCI) in separate memorandum to the President, Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker and Home Minister on 13th January 1999 expressing concern over the attacks on the Christians in Gujarat. The memorandum said, among other things, "We the members of CBCI numbering over 140 are greatly disturbed by the incidents of violence against Christians taking place in a planned manner in our country, specially in Gujarat." But later a more shocking incident took place in Manoharpur village, Keonjhar, Orissa, on the night of 22-23 January. An Australian born Christian missionary Graham Staines was burnt alive along with his two children. Dara Singh, a VHP activist took a leading role in this ghastly killing. The incident shocked the entire nation. Though the VHP and Bajrang Dal denied their involvment. Dal is reported to be well known in Manoharpur Panchayat. Thus in the year 1999 the Hindutva forces made a determined attack on Christians. They turned the heat on Christians on the question of conversion. The Hindutva forces want to keep communal controversies alive for their own existence and for winning the sympathy of Hindus. Their primary target was of course Muslims. But after the demolition of Babri Masjid anti-Muslim attacks peaked and did not evoke much response from Hindus. Therefore, VHP, Bajrang Dal and the RSS carefully chose another target that could evoke powerful emotions. Thus the Christian missionaries came under attack. In Delhi too some areas are communally quite sensitive. Seelampur is among them. It was in Seelampur in Delhi that serious communal violence broke out after demolition of Babri masjid in which several lives were lost. On 19th January trouble broke out again in this area when students of Hindi and Urdu schools fought on a wooden piece landing on the cricket ground. Heated arguments, scuffling and finally a man was badly beaten up. This was enough for sides to get agitated as the two communities clashed, people coming out from each bylane, pelting stones, bottles at the crowd on the other side. When the police arrived it had to fire 21 gunshots in the air. It is this firing in the air that brought situation to an uneasy calm. Unfortunately the clashes here occur mainly between Muslims and low caste Valmikis. Such incidents throw light on the fact that how precarious are relations between the two communities in certain sensitive areas that even quarrel between

children can lead to serious communal trouble warranting police intervention. Now in Gujrat a Muslim Dargah (mausoleum) came under attack by the militant Hindus in Kothari village in Surendranagar district. The Dargah was razed to the ground. Another incident also took place in Songadh. According to The Hindu correspondent "Even before the State administration could overcome the problem of attacks on Christians in Dangs district, a group said to be of Bajrang Dal activists was alleged to have set fire to some shops belonging to Muslims in Songadh town in retaliation to the reported assault on some of their colleagues." The Sangh Parivar, however, has denied the involvement of the Bajrang Dal in the Songadh incident which occurred a day after the Congress(I) took out a rally in neighbouring Vyara town expressing solidarity with the minority communities. It is quite encouraging to note that the local Hindus in Lothari village joined hands with the administration to rebuild the Dargah demolished by the Bajrang Dal activists. On 29th March two persons were killed in Ahmedabad on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti and Idul Adha i.e. the Id when Muslims sacrifice animals as part of their religious ritual. The dispute arose on the question of animal slaughter. One person, whom the Bajrang Dal said was its activist, was stabbed to death at around midnight. He was reported to be accompanying the vehicle carrying the animals for sacrificial rites. Another youth was stabbed to death in Paldi area. Tension prevailed in many areas of the walled city in Ahmedabad. As pointed out above Gujarat has been highly communalised state. It experienced communal disturbances again in Ahmadabad in July when the Kargil crisis was going on. The VHP and Bajarang Dal is ever active in precipitating communal crisis. The cricket matches always bring communal disaster specially when Pakistan is playing vis--vis India be it in India itself or outside India. The Ahmedabad riots also took place when the celebrations were taking place after the defeat of Pakistan by India and Australia. The celebrations were deliberately organised in Muslim areas in Ahmedabad as if the Muslims had lost the match. The people told the investigators that there was an organised attempt to distribute crackers to youngsters and to persuade them to go on a wild display of victory over Pakistan which was very often converted into a victory over Muslims. The cricket match incident was followed by the conflict in Kargil. Number of demonstrations against Pakistan were organised and Nawaz Sharif's effigies were burnt. It was interesting that both Hindus and Muslims competed with each other to show their loyalty to India. But the slogans on the Hindu side were highly provocative and anti-Muslim like "Lahore Bus se Lahore Jao" (i.e. go to Lahore by Lahore bus). In the condolence meeting of a jawan from Gandhinagar killed in Kargil and addressed by L.K. Advani again provocative ant-Muslim slogans were raised. Another incident which soured the relations between the two communities was the rath yatra of Lord Jagannath taken out on 14th July, 1999. When this yatra passed through Muslim localities provocative slogans "Makhan Chor - Mian chor (Muslims are thieves) and "Musalman, jao Pakistan" (Muslims go to Pakistan) etc. were raised. They also distributed pamphlets alleging that Muslims seduce Hindu girls and hoodwink them. However, the reports indicate that Muslims, particularly Muslim women tried to express their goodwill for Rath yatra to prevent any untoward incident. The Muslim women also prayed for communal harmony. Some

Muslims on 13th July even visited Jagannath temple and presented a cheque for Rs.51000 towards temple repair fund. But yet riots broke out on 20th July when a mentally unstable boy was teased. The riots then spread to several parts of the city. Groups came out on the roads and looted shops, burnt properties and stabbed people. One of the persons stabbed died the same day. Places like Dariapur, Kalupur and Saraspur were badly affected. From Jalampur chawl area about 300 Muslim families were to flee and take refuge elsewhere. On 28th April sectarian violence broke out between Sunnis and Shias in Lucknow in which two persons were killed. Lucknow is the only place in India which has history of Shia-Sunni sectarian violence in India. The Shias insist on taking out processions invoking curses on three first Caliphs in Islam and companions of the Prophet and Sunni Muslims who highly revere them object to such processions pronouncing curses on the first three Caliphs. Interestingly during Muharram i.e. 27th April two persons were killed in political rivalry when a tazia procession taken out by Trinamul Congress was attacked by the processionists of the tazia julus. The Trinamul processionists also counter attacked and pitched battles were fought between the two with bows, arrows and swords. The names of those killed were Habib Khan and Murshid Ali. On 30th April communal violence broke out in Rai Bareli district in Paharganj town on the question of a disputed religious place. In these disturbances two persons including one small girl were killed and 20 others were injured in incidents of stoning, burning and firing. Some people were also injured during the tazia procession of Muharram. Muharram, like some other festivals, like Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi etc. is a festival on which communal violence often breaks out. According to Qaumi Awaz riots broke out on 27th April in Shahabad tehsil of Rampur district in U.P. on the occasion of tazia procession. Fifty one shops were looted and set on fire and 3 persons were injured seriously one of whom Aslam, succumbed to his injuries later in Sanjay Gandhi Medical College, Lucknow. The State president of Indian Union Muslim League Syed Shakil Miyan, however, alleged that it was not a Hindu-Muslim riot but rather it was looting and terrorising of some goondas with the connivance of the police of which it had prior knowledge. He alleged that it was for this reason that the police remained mute spectators when looting and burning incidents were taking place. Shakil Miyan also said that he was told by Hindus and Muslims that despite such widespread looting the Hindus and Muslims remained attached to each other and shared each others sufferings. According to The Hindu of 31st May, bombs were recovered in three cities of Tamilnadu i.e. Chennai, Tiruchi and Coimbatore near police buildings and there was an explosion at a students' hostel in Triplicane, Chennai. Handbills in the name of an extremist Islamic organisation were recovered at some of the sites. The timer explosive devices were recovered intact and subsequently defused. According to The Hindu the handbills in the name of Al-Umma alleged torture and ill treatment of Muslim fundamentalists in jails and condemned the police. However, the chief minister Karunanidhi refuted the charges contained in the handbill and warned that the National Security Act would be used if necessary to tackle extremists. In view of bomb threats tight security continued in Tamilnadu and as many as 230 people were taken in preventive custody, including the members of Tamizhaga Muslim

Munnetta Kazhagam (TMMK). Stronger measures were taken in Coimbatore area where 104 were taken into custody which included the TMMK district president. According to UNI there was communal tension in Madurai during third week of June where people belonging to one community attacked on the houses belonging to other community and looted 15 houses. Cases were recorded against 34 persons of which 16 were arrested. This attack was in retaliation to burning of shops on 6th June. Many people left the town out of fear. The police had established chowkies for their protection. Similar incident also took place in Buldana district in Maharashtra on 26th April in Lakhanwara village. During the Shiv jayanti procession the trouble broke out in front of Jama Masjid when crackers were thrown by the processionists. Shops, hotels and pan shacks belonging to Muslims were looted and burnt. They suffered losses worth Rs.5 lakhs. Some portions of Eidgah were also damaged. In communal violence in Phulpur village in Moradabad district on 27th April (the day of Muharram) two persons were killed and 21 were seriously injured. Many people fled the village out of fear and took refuge in nearby forest. Over 70 Muslim houses were demolished. The police did not take adequate measures to protect the lives and properties of the minority community. Some of the local Muslim leaders alleged that and did not even arrest half of those named in FIRs. These people also alleged that the police had not taken any measure to rebuild the mosques demolished by the marauding mobs. In Harda in M.P. communal incidents took place on first July when a communal mob confronted the police in which the deputy superintendent of the police was killed and several policemen were injured. A curfew was clamped over the town which continued for a couple of days. About 90 persons were arrested. Idar town in Sabarkantha district of Gujrat witnessed outbreak of communal violence on 15th July when a rath yatra procession was being taken out. Several persons were injured and more than 35 shops and 62 three wheelers were set ablaze. The trouble broke out when the procession was passing near a religious place and slogans and counter slogans started. Many shops were subsequently looted and goods worth several lakhs set afire. As Idar did not have fire fighting facilities fire brigade from Ahmedabad and Himmatnagar were rushed. Police arrested 111 persons in this connection. Ahmedabad again witnessed communal flare up on 21 July in Dariapur, Kalupur and Astodia areas in which one person was killed and several were injured. More than 18 persons including six policemen were injured in stabbing and stone throwing cases. According to Hiren Pandya, the Home Minister of Gujarat, police had to burst 423 tear gas shells and 6-0 rounds of fire to control the situation. Twenty companies of SRP and four of Rapid Action Force had to be deployed. Many people had to flee from the communally tense city. However, the situation worsened and 3 more persons were killed in communal incidents on 27th July. The Police Commissioner Mr. P.C. Pandey had to issue shoot at sight orders. In another incident a person was set ablaze in the Gheekanta cross roads by two unidentified persons. The differences between the VHP and the BJP government came to the fore when the BJP delegation led by its state chief K.K. Shashtri warned the Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel against protecting the pro-Pakistani elements and making

the Hindus feel insecure. The Congress president, on the other hand, accused the BJP of engineering trouble as it failed to capitalise on Kargil and Lahore Bus. Killers again struck in Orissa killing a Christian Priest Arul Doss, father of a Roman Catholic Church who had reached Anandpur in Koenjhar district. He was residing at Sindhuria village. The incident occurred around 2 a.m. on 2nd September when a dance programme was going on in the village which was reportedly organised on the occasion of a congregation of converted Christians there. The congregation was organised by the local church and was attended, among others, by Father Doss. This was, however, opposed by non-Christians in the village, which possibly led to violence. There are 20 Christian families in the village. The killer of Staines, Dara Singh's hand is suspected in Doss's killing also. This killing also took place on a Hindu festival Janmashthami. Mr. Staines was killed on the day of Saraswati Puja. A Muslim trader Rehman was put to death on the day of Raksha Bandhan on 26th August. Though the police authorities could not confirm the hand of Dara Singh, the killer of Staines, some eye witnesses maintain they saw him on the spot. However, till today he has not been caught. On 25th September the day of Ganesh Chaturthi procession Hyderabad came under communal spell. The Ganesh Chaturthi procession while passing from Char Minar area it was stoned allegedly by some Muslim youth from mosque. At least 25 policemen, including Additional Commissioner of Police Mr. Rao were injured during the stone pelting. It is alleged that the MIM (Majlis Ittehadul Muslimin) provoked the incident for its own political reasons. In an effort to disperse the crowd, the Police, including the Rapid Action Force, commenced lathicharge , in which Mr. Owaisi of MIM and some of his supporters were injured. As tension escalated in the old city, mobs gathered in lanes and bylanes pelting stones which led the authorities to lob tear gas shells and firing in the air. A police vehicle and several scooter were damaged in these incidents. The trouble broke out when the Ganesh procession was to be taken out from Mecca Masjid in the Charminar area during the Friday prayer. Surat in Gujarat is another communally sensitive spot. Trouble broke out there during the Ganpati procession on 24th September in which 7 people were killed when the police fired on the revellers. There was dispute about the route of the procession. The police refused permission to the processionists to pass through Madina Masjid area as it anticipated trouble. The processionists went on rampage and the police had to fire to control the revellers. The police fired when 14 policemen were injured in stone pelting. The revellers also set fire to the house of Mr. Ravindra Patil, the president of Ganeshotsava area president. Another councillor from the area was also injured. The police first fired in the air before firing on the crowd. The mob was torching vehicles and huts in the Sanjayagar Slum area. Besides, seven died 34 others received bullet injuries of which the condition of five was critical. In October-November 1999 the Gonda district in U.P. witnessed serious communal clashes between Hindus and Muslims. In the village Talia in Gonda district a Muslim woman and her two children were set ablaze on 27th October. The people were so scared due to this incident that they were not prepared to say anything about the incident despite the PAC presence. Most of the minority community people had

fled the village. It is said that one Subhanali gave the names of the culprits who were involved in the theft of a boring equipment to the police. This was the beginning of communal tension in the village. Subhanali's wife and his two children of 2 and 5 years old were then set ablaze. The matter did not rest here. On 8th November again more than 18 houses belonging to the Muslims in the village were set ablaze. These people who set fire to these houses remained on the spot until everything was burnt. Most of these Muslims were labourers. These incidents in small villages show that now villages have also come under communal spell and communal violence is no more a town phenomenon alone. Next Nandurbar and Raver in Maharashtra came under communal spell on 7th and 10th November 1999 after the Congress-NCP Government came to power. These places which saw trouble are in Jalgaon district. In this district there are 12 Assembly seats of which five each belong to the Shiv Sena and BJP and one each to the NCP and the Congress (I). The trouble started when two Muslim boys bumped into a Hindu boy. Some onlookers thereupon beat them up. Some other Muslim boys came and began pelting stones at the Hindu boys. In another incident on 11th November a Muslim youth threw a cigarette butt on a Hindu boy and trouble flared up. A big mob of 1000-1500 from Muslim side and started pelting stones. The police had to resort to lathi charge and then to firing in which one person was injured. The police arrested 130 persons of which 124 were Muslims. According to the Police the Hindus did not react. The violence spread to places like Imamwada, Bhoiwada, Baherpura, Sambhajinagar, Paracha Ganpati and Rasalpura. Of the six houses destroyed two belonged to the Hindus and four to Muslims. The losses were to the tune of 1,33,000. The police maintained that Rassalpura is hypersensitive as there is widespread illiteracy and poverty, especially among the Muslims. The BJP MLA Mr. Eknath Khadse alleged that the Muslims have destroyed a temple dome. But the police categorically denied this. The investigating teams comprising several NGOs felt that this eruption was a result of systematic efforts to build up communal tension. On 4th November some crackers were found to be having papers on which the Koranic verses were written. The police had seized these crackers. Such crackers using the paper with Koranic verses were again found in Chopda town on 8th November. The Muslim boys looted shops selling these crackers when no heed was taken despite warnings. In September too there was dispute about the playground and heavy stone pelting had taken place. A funeral procession was also stoned. The riots had taken place particularly in the lower class Muslim localities and the Muslim women narrated the atrocities the police committed there. The investigating team also felt that the police indulged in looting and losses were much higher than Rs.1,33,000. Muslims felt that since they voted for the Congress they suffered. It was also alleged that loudspeakers were used in some mosques for provocatory speeches by some Muslim leaders. It was, therefore, announced by Mr. Bhujbal, Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister that henceforth prior permission will be needed to install loudspeakers in the mosque and if these contrivances were misused the permission will be cancelled. Aurangabad also witnessed communal incidents on 6th December when the procession of Muslims and Samajwadi Party on the 7th anniversary of demolition of Babri Masjid was brutally lathi charged by the police in which several journalists were also severely injured. One person subsequently died in the hospital. The Police Commissioner of Aurangabad who ordered the lathi charge was asked to proceed on leave. The Government has also ordered a judicial inquiry into these riots. The

Aurangabad riots caused quite a stir in political circles. The Police had also permitted Shiv Sena to organise Maha Arti just before Muslims took out procession to protest against demolition of Babri masjid in the afternoon on 6th December. The Shiv Sena had also flooded the whole area with saffron flags. Also, the police lathi charged the journalists whom the Aurangabad Police knew and who were covering the event and were not part of the procession. These and other riots in Maharashtra clearly show that the moment Shiv Sena was voted out of power communal incidents have started. Also, as per Union Home Minister Shri L.K. Advani's statement in Parliament more than 600 riots took place last year. On the basis of Shri Advani's statement Ms. Brinda Karat, General Secretary of All India Women's Association, said that "On an average, at least seven people were victims to communal assault daily during the 13 month rule of the Bhartiya Janta Party at the Centre." Quoting figures furnished to the Rajya Sabha , she said there were 626 riots during the BJP Government's tenure, mainly targeting the Christian community. Two hundred and seven people died and 2,065 were injured in these incidents, Brinda Karat said. Thus the claim that the BJP rule is free of communal violence is not born out by the facts. From above documentation also it becomes clear that number of communal incidents took place during 1999 also. But it is true that during post Babri Masjid demolition period there have been no major and stained incidents of communal violence. But for that credit does not go to any political party. It is mostly because of lack of response from the people.

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Webpage Editor: Ingrid H. Shafer, Ph.D. e-mail address: facshaferi@mercur.usao.edu or ihs@ionet.net Posted 29 July 1999 Last revised 29 July 1999, 9:00 am CDT Web-edition copyright 1999 Ingrid H. Shafer