A Tale Of Two Cities

 

Delhi anti-Hindu riots, image via Twitter

NK SINGH

New Delhi's initiative in ordering an official inquiry into the recent riots in two of the U.P. towns, Firozabad and Varanasi, is not going to solve the crux of the problem, i.e., the fear complex which haunts the minds of the minority community. Nothing short of a judicial inquiry or an all-party parliamentary inquiry will restore the people's faith in the secular credentials of Mrs Gandhi's Government.

So far the so-called 'law and order' wing of the Government is concerned, one or two suspensions and making a few petty policemen scapegoats would not do; the entire department needs a reorientation. But the primary task before the ruling party is to purge its organisational structure of the hidden and not so hidden communal elements. 

The irresponsible statements of the U.P. Chief Minister, who was all praise for the police, and the behaviour of some of the local Congress leaders have destroyed the faith of the people-particularly the minorities who had to face the wrath of the Provincial Armed Constabulary in Firozabad and Varanasi between June 16 and 19 not only in the administration but also in the party in power. 

As it has become pretty clear now, the riots in Firozabad and Varanasi were provoked, instigated and supported by the police and the PAC on duty there and not merely the handiwork of communal forces on either side. Even a hurried tour of the torn towns and a study of the state of affairs will be enough to confirm this viewpoint.

Thirty-two persons (eleven in Varanasi and 21 in Firozabad) are officially reported to have been killed in the riots and property worth several lakhs of rupees was destroyed or looted. Non-official sources put the death toll at 75-60 in Firozabad and 15 in Varanasi, 66 either by the PAC bullets or by the knife of some assassins who, in most cases, were protected by those who were charged with the responsibility of maintaining law and order.

Nearly 300 shops, workshops, small factories, houses and thatched huts of the poor-two hundred of them in Firozabad-were burnt down. In Firozabad, the majestic three-storeyed Jama Masjid was put on fire along with the aged, paralytic Imam, whom both Hindus and Muslims used to respect. Another small mosque was also set alight and the tomb of Shah Sufi, a little distance away from the town, was desecrated. 

The Islamia Inter College, which used to cater to 60 per cent Hindu students, was burnt and almost razed to the ground systematically in several instalments. Another small mosque was also set alight and the tomb of Shah Sufi, a little distance away from the town, was desecrated. The Islamia Inter College, which used to cater to 60 per cent Hindu students, was burnt and almost razed to the ground systematically in several instalments.

In Varanasi, at least six mosques were damaged. Almost all these actions took place while towns were under 'strict' curfew and ordered to 'shoot at sight'!

Similarities

Curiously enough there are similarities between the riots at the two places. A close inquiry will reveal that the modus operandi adopted by the PAC was the same.

At both places, the riots took place following the observance of the protest day by a section of Muslims against the Aligarh Muslim University Act at the call of the same Muslim communal organisations.

At both places, the trouble started with a Police-Muslim scuffle, and in the absence of general tension and mass participation on either side, the situation could very well have been controlled at the primary stage had it been handled tactfully.

Once the clash took place between the police and some turbulent youths belonging to the minority community-it is alleged the former tried to give it a communal colour. It gave a free hand to goondas, themselves turning into benign onlookers.

Muslim houses were set on fire, Muslim areas were attacked and their shops were looted and ransacked. The police also indulged in these actions. Instances have been reported of policemen snatching away ornaments from minor girls and women, with their earlobes torn off in the process.

There were also quite a few cases when the PAC killed innocent men and raped women. There were also cases where the police put "safety" cordons around houses and told the goondas to go ahead with arson and looting.

A few cases will suffice to give an idea of what it must have been like:

"Police came to my house at 3 a.m. They came over the roofs of houses and got people while they were asleep. I was abused and beaten up and they broke both my wrists with rifle butts. They came three times to our place in the night of 16-17, attacked our houses and assaulted daughters each time."

"PAC and the local police came at about 3-30 a.m. They jumped over the walls and came to the roof with a gun. 'We will burn the houses if you do not open', they said to those who were afraid to open their doors. They beat us and took us to the police station where we were given no water. And those who persisted in asking for it were urinated on."

These accounts are not exaggerations. I saw the victims of wanton violence in Firozabad, one old man shot through his shoulder, a girl with torn earlobes as she had had her earrings pulled off, a whole street where almost all male members bore the marks of severe beating even ten days after the incident. 

In fact, as a result of the treatment meted out to the unfortunate victims who had been hauled up and huddled together in the crowded lockup in the Eastern Police Station, one small shopkeeper, Id Mohammad, died before he could reach the jail where they were to be lodged. 

However, people are terrified of giving accurate evidence regarding the behaviour of the police, as intimidation is still going on. Even at the time of writing, the police are reportedly going around with fake warrants and extorting money from innocent people. Also, not many women are willing to give evidence regarding how they were maltreated, though, some did come forward with veiled accounts of assault.

Firozabad

In Firozabad, a curious phenomenon was the complete absence of any loss of life and property of the Hindus living in Muslim areas. On the contrary, many Hindus, especially the poor ones, tell of the way the Muslims protected them and gave them food or milk for their children.

As for Hindu involvement, it was more inspired than willing. The police and the PAC, by their behaviour, aided and abetted Hindu goondas. However, the extent of such participation, or at least the measure of support for the attacks of the police, can be ascertained by langars (free eating places) opened to feed the PAC in many localities of Firozabad.

Another amazing phenomenon was that things only improved when the CRP and the BSF were brought in and the functioning of the local administration was brought to an end.

Another notable thing, which may be an indication of the new technique of the frustrated communalist arsonists of both communities, is that during the riots none of the leaders of either the Jamaat-e-Islami or the Jana Sangh-RSS came out in the open, though it is reported that all the shakhas of the Firozabad town RSS met jointly on the 15th evening and the Swayamsevaks were asked to teach the Muslims a good lesson "should anything happen during the proposed bandh". But of course, the well-knit RSS organisation was busy spreading rumours to influence Hindu opinion. At both places, all sorts of wild rumours were in circulation.

But the most important fact that emerges from closer scrutiny of the Varanasi and Firozabad riots and also the riots at Jabalpur, Ranchi and Ahmedabad is that while the attack was on the minority community as a whole, it was directed with special vehemence at the craftsmen and the workers, whose homes were looted, living jeopardised and who were subjected to physical torture.

The former weavers in the case of Varanasi and bangle-makers in the case of Firozabad had had their tools looted and would no doubt be reduced to factory hands soon enough.

Frontier

August 1972