Violence in the Capital's slums

NK SINGH

In less than a month the Capital of India has been twice shaken by mob violence and rioting. The outbreak in Shahdara was quickly followed by four days of trouble in Karol Bagh, a busy commercial centre and residential area. 

Close on the heels of these came the 'operation bus hijacking' by students, who took advantage of the volatile situation to settle scores with the Delhi Transport Corporation which runs a woefully bad transport service.

There was a common thread running through the violence in Shahdara and Karol Bagh the mass assaults on the symbols of authority. In both places, the violence was triggered by alleged injustices. 

In Shahdara, it was the alleged murder of a home guard officer by the local police whereas in Karol Bagh it was the death of a Harijan girl. 

Another common factor in the 'police- vs-people' battles was that the trouble was localised; it occurred in particular slum areas with people operating from near their houses and hutments. 'Guerillas' emerged out of alleys to attack the police and destroy DTC buses and ran back into the alleys when the police attempted to disperse them.

To counter the hit-and-run tactics of the rioters the police needed public co-operation very badly and this was scarce both in Shahdara and Karol Bagh. In Shahdara the police were accused of excessive use of force, to inquire into which a judicial commission had been set up by the Central Government. 

Even in Karol Bagh, though a large segment of the businessmen and middle-class babu population sympathised with the police, it did not come forward to help the police to isolate the ringleaders. Many of them sought shelter in nearby houses. 

There were also some significant differences between the two riots. The outburst in Shahdara (August 19-21) was relatively spontaneous with physical participation by large masses of people -- at times exceeding 15,000. The clashes in Karol Bagh lacked that spontaneity and the participation of the people in the clashes were limited; except on the first day, the number of participants never exceeded a few hundred. 

The attacks on the police, public property and other targets, however, appeared to be more organised and better directed. The clashes, looting and arson were alleged to have been instigated, supported and, in certain cases, even organised by the Jan Sangh and by a section of the Republican Party of India. 

The political elements also kept up subtle propaganda almost throughout the agitation. The Jana Sangh has denied the charges against it, but even if one takes the denial at its face value, there can be no doubt about the selective use of violence. 

The attacks on the police were coordinated. The mobs were armed with indigenous Molotov cocktails and acid bombs a phenomenon which was completely absent in the Shahdara riots. 

Several factors seem to have combined to touch off the waves of violence. The growing socio-economic tensions, the tendency to resort to violence as a form of protest and the slow reflexes of the law and order machinery account for much of the trouble, but political elements who sought to capitalise on human tragedy also played an active role.

In Karol Bagh, it all started on September 5 when the body of Prem Lata, a tenth-class Harijan student of Kasturba Balika Ashram, was found in the Ashram well. Her relations suspected foul play, while the school authorities and the police maintained that it was a case of suicide. 

To begin with, all the political parties demanded a judicial inquiry, which demand was turned down by the administration. Soon Jana Sangh seized on the incident to try to regain its lost influence in Delhi. A section of the Republican Party of India, which purports to represent the interests of the scheduled castes, also joined in. 

On September 7, a demonstration carrying the dead body of Prem Lata went to the residence of the Union Education Minister to demand a judicial inquiry. Jan Sangh and RPI leaders made fiery speeches before the demonstrators. 

On September 8, Jana Sangh started a hunger strike in front of the headquarters of the Delhi administration. It also started organising a series of meetings in Harijan slum areas. An RPI leader arranged to display the ashes of the dead girl for public darshan in a Harijan colony.

Opposition leaders first insinuated that the death was the result of foul play. But when autopsy established death by drowning, and it became apparent that it was not a case of murder, they propounded the theory that the girl had committed suicide because the Principal of the Ashram had insulted her on the occasion of Janmashtami by refusing to accept prasad from her. 

The Principal denied the charge, asserting that she had trained a large number of Harijan girls during her career spanning 24 years and none had ever complained against her. However, based on a complaint lodged by the girl's father, a case was registered against the Principal under the Prevention of Untouchability Act and she was arrested and released on bail. 

This gave rise to rumours that a local Congress MP, T Sohanlal, had helped the Principal in getting bail. A demonstration of about one hundred women was organised outside his residence. The inevitable encounter with the police party guarding the house gave rise to reports that the women demonstrators had been badly beaten up. This brought out their menfolk on the streets.

Sohanlal's house was attacked and the President of the Karol Bagh District Congress Committee was beaten up when he came out to plead with the crowd to remain peaceful. That evening five DTC buses were destroyed, two police stations were stoned repeatedly and yet another was raided by a mob equipped with petrol bombs. 

Violence was more organised the next day. Pitched battles took place between the mobs and the police. People fought from the alleys, converging repeatedly after being dispersed by tear gas and lathi charges. Several milk booths in the area were damaged and looted and two buses were burnt. 

On the third day, a Municipal Corporation garbage truck was burnt, a telephone exchange stoned and a post office attacked. There were more street battles between the police and the people. 

On the fourth day, the area became a battlefield and crowds engaged the police in hand-to-hand combat. Three public vehicles were set on fire and a bank and a post office were stoned. The four days of trouble left nearly 100 policemen with minor injuries and about 300 persons arrested.

No doubt there were political fishermen active in the troubled Karol Bagh waters, but the government, the local Congress and the police must also share a part of the responsibility. 

The government, by its refusal to order judicial inquiry, offended the feelings of the Harijans and prepared the ground for trouble. The local Congress, by its unsympathetic attitude towards the Harijans, made things worse.

The police acted in the most unimaginative way, as usual. The arrest and victimisation of innocent poor people added fuel to the fire. 

Of course, the mounting distress due to the spiralling prices, which have made living impossible for the poor, provided a favourable setting for unleashing of violence. Moreover, the Harijans of Delhi have long been victims of police repression. Very often innocent people from these areas are arrested and tortured and forced to pay bribes to the law-and-order all as.

Analysing the events, the Hindustan Times asked why widespread rioting of this sort does not occur in prosperous, exclusive areas like Golf Links, Defence Colony or Civil Lines. Whether in Shahdara or Karol Bagh, the points of origin of the rampaging groups were mostly the most depressed sections of society, "the charmers and the rickshaw pullers". 

Almost all the institutions attacked were symbols of the establishment. The mob did not attack four-seater auto-rickshaws or scooter-rickshaws or cyclists. What is even more significant, the political leaders whose houses were attacked were invariably the upper-class ones. 

The house of the Bloc leader of the rival party living in the same slum was spared. Special mention must also be made of the fury which the police attract. A random sampling of views showed that in all these areas the police are regarded as the establishment personified.

The situation in Delhi now has "returned to normal", to use the official expression. District officials can now sit back happily, and will no doubt do so. But behind the facade of fountains and skyscrapers, in the slums of Bapa Nagar, Reghgharpura, Shahdara and the area "on the other side", the circumstances breeding violence keep multiplying only a spark is needed.

ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY

23 September, 1972