Delhi Violence: Genesis of Carnage
Ram Puniyani
They say ‘history repeats itself
first as a tragedy and then as a farce’. In case of India, communal violence
not only keeps repeating itself, the pattern of the tragedy keeps changing
every next time. Some features of the violence are constant, but they are under
the wraps mostly. The same can be said about the Delhi violence (February
2020). The interpretations, the causative factors are very discernible, but
those who are generally the perpetrators have a knack of shifting the blame on
the victim community or those who stand for the victims.
As the carnage began presumably in
the aftermath of statement of Kapil Mishra
of BJP, which was given in front of a top police official, in which he
threatened to get the roads emptied. The roots of violence were sown earlier. The
interpretations given by the Hindu Nationalist camp is that the riot is due to
the changing
demographic profile of the area with Muslims increasing in number in those
areas, and coming up of Shaheen Bagh which was presented was like ‘Mini
Pakistan’. As per them the policies of BJP in matters of triple talaq, Article
370 and CAA, NPR, NRC has unnerved the ‘radical’ elements and so this violence.
As such before coming to the
observations of the activists and scholars of communal violence in India, we
can in brief say that violence, in which nearly 46 people have died, include
one from police and another from intelligence. Majority victims are Muslims.
The violence started right under the nose of the police and the ruling party.
From the videos and other eye accounts, police not only looked the other way
around, at places it assisted those attacking the innocent victims and burning
and looting selective shops. Home minister, Amit Shah, was nowhere on the scene.
For first three days the rioters had free run. After the paramilitary force was
brought in; the violence simmered and slowly reduced in intensity. The state AAP
Government, which in a way is the byproduct of RSS supported Anna Hazare movement,
was busy reading Hanuman Chalisa and praying at Rajghat with eyes closed to the
mayhem going in parts of Delhi.
Communal violence is the sore
point of Indian society. It did begin during colonial period due to British
policy of ‘Divide and Rule’. At root cause was the communal view of looking at
history and pro active British acts to sow the seeds of Hindu-Muslim divide. At
other level the administrative and police the British were fairly neutral. On
one hand was the national movement, uniting the people and creating and
strengthening the fraternal feeling among all Indians. On the other were Muslim
Communalists (Muslim League) and Hindu Communalists (Hindu Mahasabha,
RSS) who assisted the British goal of ‘divide and rule’ promoting hatred
between the communities. After partition the first major change was the change
in attitude of police and administration which started tilting against Muslims.
Major studies by Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer,
Paul Brass and Omar Khalidi demonstrated that anti Muslim bias is discernible
in during and after the riots.
Now the partisan role of police
has been visible all through. Sri Krishna Commission report brought forth this fact;
as did the research of the Ex DIG of UP police Dr. V.N.Rai. Dr. Rai’s studies also concluded that no
communal violence can go on beyond 24 hours unless state administration is
complicit in the carnage. In one of the violence, investigation of which was
done by concerned Citizen’s team (Dhule, 2013) this author observed that police
itself went on to undertake the rampage against
Muslims and Muslim properties.
General observation about riots
is that violence sounds to be spontaneous, as the Home Minister is pointing
out, but as such it is well planned act. Again the violence is orchestrated in
such a way that it seems Muslims have begun the riots. Who casts the First
stone? To this scholars
point out that the carnage is so organized that the encircled community is
forced to throw the first stone. At places the pretext is made that ‘they’ (minorities)
have thrown the first stone.
The pretexts against minorities
are propagated, in Gujarat violence Godhra train burning, in Kandhamal the
murder of Swami Laxamannand and now Shaheen bagh! The Hindu Muslim violence
began as riots. But it is no more a riot, two sides are not involved. It is
plain and simple anti Minority violence, in which some from the majority are
also the victims.
This violence is possible as the ‘Hate
against this minority’ is now more or less structural. The deeper Hate against
Muslims and partly against Christians; has been cultivated since long and Hindu
nationalist politics, right from its Shakhas to the social media have been put
to use for spreading Hatred. The prevalent deeper hate has been supplanted this
time by multiple utterances from BJP leaders, Modi (Can be recognized by
clothes), Shah (press EVM machine button so hard that current is felt in
Shaheen Bagh), Anurag Thakur (Goli (bullet) Maro) Yogi Aditya Nath (If Boli (Words)Do
not work Goli will) and Parvesh Varma (They will be out to rape).
The incidental observation of the
whole tragedy is the coming to surface of true colors of AAP, which not only
kept mum as the carnage was peaking but also went on to praise the role of
police in the whole episode. With Delhi carnage “Goli Maro” seems to be
becoming the central slogan of Hindu nationalists. Delhi’s this violence has
been the first one in which those getting killed are more due to bullets than
by swords or knifes! Leader’s slogans do not go in vain! Courts the protectors
of our Constitution seem to be of little help as if one of them like Murlidhar
Rao gives the verdict to file against hate mongers, he is immediately
transferred.
And lastly let’s recall the
academic study of Yale University. It concludes; BJP gains
in electoral strength after every riot’. In India the grip of communalism is
increasing frighteningly. Efforts are needed to combat Hate and Hate mongers.
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