1999-2000: Employment and Unemployment Situation among Religious Groups in India

Employment and Unemployment Situation among Religious Groups in India
1999-2000

NSS 55th ROUND
(July 1999 – June 2000)

National Sample Survey Organisation
Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation
Government of India
September 2001

Highlights

· During 1999-2000, information on religion followed by each household was collected. The religion of the head of the household was considered as the religion of all the household members irrespective of the actual religion followed by individual members. Seven main religions were identified in the survey. They were Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism. Among these the followers of Hinduism, Islam and Christianity formed the three major religious groups.

· The sex ratio was the highest among the Christians (1018 in rural and 1012 in urban areas) followed by the Muslims (990 in rural; 912 in urban) and the Hindus (952 in rural; 912 in urban).

· The size of an average Indian household was estimated as 5 in rural and 4.5 in urban areas. While the estimated average size of a Christian, Hindu and Muslim household was 4.4, 4.9 and 5.6 in rural areas, respectively. In urban areas, it was 3.8, 4.4 and 5.5, respectively.

· The proportion of persons belonging to the lowest three classes of monthly per capita expenditure (mpce) taken together was the highest among the Muslims (rural: 29%; urban: 40%) followed by the Hindus (rural: 26%; urban: 25%) and the Christians (rural: 19%; urban: 13%) in both rural and urban areas. On the other hand, proportion of persons in the highest three classes of mpce was the highest among the Christians (rural: 28%; urban: 29%) followed by the Hindus (rural: 14%; urban: 17%) and the Muslims (rural: 12%; urban: 6%).

· In rural areas, ‘self-employment’ was the mainstay for all the religious groups. Among self-employed, more households depended on agriculture. The proportion of rural labour households varied from 37% (Muslims) to 41% (Hindus). In urban areas, the proportion of households depend ing on ‘regular wage salary’ was high for the Christians (54%) and the Hindus (43%) whereas a majority of the Muslim households (52%) depended on ‘self-employment’ for their livelihood.

· The proportion of children was higher among the Muslims as compared to the Hindus and the Christians, and in that order, in both rural and urban areas. The share of aged population (60 years or more) was, however, the lowest among the Muslims and highest among the Christians.

· Among the three major religious groups, the Chr istians had the highest literary rate followed by the Hindus. As compared to the school attendance rates observed for 1993-94, the rates had increased for persons below 25 years among all the religious groups.

· The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) among the rural males was highest for the Christians (567) followed by the Hindus (537). For rural females, although the WPRs among the Christians and the Hindus were close to each other (about 32%), they were lower than the corresponding WPRs for males in their respective religious groups. The corresponding rates for the Muslims were considerably low both for males (478) and females (162). In urban India for the three major religious groups, the WPRs among the males varied between 486 to 525,. Further, WPRs were much higher among Christian women than among the Hindu and Muslim women.

· The unemployment rates were the highest among the Christians in both rural and urban areas. Among the Hindus the unemployment rates have remained at the same level as compared to the rates during 1993-94 in both rural and urban areas. Among the women in urban areas, the rates have increased for the Muslims but declined for the Christians.

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2004-2005: Employment and Unemployment Situation among Religious Groups in India

Highlights

This report is based on the seventh quinquennial survey on employment and unemployment conducted in the 61st round of NSS from July, 2004 to June, 2005. The survey was spread over 7,999 villages and 4,602 urban blocks covering 1,24,680 households (79,306 in rural areas and 45,374 in urban areas) and enumerating 6,02,833 persons (3,98,025 in rural areas and 2,04,808 in urban areas).In this survey information on religion followed by each household was collected as part of the household characteristics. The reported religion of head of the household was considered as the religion of all the household members irrespective of the actual religion followed by individual members. Seven main religions were identified in the survey. They were Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism. Among these the followers of Hinduism, Islam and Christianity formed the three major religious groups. Some of the key findings are stated below:

* In rural areas, about 84 per cent per cent of households having 83 per cent of population followed Hinduism whereas 10 per cent of households followed Islam with about 12 per cent of population. Further, about 2 per cent of households and population followed Christianity. In urban areas, the percentage of households and population were about 80 and 77 respectively for Hinduism, 13 and 16 for Islam and 3 and 3 for Christianity. Even after excluding the state of Jammu and Kashmir, having different geographical coverage in different NSS rounds, the proportion of persons by major religious groups remained more or less same.

* The sex ratio was the highest among the Christians (994 in rural and 1000 in urban areas) followed by the Muslims (968 in rural; 932 in urban) and the Hindus (961 in rural; 912 in urban).

* In the rural areas, "self-employment" was the mainstay for all the religious groups. About 37 per cent of Hindu households were dependent on "self-employment in agriculture". The corresponding proportion was 35 per cent for the Christians and 26 per cent for the Muslims. The proportions of households depending on "self-employment in nonagriculture" were 14 per cent for the Hindus, 28 per cent for the Muslims and 15 per cent for the Christians. In the case of "rural labour" households, the proportions varied from 32 per cent (Muslims) to 37 per cent (Hindus). In urban India, the proportion of Hindu households depending on "self-employment", "regular wage/salary" and "casual labour" were 36 per cent, 43 per cent and 12 per cent respectively, whereas the corresponding shares for the Muslims were 49 per cent, 30 per cent and 14 per cent respectively and for the Christians 27 per cent, 47 per cent and 11 per cent respectively.

* In rural India, proportion of households in the lowest three monthly per capita expenditure (mpce) classes combined (viz. less than Rs.320 for a month) was highest among Hindus (14 per cent), followed by Muslims (12 per cent) and Christians (8 per cent). In urban India, the proportion of Households in the lowest three mpce classes combined (viz. less than Rs.485 for a month) was the highest among the Muslims (25 per cent) followed by the Hindus (12 per cent) and Christians (8 per cent) On the other hand, in the urban area, proportion of households in the highest three classes of mpce combined (viz. more than Rs.1380 for a month) was 38 per cent for Christians, 28 per cent for Hindus and 13 per cent for Muslims. In rural areas, proportion of households in the highest three classes of mpce combined (viz. more than Rs.690 for a month) was 47 per cent for Christians, 24 per cent for Hindus, and 20 per cent for Muslims.

* The Christians had the lowest illiteracy rate both for rural (20 per cent for males and 31 per cent for females) and urban areas (6 per cent for males and 11 per cent for females). Except for rural females, the proportion of literates among the Hindus was higher than that among the Muslims. Among the rural females, the illiteracy rates were almost equal among the Hindus and the Muslims (59 per cent). The corresponding rate was as low as 31 per cent among the Christians.

* In the rural areas, Worker Population Ratio (WPR) among the males was highest among Christians (56 per cent) followed by Hindus (55 per cent). The corresponding figure for Muslims was lower (50 per cent). As in the case of males, WPR for females for Christians (36 per cent) and Hindus (34 per cent) was much higher than that for Muslims (18 per cent). In urban India, the WPR among the males was the highest among Hindus (56 per cent) followed by Muslims (53 per cent) and the Christians (51 per cent). The WPR for Christian women (24 per cent) was much higher than those among Hindu (17 per cent) and Muslim women (12 per cent).

* For the rural males in the age group 15 years and above, WPR in the educational level secondary and above was the highest among the Hindus (76 per cent) followed by the Christians (72 per cent) and the Muslims (67 per cent). However in urban areas, it was equal (71 per cent) among Muslims and Hindus and lower (64 per cent) among Christians. For the rural females in the same age group with same education level, however, the rates were highest among the Christians (37 per cent) followed by Hindus (30 per cent) and Muslims (18 per cent). Similar pattern was also observed among urban females in the same age group.

* More than half of the workers in the rural areas were self-employed, the proportion being the highest among the Muslim workers both males (60 per cent) and females (75 per cent). In the urban areas also, the same pattern is observed. The proportion of regular wage/salaried workers was highest among Christians in both rural and urban areas among both males and females. The proportion of casual labourers was highest among Hindus for females in both rural (34 per cent) and urban (18 per cent) areas.

* In rural areas, the unemployment rates (URs) were higher among the Christians (4.4 per cent) as compared to those among the Hindus (1.5 per cent) or the Muslims (2.3 per cent). In the urban areas also same pattern was observed. However, the URs in urban areas were more or less same for Hindu and Muslims (4 per cent). Further URs for females were generally higher in all major religious groups as compared to males in both rural and urban areas. The UR was highest (14 per cent) among the urban Christian women.

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2006 Sachar committee report

Those of you who would like to do something for the Muslims of India, but find it time-consuming to read the full Sachar Report, here is an easy summary guide to choose
which field you would like to work in. I have adapted it based on the Summary given by Dr. Syed Zafar Mehmood on Milligazette.

On Reservation for Muslims -

The Committee noted that the public opinion in India was divided on reservation.

1 . Some argued that policies that promote equality must aim at a substantive equal outcome, not merely formal equal or identical treatment.
Reservations or a separate quota for Muslims in employment and educational institutions was viewed as a means to achieve this.

2. Others felt that reservations could become a thorny issue and have negative repercussions .

3. Still others felt that good educational facilities combined with non-discriminatory practices are adequate for Muslims to compete

4. Some argued that this facility should only be available to ‘dalit’ Muslims, while others suggested that the entire Community should benefit from it.

5. Some said ,Economic criterion was an ideal basis for reservations.

6. There were voices that questioned the non-availability of the Schedule Caste quota for Muslims while it was available to the followers of three religions.

On Political Participation of Muslims -

1. Cross section of the people was of the conviction that political participation and representation in governance structures are essential to achieve equity.

2. The Committee’s attention was also drawn to the issue of Muslim concentration constituencies of Assemblies and Parliament declared as reserved for Schedule Caste persons while constituencies with very low Muslim population but high SC concentration remain unreserved.
Second allegation regarding reservation of constituencies was found to be correct

For the first allegation the Committee did not collect any data.

On Literacy amongst Muslims -

1. 25 per cent of Muslim children in the 6-14 year age group have either never attended school or have dropped out.

2. Drop out rates among Muslims are higher at the level of primary, middle and higher secondary.

3.The Committee observed that since artisanship is a dominant activity among Muslims technical training should be provided to even those who may not have completed schooling.

4. In premier colleges only one out of 25 under-graduate students and one out of 50 post-graduate students is a Muslim.

On Employment

1. Unemployment rate among Muslim graduates is the highest among all socio-religious communities.

On Madrasa - The myth broken

Only 3% of Muslim children among the school going age go to Madarsas.

There is dearth of facilities for teaching Urdu.

Attitude towards Education, in Muslims

1. The Committee found that Muslim parents are not averse to mainstream education or to send their children to affordable Government schools.

Education of Muslim Girls -

1. Access to government schools for Muslim children is limited.

2.There is non-availability of schools within easy reach for girls at lower levels.

3. Absence of girls hostels and female teachers are also impeding factors.

Observations which could help Muslims

1. The schedule castes and schedule tribes have definitely reaped the advantages of targeted government and private action supporting their educational progress.

2. The sharper focus on school education combined with more opportunities in higher education for Muslims seems desirable.

3. Moreover, skill development initiatives for those who have not completed school education may also be particularly relevant for some sections of Muslims given their occupational structure.
4. Bidi workers, tailors and mechanics need to be provided with social safety nets and social security.

5. The participation of Muslims in the professional and managerial cadre is low.

6. Muslim regular workers are the most vulnerable with no written contract and social security benefits. Muslim regular workers get lower daily earnings in both public and private jobs compared to other socio-religious communities.

7.Since a large number of Muslim workers are engaged in self-employment, skill development and credit related initiatives need to be tailored for such groups.

On Banks and Muslims -

1. The average amount of bank loan disbursed to the Muslims is 2/3 of the amount disbursed to other minorities. In some cases it is half.

2. The Reserve Bank of India’s efforts to extend banking and credit facilities under the Prime Minister’s 15-point programme of 1983 has mainly benefited other minorities marginalizing Muslims. Muslim community is not averse to banking and more improvements can be brought about with specific measures.

3. Some banks have identified a number of Muslim concentration areas as negative geographical zones where bank credit and other facilities are not easily provided. Steps should be introduced to specifically direct credit to Muslims, create awareness of various credit schemes and bring transparency in reporting of information.

Muslims and Basic Infrastructure Facilities -

1. The concentration of Muslims in states lacking infrastructural facilities implies that a large proportion of the community is without access to basic services.

2. In both urban and rural areas, the proportion of Muslim households living in pucca houses is lower than the total population.

3.Compared to the Muslim majority areas, the areas inhabiting fewer Muslims had better roads, sewage and drainage and water supply facilities.

4. Substantially larger proportion of the Muslim households in urban areas are in the less than Rs.500 expenditure bracket.

Muslims in Government Services

1. The presence of Muslims has been found to be only 3% in the IAS, 1.8% in the IFS and 4% in the IPS.

2. The share of Muslims in employment in various departments is abysmally low at all levels.

3. Muslim community has a representation of only 4.5% in Indian Railways while 98.7% of them are positioned at lower levels.

4.Representation of Muslims is very low in the Universities and in Banks. In no state does the representation of Muslims in the government departments match their population share.

5. Their share in police constables is only 6%, in health - 4.4%, in transport - 6.5%.

There is need to ensure a significant presence of Muslims especially in those departments that have mass contact on a day to day basis or are involved in sensitive tasks

Constitutional Rights for the Muslims -

1. The Presidential Order of 1950 is inconsistent with Article 14, 15, 16 and 25 of the Constitution that guarantee equality of opportunity, freedom of conscience and protect the citizens from discrimination by the State on grounds of religion, caste or creed.

2. The monthly Per Capita Expenditure of Muslims is much lower than the national average.

3. Benefits of entitlements meant for the backward classes are yet to reach Muslim OBCs. The condition of Muslims in general is also lower than the Hindu-OBCs who have the benefit of reservations.

On Wakf Properties -

1.There are about 5 lakh registered Wakfs with 6 lakh acre land and Rs 6,000 crore book value.

2.But the gross income from all these properties is only 163 crores i.e. 2.7%.

3.The management of Wakf Boards is unsatisfactorily due to inadequate empowerment of the State Wakf Boards and Centreal Wakf Council.

4.Encroachment of Wakf properties by the State is a common practice. The attitude of the State Governments and their agencies has resulted in large scale abrogation of the cherished objectives of the Wakfs.

5.Failure on the part of the state and statutory bodies entrusted with safeguarding Wakf properties has caused disquiet in the Muslim community.

Recommendations -

1.An Equal Opportunity Commission should be constituted to look into the grievances of the deprived groups.

2.A carefully conceived nomination procedure should be worked out to increase inclusiveness in governance.

3.The idea of providing certain incentives to a diversity index should be explored. Incentives can be related to this index so as to ensure equal opportunities to all socio religious communities in the fields of education, governance, private employment and housing.

4.Teacher training should be compulsory ensuring in its curriculum the components which introduce the importance of diversity and plurality

5. To facilitate admissions to the most backward amongst all the socio religious communities in the regular universities and autonomous colleges, alternate admission criteria need to be evolved.

6. Providing hostel facilities at reasonable costs for students from minorities must be taken up on a priority basis.

7. The community should be represented on interview panels and Boards.

8. Provide financial and other support to initiatives built around occupations where Muslims are concentrated and have growth potential.

9.The states should run Urdu medium schools. Work out mechanisms whereby Madarsas can be linked with a higher secondary school board so that students wanting to shift to a regular mainstream education can do so after having passed from a Madarsa.

10.The real need is of policy initiatives that improve the participation and share of the Minorities, particularly Muslims in the business of regular commercial banks.

Adapated from Summarised Sachar Reprt on Status of Indian Muslims - by Dr. Syed Zafar Mahmood - Milligazette

http://www.milligazette.com/dailyupdate/2006/200612141_Sachar_Report_Sta...

Dr. Tayyaba Abidin Qidwai
Oman

Click here for the full report

Ahmedabad Riots 1969 : Judicial Findings about RSS participation

Probe: The P Jaganmohan Reddy Commission of Inquiry Ahmedabad, Sept. 1969 Toll: 660 (Muslims: 430; Hindus: 24)

As usual, there was a chain of events. Ahmedabad witnessed its biggest ever RSS rally in December 1968, where the then chief MS Golwalkar spoke of the atrocities on Hindus in Pakistan during Partition.

The alleged desecration of the Koran by the Superintendent of Police, BH Desai, in March 1969 forced the police to lathicharge an unruly mob. The police subsequently apologised. On Janmashtami, September 4, a Muslim police officer searching for one Pandit Balkrishna, dispersed a Ramlila programme, toppled a table on which an arti and the Ramayan were kept, and allegedly kicked the scripture.

Quoting a government special report, the commission said: “On the night of 10-9-69, Balkrishna approached the local Bharatiya Jan Sangh workers and through them contacted one Harishchandra Shankerlal Panchal...it was decided that instead of openly supporting the movement in the name of Bharatiya Jan Sangh, the same may be started in the name of Hindu Dharma Raksha Samiti.

On September 11, HDRS organised a fast seeking action against the Muslim officer. On September 14, the officer was suspended and the fast ended. The same day, Balraj Madhok, MP and Jan Sangh leader, addressed a meeting of the intelligentsia. The commission felt “many (will) disagree, perhaps vehemently� with his speech.

On September 18, thousands gathered at the Bukhari Saheb Dargah, a furlong from the Jagannath temple, to celebrate Urs. A few cows belonging to the temple strayed away, disrupting the celebration. A fight broke out between the priests accompanying the herd and a group in the crowd. Some sadhus were beaten, and the ensuing stone-throwing shattered the glass facade of the temple gate. The police dispersed the crowd.

But pamphlets, rumours and wall-writings appeared overnight, inciting Hindus. HDRS issued incendiary pamphlets in its own name. The commission mentioned the one issued by Ratanlal Gupta, a Jan Sangh worker and HRDS ward convenor, who portrayed the Jagannath temple incident as a planned attack by Muslims, and even claimed that the sadhus’ legs had been cut off.

The commission said: “There’s no doubt in our minds that the writings on the blackboards, the pamphlets and patrikas issued on the 19th did contribute to the fanning of the riots.� The sporadic attacks on Muslims that began on September 18 night turned into a conflagration the following day.

Citing eyewitness accounts, the commission observed, “This evidence shows that organised attacks were being made on Muslim properties and Muslims...� It noted an instance in which a Jan Sangh worker led and directed assailants.

Citing various bits of evidence, the commission said the police had “reason to believe that some local Jan Sangh leaders and workers were actively participating� in the riots. The commission observed: “...some of the district magistrates have not hesitated to place before the Commission the fact of such participation by Jan Sangh and Hindu Mahasabha workers...one or two of them speak of incitement given by Jan Sangh workers, though when some of them gave evidence they tried to hedge.�

In its reconstruction of the chain of events, the commission made repeated mention of the involvement of RSS, Jan Sangh and HDRS workers. It spoke of lorries being used to carry rioters and weapons, and crowds being led and directed.

However, since it lacked the direct evidence to link them to a larger design, it said, “The evidence relating to participation of some of the workers of these parties or organisations is not by itself sufficient to justify the inference of the participation of the aforesaid parties as all-India parties or organisations.�
Probe: The P Jaganmohan Reddy Commission of Inquiry Ahmedabad, Sept. 1969 Toll: 660 (Muslims: 430; Hindus: 24) (Courtesy: The Hindustan Times, March 12, 2000)

http://www.rss.org.in/article.php3?id_article=86

Aligarh Riot 2006

Aligarh Riots put lock on the lock industry : article by A. U. Asif.

ALIGARH POLICE SHOT TO KILL
by Seema Mustafa

New Delhi, April 12: Seven Muslims were shot dead and 18 others of the same community were injured in the police firing in Aligarh on clashing mobs. All the dead were shot above the waist in a case of excessive police action, with a fact-finding mission by the Minorities Commission confirming this in a report which will soon be presented to the government with a list of recommendations.

In a damaging revelation for the district police and administration, the inspector-general, Kanpur range, who had been sent by the state government to inquire into the incident, has said that the police firing was not necessary and there was no justification for it. He has said that he had sufficient evidence to prove that the situation could have been brought under control without the police resorting to firing if the administration had acted with a little intelligence and responsibility. The Mulayam Singh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh, worried about the political fallout of the firing, has acted quickly to transfer the district magistrate, the senior superintendent of police as well as the SP, City, and the additional district magistrate. This, informed sources said, was in itself prima facie evidence that the state government was aware of the situation and had accepted the findings of the official inquiry committee that innocent persons had lost their lives because of a "clear case of high-handedness" and totally avoidable action by the police.

The Minorities Commission fact-finding mission has confirmed that all the shots were fired above the waist, hitting the victims directly on the upper parts of the body in what is then described as an intent to kill. The police at that time had justified the action to visiting reporters, insisting that there was no option left but to open fire. Of course, the fact that the victims had died because the police had not kept to the well-specified regulations is being kept a closely-guarded secret, with no government-level confirmation, although the news had spread like wildfire at the time through the streets of Aligarh.

At the time of the incident the crowds were merely pelting stones at police vehicles, with the top-level inquiry now maintaining that the situation could have been brought under control without the excessive action. The sources said that all the dead and injured belonged to one community, suggesting a communal angle in the Aligarh administration's action.

The tension in Aligarh has now acquired a Muslim-versus-police hue, with the Mulayam Singh Yadav government hoping to defuse it with the action taken against senior officials at both the city and district levels. The latest instructions call for the police to use rubber bullets to control mobs, as these will incapacitate victims for a while but not kill or maim them. Police sources said, however, that rubber bullets are always in short supply and are almost never available for use.

The sources said that the officer in charge is directly responsible for the order to fire, and pointed out that even today the police manual does not limit the firing to below the waist as has been recommended by several committees appointed to look into police excesses in the past. In fact, the phrase still used is to "fire to effect", although the new instructions have directed the use of rubber bullets for controlling unarmed mobs.

Anti–minority bias in the Indian Police

“The response of police to appeals from desperate victims, particularly Muslims, was cynical and utterly indifferent. On occasions, the response was that they were unable to leave the appointed post; on others, the attitude was that one Muslim killed was one Muslim less...Police officers and men, particularly at the junior level, appeared to have an in–built bias against the Muslims which was evident in their treatment of the suspected Muslims and Muslim victims of riots. The treatment given was harsh and brutal and , on occasions, bordering on the inhuman...The bias of policemen was seen in the active connivance of police constables with the rioting Hindu mobs, on occasions, with their adopting the role of passive on–lookers on occasions, and, finally, their lack of enthusiasm in registering offenses against Hindus even when the accused was clearly identified and post-haste classifying the cases in ‘A’ (True but not detected) summary”.
— Report of the Justice B.N. Srikrishna Commission on the Mumbai riots of 1992–1993

“This commission of inquiry has cited more than half a dozen instances where Muslim religious places adjoining police lines or police stations were attacked or damaged. The argument advanced by the police officers that because they were busy quelling riots at various other places, these police stations were shorn of adequate strength and hence these attacks on religious places could not be punished, did not impress the Commission. It has made this observation because not a single case of damage to a Hindu place of worship near a police station was reported to the Commission.”
— Report of the Justice Jagmohan Reddy Commission on the Ahmedabad riots of 1969

“The working of the Special Investigation Squad is a study in communal discrimination. The officers of the squad systematically set about implicating as many Muslims and exculpating as many Hindus as possible irrespective of whether they were innocent or guilty. Cases of many Hindus belonging to the Shiv Sena, Rashtriya Utsav Mandal (an extension of the local branch of the Jana Sangh) were wrongly classified as ‘A’ category and investigations closed and no proper investigation was undertaken into several complaints of murders of Muslims and arson of their property. No investigation was conducted into the composition and activities of Hindu communal and allegedly communal organisations operating in Bhiwandi but only in respect of Muslim communal and allegedly communal organisations. Deputy superintendent of police S.P. Saraf held private conferences and discussions with several leaders of Hindu organisations including many who were implicated by Muslims in offences of arson and murder.”
— Report of the Justice D.P. Madon Commission on the Bhiwandi, Jalgaon and Mahad of 1970

“The evidence of the deputy SP says that while on patrol duty he had to curb many among his rank and file who could not restrain themselves when they met Muslims on the road. Similar evidence was given by the sub–collector and other witnesses who have testified saying that while chasing away some Muslims many policemen yelled at them to go to Pakistan. At Mattambaram one or two of them got into the mosque and besides beating Usmankutty Haji, a very respectable person, broke the tube–light and chandeliers in the mosque. There is nothing to show that there was any justification for this action...So far as the minorities are concerned, it is the feeling among them that they are nor getting justice, that they are discriminated against in the matter of appointments in the Public Services, that they do not get equal protection of the law and that their religion is in danger, that prompts them to rally around religious organisations of their own. It is of the greatest importance that appropriate steps are taken by the government to remove the cause for such feelings in the minorities. There is much truth in saying that if you want peace you must work justice.”
— Report of the Justice Joseph Vithyathil Commission on the Tellicherry riots, 1971

“The riots occurred broadly on account of the total passivity, callousness and indifference of the police in the matter of controlling the situation and protecting the people of the Sikh community.…Several instances have come to be narrated where police personnel were found marching behind or mingled in the crowd. Since they did not make any attempt to stop the mob from indulging in criminal acts an inference has been drawn that they were part of the mob and had the common intention and purpose. ...The Commission was shocked to find that there were incidents where the police wanted clear and definite allegations against the anti-social elements in different localities to be dropped out while recording FIRs.”
— Report of the J. Ranganath Misra Commission on the 1984 anti–Sikh riots in Delhi

Bhagalpur Riot : 1989

1989
22 Oct-23 Nov: 1070 people killed, 524 injured.
116 Muslims massacred in Logain village.
In 195 villages, 11,500 house first looted and then destroyed.
Officially 48,000 people made refugee.
600 powerlooms and 1700 handlooms burnt.
68 mosques destroyed
20 mazar razed.

142 FIRs registered (811 is also reported)
302 chargesheets filed

1283 number of accused.
52 cases dismissed

152 cases heard by lower courts
119 cases dismissed for want of judicially sustainable evidence.
33 cases accused sentenced by sessions and district courts.

2001
trial begins
24 people, CID recommends chargesheets against.
2 of these move to High Court, chargesheets dropped.
2 absconding
1 died
1 minor
18 final list of accused
4 more absconded
14 accused including an Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police.

2007
14 Hindus convicted for killings in Logain village.

[source Radiance, 1-7 July 2007]

Bhiwandi Riots 1970 : Judicial Report on RSS participation

Bhiwandi, Jalgaon, Mahad, May 1970 Toll: 164 (Muslims: 142; Hindus: 20) Probe: The DP Madon Commission of Inquiry

Shiv Jayanti, the birth anniversary celebrations of Shivaji, used to be a private affair till 1964, when youngsters organised the first public ceremony in Bhiwandi. It excluded the Muslim community. Riots were sparked off in 1967, when participants in the Shiv Jayanti procession threw excessive gulal while passing the Nizampur Jumma Mosque. In subsequent years, the procession was barred from taking this route.

In 1969, the Shiv Jayanti Utsav Samiti split - 19 of its members formed the rival Rashtriya Utsav Mandal (RUM). “Out of these 19, the first 15 names were either members of the Jan Sangh or were pro-Jan Sangh,� the commission noted.

The commission established the link between the RSS and Jan Sangh: “A number of Jan Sangh leaders have been members of the RSS and have held important offices in it... Atal Behari Vajpayee, till recently the president of the Jan Sangh, has himself declared he was in the RSS.�

In 1970, RUM submitted a memorandum to the administration demanding that milch animals should not be slaughtered on Bakri-Id, which fell on February 12.

On March 11, Bhiwandi, for the first time, celebrated Shivaji’s death anniversary. The occasion was used to warn the Muslim community against beating drums on Moharram, due on March 19. Two days later, 45 persons petitioned the administration to disallow drums in the Moharram procession. Holi was to fall on March 22.

The commission observed: “That the Holi pits were widened and Holi fires blazed intensely only with a view to cause obstruction to the Moharram processions is quite apparent from the fact that after March 19, that is after the Moharram processions were over, the Holi fires which were lit were much less in intensity.�

In May, it was Shiv Jayanti again, and RUM stepped up its campaign to get the administration to allow it to take its procession through Nizampura. The Muslims protested initially, but relented when Dr BP Vyas, a local Jan Sangh leader and dominant figure in RUM, took upon himself the responsibility of restraining the marchers from shouting provocative slogans and throwing gulal at the mosque.

But the promise was belied, and the police arrested two participants who shouted provocative slogans. The others refused to budge until the two were released. The police agreed, but the procession continued to shout slogans. Insulted, Muslims started to pelt stones. And the riots began.

The RUM propaganda had attracted around 3,000 to 4,000 people from neighbouring villages, who joined the procession armed with lathis wrapped in the official RSS flag. “These police officers and policemen could not have been so naive as not to have seen through the ruse that Bhagwa flags were tied to lathis in order to circumvent the ban against the carrying of weapons...� commented the commission. “The evidence also leaves no doubt that these lathis were brought by the villagers at the instigation and instance of RUM.�

The commission was categorical: “The organisation which has both directly and indirectly provoked the disturbances which took place in Bhiwandi, Khoni and Nagaon on May 7, 1970 and thereafter is the Rashtriya Utsav Mandal, the majority of the members of which belonged to the Jan Sangh or were pro-Jan Sangh, and the rest, apart from a few exceptions, to the Shiv Sena.�
(Courtesy: The Hindustan Times, March 12, 2000) Bhiwandi, Jalgaon, Mahad, May 1970 Toll: 164 (Muslims: 142; Hindus: 20) Probe: The DP Madon Commission of Inquiry

http://www.rss.org.in/article.php3?id_article=87

Bihari Muslims 2005

Muslims in Bihar: Findings of a Survey
Yoginder Sikand

Few studies exist on Muslim social and educational conditions in India. For their part, few Muslim organisations have engaged in such research, being largely incapable or else unwilling to do so. The state, too, has taken little interest in documenting the actual living conditions of Muslims in different parts of India.

Last year, the Asian Development Research Institute, Patna, came out with an in-depth report on the Muslims of Bihar. Sponsored by the Bihar State Minorities Commission, the study is one of the few well-researched surveys on the subject, and certainly the only one of its sort on the Bihari Muslims.

Bihar has the highest number of Muslims in India after Uttar Pradesh, and is characterized by widespread poverty and inequality. Muslims rank among the poorest communities in the state, many of them being descendants of ‘middle; and ‘low’ caste converts. According to 2001 census, the Muslims in Bihar numbered 137.2 lakhs, constituting 16.5% of the State’s total population and 9.9% of the country’s total Muslim population. 87% of the Muslim population in Bihar lives in rural areas, and the rest in towns and cities.

rural

The survey indicates a very high degree of landlessness among the Muslims living in rural Bihar, as well as a high ratio of Muslims with very small landholdings. Only 35.9% of the Muslim households in rural Bihar possess any cultivable land, the corresponding figure for the general population being much higher, at 58%. The percentage of rural Bihari Muslims actually operating some land is even lower, at 28.8%. In other words, for about one-fifth of the land-owning Muslim households the amount of land owned is so marginal that they have no option but to lease their land to a cultivator with larger landholding. As a result, nearly three-fourth of the rural Muslim households are dependent largely on agricultural wage employment and, to a smaller extent, on whatever limited self-employment is available outside the agricultural sector.

Muslim marginalization in rural Bihar is more apparent when one considers the size of their landholdings, the study says. According to the 1990-91 Agricultural Census of Bihar, the average landholding was 2.32 acres. The survey finds the average size of landholding of cultivating Muslim households to be much lower, at 1.91 acres. Further, barely 8.2% of the Muslims households in rural Bihar have landholdings over 2.0 acres. The percentage of Muslims households having at least five acres of land (generally considered to be the minimum size of an economic holding) is miniscule. The survey also finds that although land ownership is much lower for rural Muslim households than for the general population, relatively better irrigation facilities available to the former in some districts that partially compensates for this disadvantage.

Rural Muslim poverty in Bihar, the study shows, is also reflected in the low level of other farm-related assets. Only around a fourth of the cultivating households own a plough and just 3% a tractor, which is less than 1% of the total number of rural Muslim households. Only 10.4 % possess pump sets and some 56% of own some livestock, a figure almost 5 per cent less than that of the general population. For Muslim households in rural Bihar, the study shows, not only is their average land ownership less than that of the general population, but they also are experiencing a slow process of land alienation. The additional amount of land bought by rural Muslim households during the last five years (2.4 percent of the household reporting buying of some land, with an average of 0.32 acres of land per buying household) is less than the land sold by them (2.5 percent of the households reporting selling of some land with 0.49 acres of land per selling household).

Many Muslims living in rural Bihar belong to artisan caste communities However, the survey finds that today barely 2.1% of rural Muslim households are engaged in artisan-based activities. This indicates that in the face of competition from the modern manufacturing sector, traditional artisan-based activities have fast disappeared, forcing artisans to become landless agricultural labourers or else to migrate to cities to work as manual labourers. The average value of implements used by Muslim artisan household was found to be a mere Rs. 2200, and the average annual income from artisan-based activities for such families is only a little more than Rs.16000. This suggests that many rural Muslim artisan families live below the poverty line.

The survey did not come across any rural Muslim household engaged in any modern manufacturing activity. In its sample of 1586 urban Muslim households, it found just 12 (0.6 percent) households engaged in such activity. The average value of machinery per production unit for these households is around Rs. 25000, and the average annual income from these manufacturing units is only about Rs. 51,000. The survey provides the following table on Bihari Muslim workers employed in different sectors of the state’s economy.

According to the survey 28.4 percent of rural Muslim workers are landless labourers, and on an average, they find work for only 230 days in a year. Prevailing average daily wage rates for a whole day’s labour are pathetically low (Rs. 28 in the off-season and Rs. 32 in the peak season), which means that a labourer’s mean monthly wage earning is less than Rs. 600. Making living conditions even more difficult for them is the fact in more than half the working days they have to move outside the village for work.

Overall, this means that Bihari Muslims are characterized by a high degree of poverty and deprivation. Their per capita income is estimated at Rs. 4640 in rural areas and 6320 in urban areas. 49.5% of rural Muslims and 44.8% of urban Muslims in Bihar are estimated to live below the poverty line. 41.5% rural Muslim households and 24.9% urban Muslim households are said to be indebted, the average outstanding loan for the two categories being Rs. 6790 and 4990 respectively, which, as a percentage of the annual income, works out to 21.5% and 11.45% respectively.

Interestingly, according to the survey the housing conditions of Muslim households in rural areas are somewhat better than that of the general population, with relatively more Muslim families (25%) living in pucca houses than among the general population (10.1%). This could be because some of the poor Muslim households have become so only in recent generations owing to a distinct process of marginalisation. Hence, while their present income may be low, their housing conditions might be better. For the same reason perhaps, nearly half of the rural Muslim household (47.4%) also have separate kitchens. Roughly the same proportion of rural families have electricity connections as do non-Muslim families (about one in every eight households). Only about one-fifth of rural Muslim households do not have ration cards, almost all being from poor families.

Urban
Economic differentials between the Muslim and general population are, according to the survey, much wider in urban than in rural areas. Ownership of a dwelling unit is less common among urban Muslim households (72.2%) than among the general population (84.7%). While 51.2 % Muslim households live in pucca houses, the figure is 57.3% for the general population. While only 47.2% urban Muslim households have electricity connection in their homes, the figure is around 75% for the general population. Around a fourth of the urban Muslim households are without ration cards.

This report concludes with a plea for greater intervention by the state and Muslim community organisations to address the issue of Muslim social and economic marginalisation. Given the extreme paucity of data on Muslims in India, studies such as this one urgently need to be conducted in other states of India as well.

Communal Riots 2000 : Asghar Ali Engineer

COMMUNAL RIOTS - 2000
January 1-15, 2001
by Asghar Ali Engineer

The year 2000 also witnessed number of communal riots like other years. Unfortunately there has been no year free of communal violence despite the BJP's assurances of 'riot-free' India. However, the post-Babri demolition trend of riots on smaller scale continued this year also. In most of the riots only a few human lives were lost. The riots during eighties were most devastating, each riot involving loss of more than 100 lives.

The account for the year 2000 was opened in Azamgarh, U.P. on 27th January when trouble broke out in Shibli College. The mischief began with singing of "Vande Matram" by the All India Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) students which is a student front of BJP. Other students refused to sing and the controversy took dangerous turn when many people were injured and many shops were looted and burnt. Later on two persons were stabbed in Mubarakpur in Azamgarh district. In these disturbances more than 180 persons were arrested. The senior superintendent of police, Azamgarh was transferred. Six companies of para-military forces were deployed to contain the situation.

Ahmedabad is a perennial trouble spot and has become communally a supersensitive area. Even before the BJP government came to power Ahmedabad was quite sensitive and had witnessed many major communal clashes. In fact one of the reasons of the fast growth of BJP in Gujarat has been repeated communal violence. After the BJP captured power in Gujarat the VHP and the Bajrang Dal have become very bold and often indulges in vandalism against minorities and the police remains mute witness. Now it is the VHP which decides whether minorities should stay in a particular area or not. Often it does not even allow Muslims to set up shops in majority dominated areas. Many of us think that we should encourage people to live in cosmopolitan areas to increase interaction between various religious communities but the Sangh Parivar bigots are preventing minorities from settling in Hindu dominated areas.

Thus in Ahmedabad a mob of 40-50 people attacked the newly constructed five story building in Vishwakunj Society near National Institute of Design in Paldi area in Ahmedabad on February 5, 2000 causing damage to property worth 20 lakh of rupees. A car parked nearby was also set on fire. The mob was shouting 'Jai Shri Ram'. They also threatened the care-taker of the building with dire consequences if he revealed their names to the police. The building was owned by one Wasim Kothiwala. A police officer said that 'a group of Hindus have attacked the building and ransacked it as it is owned by a Muslim and this area is thickly populated by the Hindus."

The violent attack on Muslim families in Paldi once again stirred the communal passions in Ahmedabad. The city police was groping in the dark about this mindless vandalism. The Deputy Commissioner of Police Shri T.S.Bisht said, "These vandals are from the same locality and they attacked the families as they do not want these Muslim families in their neighbourhood."

Next, Tonk in Rajasthan witnessed communal frenzy on 20th February when two groups of students clashed with each other. One student was killed. Curfew was clamped on town. More than 8 persons were arrested in this connection. It all began with some quarrel between students of two communities - Hindus and Muslims. Thereafter students belonging to one community attacked the students belonging to another community. One student Nasir was severely beaten up who succumbed to his injuries later. Communal tension spread between the two communities as a result of these incidents. Curfew was clamped in Tonk from 5 A.M. These students also tried to destroy the places of worship. About 40 persons were arrested in this connection.

Next in row was Nanded, Maharashtra where Hindus and Muslims clashed over a piece of land on 2nd March, 2000. The trouble erupted when a shop owner belonging to a minority community tried to raise a permanent structure. Twelve shops were gutted seemingly by short-circuiting in one of the shops. It was difficult to say whether it was short-circuiting or a case of setting fire. The piece of disputed land was claimed by Dhangar Samaj and they proposed to build a temple there. A number of communal incidents were caused by property disputes and it could be said that vested interests used religion as a cover for their purposes. Because of this, entire communities got involved in what could be called private property disputes.

The other major cause for communal clashes are Hindu and Muslim festivals. In some or the other place communal trouble erupts on Holi, Ganesh or Durga procession or Tazia procession in Muharram. Thus on the occasion of Holi on 19th March more than five lives were lost in various places in the country. In Farrukhabad district of U.P. alone 2 persons were killed including one woman when people of two communities clashed over the question of throwing colour. In Calcutta three persons died when the police opened fire on the mob consisting of Hindus and Muslims. Of those died one was killed in Howrah area in the police firing. According to the police, one group of people completely drunk was trying to throw colour on unwilling people of another community. When the police tried to prevent it from doing so it began pelting stones on the police. Another incident took place in Hugli district in which one person died and several were injured. The third incident took place in the suburbs of Calcutta when twenty four year old youth was killed as he objected to being smeared with colour.

In Ghaziabad U.P. there was communal tension as the district administration did not permit bonfire of Holi. The Hindus refused to celebrate Holi in protest. The land where Holi bonfire was, was a disputed piece of land between Hindus and Muslims. The Allahabad High Court had permitted Muslims to offer Eid prayers there but had not given any instruction about Holi bonfire. The police had to make strong arrangements to guard the place in view of communal tension in the town.

On the occasion of Holi in Madhupur village of Behraich district 12 persons were badly injured when Hindus and Muslims clashed. The clashes began when some drunkards tried to throw colour on Muslims and they protested. Fifteen persons were arrested in this connection.

After Holi it was turn of Muharram in April 2000. The Muslims took out Tazia processions on 10th day of Muharram to mourn the martyrdom of Husain, the grand son of the Holy Prophet. In Sasaram, Bihar two groups of Muslims clashed over taking out Tazias. The matter went to such an extent that the police had to fire in the air to disperse the clashing mobs. In these clashes about two dozen persons including a police constable were injured. The two groups attacked each other with lethal and fatal weapons.

Varanasi, another communally sensitive area, witnessed eruption of violence on 19th April. Curfew had to be clamped in Varanasi following communal clashes that left one person dead and two others, including a policeman, injured. Two more persons were injured when fresh bout of violence erupted when miscreants hurled bombs in the curfew bound Telabagh area under Chetganj police station. Indefinite curfew had to be clamped on 19th April under Chetganj, Luxa, Dashmasumer Ghat, Chowk and Bhelupura police stations after clashes.

On 19th April evening, a young man was attacked by a group of unidentified people as he was passing through a Muslim neighbourhood. Following that, members of the two communities clashed in the area leading to the fatal stabbing of a 22 year old man, Vinod Kumar Jain, who was merely passing through the neighbourhood on his two wheeler. This led to violence spilling into other neighbourhoods. Situation became very tense and intensive patrolling had to be done and all schools and colleges were closed for two days and examinations postponed in centres falling under curfew bound areas. One more person was arrested in connection with the stabbing incident and number of arrested in various incidents in Varansi reached 61.

Madhepura, Ahmedabad witnessed communal violence on 21 May when two persons were suddenly stabbed while buying vegetables. Hearing this, rival mobs of two hundred each gathered on both sides and began pelting stones. Arson and looting spread to Dudheshwar Cross Roads. A grain shop and a scooter were set on fire and two other shops and a handcart were destroyed. To disperse the mob police threw 15 tear gas shells. A police sub-inspector was also hurt near the chin. The police said it was looking for one Hindu Vishwa Parishad man who had been arrested earlier for his involvement in similar riots in Madhepura a year back.

Next communal violence erupted in Kopergaon, Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra. It was on 25th May 2000 the communal tension on the question of eve teasing near a dargah and a temple became palpable. Then some persons began to demand that the dargah be removed from there or the Hindus will install an idol near Idgah. It was after this that some elements belonging to Shiv Sena-BJP who began to set fire to Muslim shops. Three bangle shops, two waste material shops, two spare parts shops, one pan shop, one repair garage and one truck, all belonging to Muslims were set on fire. The police, Muslims in Kopergaon alleged, did not help them. It remained mute spectators. It was after 9 P.M. that SRP reached the spot and controlled the situation and enforced Article 144. About 7 persons were arrested but released in the morning.

On 24th June 2000 police post of Yamunapushta, Delhi came under attack as the police arrested one Ishaque and Shah Alam, Bangla Deshis as suspects in a bomb blast. However, people around the place maintained that Ishaque was working during the day and teaching children in the madrasa at night. Then rumour spread that the police had desecrated the Holy Qur'an. The Muslims of the area surrounded the police post and began pelting stones. Even lathi charge and tear gas shells did not bring the situation under control. The mob set fire to a motor vehicle of police parked nearby and ransacked the police post destroying all the records. The police then resorted to firing in which one person Ganga Ram was injured and another person Mujahid 18 was killed. The policemen who were trapped inside escaped death narrowly as the mob thought they were dead and left the place. Two constables coming to the post were also surrounded and beaten up as they were carrying tear gas lobs.

Guntur came under curfew on following a bomb explosion in a mosque on 26th June 2000. According to the police, curfew was clamped on Monday morning in Kothapet, Lalapet and parts of old city areas, while rest of the town continued under prohibitory order under section 144. No reports of violence were received after the curfew was imposed and no arrests were made in connection with the incident. An all party procession was taken out in Mangalagiri town in protest against the explosion in the mosque. Some shops also downed shutters to register their protest.

The Andhra Pradesh government announced a reward of Rs.25 lakhs to anybody providing information about the persons responsible for the attacks on religious institutions in the state. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu who visited the blast site made this announcement after a meeting with religious leaders. He also announced that police protection will be provided at all religious places belonging to minorities. An additional police force including two companies of the RAF were deployed to maintain peace in the area.

However, violence did break out in Guntur next day. The Guntur police arrested 30 persons in connection with the torching of buses and attack on APSRTC bus station after the bomb blast in the Markaz Mosque. Some trains were also detained at the Rapatla railway station. A massive procession of about 800 people was also taken out at Tenali.

In Malpura area of Tonk district communal violence broke out on 10th July, 2000 after killing of Kailash Mali who was an accused in the post Babri Demolition riots of December 1992. Apparently it was a revenge killing as Kailash Mali was involved in several cases. However, communal disturbances started after his killing which claimed six lives in Malpura.. After the death of Mali a jeep was discovered according to Gulabsingh Shaktawat, Home Minister of Rajasthan with 4 dead bodies in it. These bodies carried the signs of attacks with sharp weapons. Curfew was clamped in the area and two companies of Armed Constabulary were deployed.

Fresh disturbances broke out in Tonk district on July 12 in which one woman was killed. Indefinite curfew had to be imposed on Tonk district. According to the police a woman was killed and three children injured at a village on the Toda Raisingh Road in Malpura town where communal clashes had claimed 10 lives till Tuesday. The curfew continued for the third day at Malpura and for the second day at the district headquarters, Tonk. Three companies of Rapid Action Force had to be rushed from Delhi for maintaining law and order.

In Ahmedabad particularly in the old city area like Kalupur, Dariapur, Jamalpur communal situation is always extremely fragile. On ordinary incidents Hindus and Muslims start fighting with each other. On July 14 2000, for example, situation became very tense with the rumour of one Muslim youth teasing a Hindu girl. Mobs of more than 500 gathered on both sides and began pelting stones at each other. The police arrested 26 persons and detained 200. At about 8-30 P.M. heavy stone pelting and clashes took place near Nagina Park and Wadilkam area. Officials of Dariapur police rushed to the spot with the SRP jawans, even as a mob of 1000 residents pelted stones on the police officials. The police resorted to tear gas shelling and firing in the air to disperse the mob. However, no one was injured in the firing.

However, worse was yet to come on communal front in whole of Gujarat when the VHP gave a call for Gujarat Bandh after killing of about 100 pilgrims in Kashmir allegedly by the extremists. The VHP went on rampage in Gujarat and destroyed properties worth lakhs besides places of worship and dargahs. Many secular activists and NGOs from Gujarat prepared a comprehensive report running over 44 pages titled Saffron On the Rampage- Gujarat's Muslims pay for Lashkar's Deeds.

According to the Report, "In Ahmedabad, Surat, Sabarkantha (Lambadiya, Khed Brahma and Modasa villages) and Pahlanpur and Rajkot, Muslim business establishments - power looms, granaries, printing presses, shops and godowns - were cold-bloodedly targeted by indigenous terrorist squads led by elected representatives belonging to Bhartiya Janata Party, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal. In Surat alone, a senior correspondent of the Financial Express has estimated the total damage by the selective destruction through full fledged arson of only Muslim-owned power looms …at Rs.10 crores totally. In Modasa Village of Sabarkantha district, of the 63 business establishments charred to nothingness, 51 belonged to Muslims, 12 to Hindus totalling to a loss of not less than Rs. 1.5 crores."

The report further says, "If Gujarat is Hindutva's laboratory, as the proud proponents of this political ideology have so often declared, what took place in Gujarat on the day of the Bandh on August 3, and for a week thereafter, should be viewed as one more test case of Hindutva in action."

The report continues, "Despite the fact that many sections closed down businesses and shops on that day fateful day, in support of the outrage against the Amarnath yatris, for the squads of Hindu Rashtra, this was just not enough. Publicly, office bearers of the VHP and BD, and in many cases helped by selected representatives of the BJP, bayed for more blood in revenge for the Amarnath yatris, and got it with the help of the government and the police: destruction worth crores and all the form of property and businesses owned by Muslims in the state."

It is not possible in this report to give all the details of what happened in various places in Gujarat on the fateful day of strike (3rd August). However, it is enough to say that it was display of naked fascism by the Hindutva forces who would never tire to claim that Hindus were much more tolerant and the BJP, as pointed out earlier, would bring 'riot-free India' in its manifesto. A Dargah was also burnt. According to Deepak Trivedi of Asian Age, "The VHP's bandh call officially endorsed by the BJP in Gujarat, took a violent turn when VHP and Bajrang Dal activists carrying saffron flags moved around in different parts of the state forcing people to close shops. Brandishing trishuls and mashaals the activists shouted anti-Pakistan and anti-Muslim slogans and attacked people and establishments belonging to minority communities."

According to Trivedi, in Ahmedabad a dargah was razed to the ground opposite the Amdapur police chowky in Nafroda area. The police was a mute witness to the miscreants storming the dargah, breaking the roof and destroying it completely before setting it on fire. No arrests had been made in this case. In another case of vandalism, St.Xaviers School in Meghraj taluka of Sanbarkantha district was attacked by VHP and Bajrang Dal activists. Father Peter was injured in the attack. According to Father Cedric Prakash, the school remained closed in support of the bandh but the miscreants rushed inside the school promises, where over 380 tribal boys and girls were lodged in hostels.

In Surat bandh took violent turn in which several stabbing cases took place and left a student dead. Violence broke out in Surat in the afternoon when the VHP activists tried to force closure of shops. A number of shops were looted and burnt.

Mathura in U.P. witnessed outbreak of communal violence on August 15, 2000. The police resorted to firing in which two persons were killed and 15 others were injured following clashes between Hindus and Muslims. The dead were identified as Kale (12) and Mushtaq (22). The violence took place in front of Govindnagar police station near Krishna Janambhoomi site. The violence was sparked off by a dispute over a plot of land. When Hindus started constructing a wall on a plot of land Muslims objected to it saying that plot was being used as a cemetery under the supervision of the Wakf Board, a claim rebutted by the majority community. The members of the two communities threw crude bombs besides acid-filled bottles at each other. Finally the police had to resort to firing killing two persons.

Nanded in Maharashtra again witnessed violence on 13th September 2000. Four persons were stabbed to death in a fresh outbreak of communal violence and the authorities clamped a dusk to dawn curfew. The four villagers who had come to city were stabbed. About 25 persons were arrested in connection with stabbing incident in the Itwara area of Nanded. The disturbances started apparently when some miscreants threw stones on Ganesh procession from one of the bye-lanes in Itwara area. The news spread like wild fire and large scale riots broke out. When, according to the police, lathi charge proved ineffective it resorted to firing injuring four persons. One of the injured was in critical condition.

The next town to witness communal violence was Biharsharif, a town communally sensitive and which had witnessed communal catastrophe in 1981 in which more than 400 persons had lost their lives. This time it happened on the question of installing a Durga idol on a disputed piece of land on October 9, 2000. Violence broke out and the police opened fire in which one woman Bachia Devi was killed and three others were injured. The police opened fire at several places to quell the mobs in which four persons were injured. Three columns of army and Rapid Action Force and Bihar Military Police had to be employed to quell the disturbances.

Tension had gripped the town on 8th October when thousands of kar sevaks had started building a temple on the disputed site where they had earlier installed an idol of goddess Durga on October 4th. The idol was removed by the authorities later. Enraged by the removal of idol and partial demolition of the construction the frenzied mobs started vandalising private and public properties leading to imposition of curfew. According to eyewitness reports, the members of a community came out defying curfew regulations, blocked streets with burning tyres and wooden logs. The number of arrests went up to 145 following night-long raids in connection with the incidents of arson when shops belonging to the minority community and government officials were attacked. The marble idol of goddess Durga was removed to the police lines and the police authorities asked the organisers either to install it at a private place of their choice or at a place earmarked by the authorities to defuse tension.

Azamgarh in U.P. has become sensitive not only from the point of view of Hindu-Muslim conflict but also from the viewpoint of Shia-Sunni mutual problems. On 6th November violence between Shias and Sunnis broke out with great fury in Mubarakpur in Azamgarh district. The police authorities described it as "well planned sectarian clashes". The death toll mounted to 11 and three out of those injured were quite critical. Even after few days after the clashes the situation in Mubarakpur was highly tense. Six companies of PAC and two companies of RAF had to be deployed to maintain peace. Many people thought that the sectarian violence in Mubarakpur was a result of murder of the Shia leader Agha Syed Mahdi in Srinagar. But this could not be confirmed. Even days after the clashes the town was simmering with tension.

Communal violence also broke out in number of places after Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee gave a statement that the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya was an expression of 'national sentiments'. Some Hindutvawadis took cue from P.M.'s statement and went on rampage in several places like Rae Bareli and Moradabad in U.P. and Nawsari in Gujarat. Nawasari has been very peaceful town and even during communal frenzy in nearby Surat in 1992-1993 it had remained peaceful. It witnessed communal violence almost for the first time.

In Nawsari in South Gujrat communal disturbances broke out on 3rd December in which 14 persons were seriously injured. Indefinite curfew had to be imposed in the town police station area. First disturbances broke out in Alipur area where two communities clashed on the question of cow protection. About 15 shops and hawkers stalls were set ablaze. The police had to fire 15 rounds in air to disperse the mob. There was once case of stabbing also.

In Moradabad the violence broke out on 9th December when a boundary wall of a place of worship was demolished in Galshahid area at the instance of some local politicians. The police had to lathicharge in more than 12 places as the disturbances spread to different areas. About 20 persons were held but no one sustained serious injury.

A Muslim, 45-year-old was beheaded inside the mosque in Trinulveli district in southern Tamil Nadu. Communal tension spread in neighbouring districts also after the gruesome incident. The two unidentified assailants who killed the Muslim made good their escape. However, the police authorities maintained that the situation was under control and police pickets had been put in all sensitive areas. According to the police sources two persons scaled the mosque's wall around 11 p.m.Saturday night and singled out for attack Abdul Rasheed among the three men preparing gruel for Ramzan prayers. Six other persons were sleeping inside the mosque. First a petrol bomb was thrown and thereafter they attacked Rasheed with knives.

These were communal incidents and riots, which took place in the year 2000. On the eve of the new year of 2001. Communal situation as such is quite worrisome. Communal propaganda has intensified and major communal riot can take place anytime and anywhere the communal forces want. Unfortunately countervailing forces are not very active. The communal forces have totally free hand and more often than not go unchallenged.

Communal Riots 2001: Asghar Ali Engineer

COMMUNAL RIOTS - 2001
January 1-15, 2002
by Asghar Ali Engineer

The year 2001 also, like previous years witnessed several communal riots throughout India of which some were minor and some major. The riot broke out in Kolahpur on 31st December 2000, the last day of last year and continued in January 2001. A territorial Army Jawan Abhijt Suryawanshi was killed in Jammu and Kashmir in a suicide bomb explosion. He hailed from Kolahpur Maharashtra. His body was flown to Kolahpur. Shiv Sena gave a call for bandh but some people of minority did not close their shops and stoning began on their shops. The crowd was 10,000 strong pelting stones. The crowd was also protesting against the 'pro-Muslim' statement given by the Minister of State for Textiles Prakash Awde in Icchalkaranji a day ago.

The situation became tense in Kolahpur and Shiv Sena's call for bandh aggravated it. The administration, however, persuaded the Sena to withdraw its call for bandh but many Shiv Seniks did not like it and indulged in heavy stone throwing. Sudden burst of stone pelting sent a wave of panic across the main market and shops and business establishments downed their shutters. However, though there was tension and stone pelting incidents there was fortunately no loss of life.

Similarly there was communal violence in Ranchi, Bihar on 30th December which too spilled over to the month of January 2001. On 29th December which happened to be an Eid day (Ramzan Eid) police fired and three Muslim youth were killed. Though it was not clear why police had to resort to firing but it resulted in killing three Muslim youth. It led to unrest among the Muslims and Minority Front and other Muslim organisations gave call for Ranchi Bandh on 30th December. The demonstrators set fire to two police chowkies and also RAF vehicles were heavily damaged. Many Muslims came out on roads after the Friday prayers and indulged in violence. The administration then imposed curfew at 3 P.M. The army also had to do flag march to restore normalcy. Chief Minister of Jharkhand Babulal Mirandi ordered an inquiry into the police firing. The violence, however, continued on 1st January also.

The death of Deputy Superintendent of police who was injured in brick batting and subsequently had ordered firing on the incited mob in which three Muslim youth were killed, died on 1st January 2001 which again gave rise to fresh bout of violence on 1st January 2001 in Ranchi. The death of Mr. Jha was deemed ominous as the police had threatened to paralyse the state police administration. However, nothing untoward happened as the situation was controlled.

Next Kishtwar in Jammu witnessed communal violence on 2nd January after Jama Masjid was gutted apparently by short circuit. The people in the town turned violent after entire Masjid complex including the library and madrasa were reduced to ashes. The mob turned violent after police lathicharge to disperse swelling mob. The mob manhandled the SDM and AP. The office of SDM was set ablaze. The administration had to impose curfew on Kishtwar.

Ahmednagar in Mahararashtra witnessed communal incidents after two dead animals were thrown into a mosque on 5th January. The mob collected on hearing the news and stoned the passing vehicles. The authorities took no chances and deployed 300 Jawans of state reserved police to control the situation. All shops downed their shutters in several localities. The police was alerted in the region. Mr. Gopinath Munde of the BJP alleged that ISI and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba were involved in the incident.

On 6th January communal incidents occurred at a very unlikely pace - Goa where BJP Government was caught unawares. The BJP's one time electoral ally, the Shiv Sena stoked communal fire in the north Goa town of Mapusa in a dispute over a make-shift prayer hall set up for Ramazan. The Muslims accused the Sena of damaging the religious book. The Sena also lodged a Shivaji statue with saffron flags in the area. However, communal tension did not erupt in major violence.

On 29th January Nasik witnessed communal flare up after demolition of a part of the mosque. The violent mob, on hearing of demolition of part of the mosque indulged in stone throwing. Noorani Masjid's ablution house and imam's residence were not the plan approved by the Municipal Corporation and hence were demolished and this led to violet incidents. Fifty persons were injured in stone throwing incidents, which included two police constables and three fire brigade workers. The police authorities took immediate steps and increased police bandobast. Some Muslims from Nasik told a delegation of Raza Academy that we have no quarrel with our Hindu brethren but we have complaint about the police brutalities. Muslims are afraid of coming out of their houses. The police also had to impose curfew when a peace march was stoned on 1st February in Kazipura locality. The curfew had to be re-imposed in riot affected Bhadrakali. Shops, establishments and schools remained closed for the day fearing violence. The police arrested 96 persons. The number of persons injured after these incidents reached 75. The police had fired nine rounds to control the mob.

The police re-arrested many Muslims in the riot affected Bhadrakali area after they were released on bail. These Muslims were re-arrested on 8th February. They were re-arrested on rioting charges. This led to unrest among the Muslims and some lawyers appealed to the judge to direct the police to arrest on all charges at one go.

On March 5 communal violence broke out at Moradabad in U.P. which claimed two lives on the occasion of Iduz Zuha (Bakar Id). A Hindu neighbour opened fire on Muslims performing ritual of animal sacrifice on the occasion of Id in Sambhal town in Moradabad district killing two persons. In the ensuing violence many houses were set ablaze, which sent communal tension soaring up. Eighteen families were rendered home-less as houses were set afire. The police arrested five persons on charges of murder. Those who hit by firing were bystanders and onlookers. Those whose houses were looted and set afire complained that everything including jewellery was destroyed and that the PAC Jawans did not act and remained mute observers.

The burning of the Qur'an on 9th March in Delhi led to widespread communal incidents in various parts of the country. In Aurangabad the police were forced to open fire in air and lob tear gas shells after 13 persons were injured in stone pelting. The mob also tried to set fire to a police van. Similar incidents were also reported from Nander and Parbhani in Marathwada. Hyderabad also witnessed stone throwing from Mecca Masjid in Charminar area at passers by. Four persons were injured including one photo journalist. Mumbai also was tense, some stray incidents took place.

Pune city was also affected by communal violence. Incidents of arson and burning of buses occurred after a group of people that had gathered for namaz at Mecca Masjid in Gani Peth in Pune turned violent Stone throwing began and all shops in the area were closed. Gani Peth and Ghodpade Peth areas were badly affected. More than 78 people had been arrested. The mob looted a bakery and ransacked a medical shop in Gani Peth and Lohiyanagar. The rioters also burnt an autorickshaw and a moped. Number of other localities like Swami Vivekanand Society, PC Staff Colony and Ghafur Takiya were also affected. It should be remembered that Pune is comparatively a peaceful town.

'Holi' usually witnesses many communal incidents. On 10th March 8 persons were killed and 6 others injured in the Shambhu village of Nalanda district, Bihar when two groups clashed with each other. The clashes occurred between the two groups on the question of singing Holi songs. The Police Superintendent Shri Geeteshwar Pande reached the spot and brought situation under control.

Kanpur is a very communally sensitive area. It comes under communal spell repeatedly. In March after the Qur'an burning incident in Delhi SIMI (Student Islamic Movement of India) took out a protest march and put up objectionable posters in the city. The procession was fired upon by the AC killing more than 12 persons, all young Muslim boys. Several shops were set afire in Beconganj. It is reported by the eye-witnesses that the PAC was itself part of looting shops. A religious place and 12 shops were set ablaze. It is said that properties worth several lakhs were damaged. The role of PAC was so notorious that it had to be withdrawn from several Muslim areas for its involvement in violence. An additional District Magistrate (Finance) was also killed. He was killed in very suspicious circumstances. It is alleged by Muslims that the PAC killed him because he refused to order firing on the procession. The police, however, alleged that he was killed by a bullet fired from near the mosque. The issue remains contentious as no hard evidence either way is available. Only a thorough judicial inquiry will reveal the truth.

It is true that the SIMI had a hand in taking out procession in protest against burning of the Qur'an in Delhi and for putting up objectionable posters in the city, the role of PAC was highly communal. The Muslims suffered heavily. According to The Times of India report, dated 28 March, 2001 "Muslims undoubtedly suffered. Be it chemist shop owner Liyaqat Ali of Warsi Market cloth merchants like Atiq Ahmed, Mohd. Arif, Rais Ahmed, Haroon Ahmed or Farhan Ahmed, all testify that their business establishments were looted by PAC Jawans in broad day light. The PAC behaves like the Hindu chauvinist force and on one does anything about it.

The SIMI has over the years spread communal poison among the unemployed Muslim youth. Its posters were also highly provocative. There was no need for such procession and poster campaign. Innocent Muslims had to pay heavy price for the provocation by SIMI. All sensible Muslims condemned the provocative postures of SIMI. The BJP Government of U.P. did not take any action against the PAC Jawans for its indiscriminate firing on the procession and for looting Muslim shops and terrorising them. In all U.P. riots the PAC plays such ant-Muslim role. But riot after riot it is posted the moment riots break out in U.P. After Kanpur riot some prominent Muslims demanded a composite police force to tackle the riots. But it is an old demand. The rioting in Kanpur, looting and murder was so intense that the Times of India headline in its 24th March issue says, "Gutted streets in Kanpur resemble a 'Shamsan' (where dead bodies are cremated).

A joint women's delegation (All India Democratic Women's Association) also squarely blamed the police which abetted Kanpur riots (See Times of India, 24th March, 2001). The BJP's claim that under its rule no communal riots take place is completely exposed by Kanpur and several other riots, which have taken place under the BJP rule. Also, U.P. has witnessed maximum number of riots after independence. According to one report some 7464 riots and communal skirmishes take place in U.P. every year, which amounts to about 622 communal incidents per month.

Moharram is another occasion when communal violence breaks out in several places. On 6th April Ajmer which is centre of Sufi saint Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti witnessed curfew after dispute over the route of taziyah in Nasirabad in Ajmer district. Communal violence broke out and army had to be called in. There were incidents of arson, looting and stoning. When the police could not control the situation, curfew was imposed. In Ajmer on hearing that some miscreants have broken the outer boundary of a temple, a burning tyre was thrown onto taziya procession. But the police controlled the situation.

On 16th April Beawar town in Rajasthan came under spell of communal violence. The police had to impose curfew. More than two dozen people were injured during these disturbances. The disturbances broke out, according to the district collector when VHP and BJP procession was stoned and bottles of acid were thrown to it by some miscreants. The situation became explosive after stoning. The procession was taken out to demand arrest of those people who were involved in construction of a religious place in a village nearby.

On 8th April two groups of people Hindus and Muslims clashed with each other during Muharram procession in Kopargaon, Maharashtra and the police had to open fire in the air to disperse violent groups. More than 8 persons were hurt in these clashes. A police inspector was also injured during the clashes.

Ahmad Nagar is another communally sensitive centre in Maharashtra. On 12th April a Ganesh idol was found damaged and disturbances broke out. On learning of this a religious place belonging to Muslims was seriously damaged. The BJP-Shiv Sena workers collected outside the religious place and started doing maha arti. Several places in town came under spell of violence. According to the police about 12 youth were arrested for damaging the Ganesh idol.

Banswada in Rajasthan, though not communally sensitive, also witnessed communal clashes. Rajasthan these days has become a stronghold of communal forces. The VHP is openly distributing trishuls to Hindus and this trishul has a shape of knife which can be used for stabbing. Thousands of such trishuls have already been distributed by the VHP volunteers.

In Banswada communal violence erupted on hearing that three persons were killed in a road accident who belonged to the other community. This was enough to ignite the situation and the police had to impose curfew on 20th May which continued up to 24th May when it was lifted and there were no untoward incidents. Bhilwada in Rajasthan has also become very sensitive.

Next Chamrajnagar in Mysore district in Karnataka erupted with communal violence after murder of a youth belonging to minority community on 2nd June. Arson and looting began on a large scale. The situation became so serious that the police had to impose curfew. Twelve persons were taken in custody for inquiries.

Lucknow too has found its place now on the map of communal violence during BJP regime. Earlier it was mainly known for its Shia-Sunni clashes. On 5th June trouble erupted near Tilewali Masjid when the police constable accosted a Muslim girl and asked her to accompany him to police station. This led to unrest among the Muslims who had gathered to witness illumination on the occasion of Shab-e-Barat festival. Muslims protested and violence began. The Muslim youth alleged that the constable was misbehaving with the girl whereas the constable maintained that the girl was making obscene gestures.

Many people came out of the mosque and began pelting stones and burnt down the police Chowkie. Some policemen were thrashed. The police opened fire and one young boy Naeem was hit and died on the spot. The police could not control the situation, as there was no adequate force. Most of the police were posted in another locality where madh-esahabah (Sunni Muslim) procession was being taken out. The mob therefore became very aggressive and inflicted lot of damage on properties. Number of autorickshaws were burnt down. Another person who was also hit by the police bullet died next day in the hospital and number of those died rose to two in Lucknow disturbances.
On 5th June night Jamner in Jalgaon district in Maharashtra became hub of communal violence after an incident of eve teasing in Anand Mela in that town. This was only a triggering event. Many communalists taking advantage of this came out with swords in hands and began looting and burning properties. In all 17 properties were gutted fourteen of which belonged to the Muslims and three to Hindus. In this town the MLA and sarpanch both belong to the BJP. The Muslims of Jamner maintained that it was not really a riot between Hindus and Muslims but an attempt by the communalists to terrify Muslims of the town. The population of Muslims in this town of 65 thousand is thirty thousand. It is quite substantial population. Unfortunately those responsible for looting and arson fled the town and had not been arrested even many days after the incidents.

Another town in Maharashtra, Sangamner experienced communal violence. It seems this year Maharashtra saw many communal incidents, more than forty and the opposition members attacked the government for this in the assembly. Sangamner witnessed communal violence on account of the film Ghadar. This film became quite controversial and some Muslims felt that it should be banned. The two groups of people of Sangamner clashed and one person died. In fact it was not film Ghadar which was being shown but another film Lagan during which trailor of the film Ghadar was shown leading to these clashes. This happened on 9th July. After coming out of the theatre the two groups clashed and indulged in stone pelting injuring many people. Irfan Tamboli was seriously injured and died two days later. The Government posted CRPF Company in the area to control the situation.

On 23rd July a gang of miscreants attacked houses of minority community in Saraswa Gor village in Moradabad district in U.P. and killed 6 persons including a two year old girl Shabina. No one was arrested and the whole incident is shrouded in mystery. The Police said the motive could be robbery. This mayhem continued for two and half hours in the village and people were done to death by iron rods. Because of this beating one Anwar Khan, his wife and two-year-old daughter died on the spot.

A deputation of Jamiat-ul-Ulama visited the village and refuted the police theory that the motive could be robbery on the grounds that those killed were very poor and hardly anything in their house worth robbing. It clearly seems to be a communal incident to terrify Muslims. , Maulana Asad Madnai also demanded that the concerned policemen of the Thana should be suspended for neglect of duty. The opposition members also raised the matter in Parliament and demanded thorough inquiry. The parliament session was disrupted.

Muzaffarnagar in U.P. witnessed tension, looting and arson on 5th August when some highly objectionable pamphlets were thrown on a Mosque. This led to clashes between Hindus and Muslims and many people were injured. The Police had to impose curfew in the town in view of the seriousness of the situation. In Meenakshi Chowk when members of two communities came face to face the police had to fire in the air. Stoning continued for some time and properties were set to fire. The matter was so serious that it led to disturbances in Parliament during question hour next day when the members of Samajwadi Party raised the matter in Parliament.

Karjagwant in Malegaon district in Maharashtra on 7th August, Raebareli in U.P. on 3rd August, in Mumbra near Mumbai on 28th August there were communal incidents in which there were instances of stoning and minor violence leading to curfew to avert major incidents.

On 12th August in Amravati, near Nagpur in Maharashtra the Shiv Seniks attacked some Muslims who were taking oxen for slaughter leading to clashes in which two persons were killed and 30 persons were wounded seriously. The police arrested 70 persons in this connection. The Bajrang Dal activists were keeping watch near the slaughter-house and preventing the Muslim butchers from taking their animals for slaughter, often attacking them. Because of this, tension was prevailing in the town between Shiv Sainiks, Bajrang Dal people and Muslim butchers which led to eruption of violence on 12th August resulting in two deaths and injuries to several persons.

Ahmedabad witnessed communal incidents on 24 and 25th August. Hawkers belonging to minority community were beaten up in Maninagar area. And since the police took no action a bandh call was given by a minority organisation which resulted in forcible closure of shops and stone throwing in which 10 people were injured including 4 policemen. Stone throwing incidents took place in Mirzapur, Kalupur, Garden Chowk and Panchkui areas. Then on 25th August violence broke out in Daryapur area of Ahmedabad and the police had to impose indefinite curfew. The police also opened fire in which one person was killed. The police fired six rounds. The police arrested 4 Bajrang Dal people for inciting violence in Ahmedabad after one more Muslim succumbed to injuries thus pushing death toll to two.

There were communal skirmishes in Bhadgaon in Jalgaon district in Mahrashtra on 5th September when Hanuman idol was found polluted with excreta. This desecration of Idol was discovered at 4 P.M. and it spread like wildfire in the town leading to soaring up of communal tension. A mob began attacking and looting nearby shops and a religious place was desecrated. Some kerosene tankers were also upturned. The police had a tough time controlling the situation.

On 26th October Malegaon in Maharashtra witnessing major communal rioting in which 13 persons were killed, several injured and properties worth more than 15 crores damaged. A Muslim youth distributing pamphlets outside a mosque calling for boycott of American goods was arrested and taken to waiting police van. This angered Muslims coming out of the mosque after Friday prayers and then disturbances began. The mobs from both sides began attacking, looting and setting fire to properties. The police opened fire resulting in death of three persons on spot. Two persons were killed in stabbing and more succumbed to their injuries later.

The disturbances spread to many villages nearby and members of Shiv Sena attacked Muslims in these villages where they were in small minority. Their properties were looted or destroyed. The riots went on for about a week in these villages. Curfew had to be imposed in Malegaon town for several days and was lifted gradually. Kanpur riot of March and Malegaon riot of October-November were two very major riots in the year 2001 and both these riots shook the country.

Though these riots taking place in Post-Babri demolition period are not as horrendous as those taking place in Eighties, they are still a shame for the secular India. In eighties of twentieth century the average number of deaths used to be more than 250 to 300 in these riots, after demolition of Babri Masjid average death has been around 25-30. But this provides hardly any relief. One should see that no riots take place. The West Bengal CPM Government has succeeded in maintaining communal peace. It should become a role model for other states as well. For almost all riots politicians are responsible. It is only in people-oriented politics that riots can be eliminated, not in power-oriented politics.

Communal Riots 2004: Asghar Ali Engineer

COMMUNAL RIOTS - 2004
January 1-15, 2005
by Asghar Ali Engineer

Like the year 2003, 2004 also did not witness any major riot. In fact the Gujarat carnage of 2002 was so traumatic that it may take sometime for the country to see communal violence on such scale. It is well known fact that major communal riot cannot take place without planning and organised efforts. The Gujarat carnage would not have been possible without BJPs and Gujarat Government's involvement. Of course it cost the BJP dearly and one of the reasons of loosing the Lok Sabha elections in 2004 was the Gujarat carnage as admitted by no less a person than A.B.Vajpayee, the BJP Prime Minster. Thus for the time being the BJP dare not involve in organising rioting on such major scale.

It is for this reason that both in 2003 and 2004 we do not find any major sustained communal violence except for riots in which couple of lives were lost. It is interesting to note that for last few years Western zone of the country i.e. Gujarat and Maharashtra have mostly witnessed communal violence. Gujarat still remains communally sensitive and without major de-communalising campaigns (and there is no such possibility as long as the BJP is in power in Gujarat) Gujarat will remain communally highly sensitive. Maharashtra too is quite communally sensitive next to Gujarat. Though there is Congress-NCP secular alliance in Maharashtra, there are no serious efforts to ideologically fight the Shiv Sena-BJP combine. Shiv Sena-BJP though it failed to come to power in the last state assembly election, it continues to wield ideological influence.

Thus the first communal clash in 2004 took place in Vadodra, Gujarat. Due to a cycle mishap the two groups belonging to Hindu and Muslim community clashed with each other and started pelting stones at each other on 6th January in Sajaynagar, Tsiwadi. According to the Police Commissioner Sudhir Kumar Sinha when the SRP personnel tried to control the mob, it was attacked. The SRP Jawan then fired two rounds in the air. SRP Jawans were injured in the stone throwing.

Then on 8th January 7 persons were injured in two of them seriously, in a group clash at Jalgaon-Jamod Tehsil in Buldana district of Maharashtra. A minor incident involving a cyclist and a truck driver escalated into a major clash between Hindus and Muslims. Senior police and revenue officials rushed to the spot and controlled the situation.

In M.P. state elections had taken place in December 2003 and the BJP had won. The BJP is trying to Hinduise tribals in Jhabua and other tribal belts of M.P. in order to win their political support. It had campaigned in a major way in Jhabua district, which is adjacent to Gujarat state. Thus Jhabua became communally quite sensitive. Thus communal clashes took place in Jhabua district between Bheels and Christians on 17th January. Actually Bhils attacked Christian Missionaries and killed one person.

Communal tension was on the rise for last few months, following the decision of the RSS-VHP cadres to prevent religious conversions by Christian missionaries. Backers of the latter, belonging to the ferocious Bhil tribe, struck back on Friday night with bows and arrows in the Alirajpur area killing one person (unofficially three), injuring over a dozen, and setting a few vehicles and buildings ablaze. It was alleged that the most serious incident had occurred when a religious procession of Sadhvis attached to a Hindu Saint Asaram Bapu at Amkhunt village was attacked and the women manhandled. The Sadhvis were distributing religious literature when the surprise attack occurred.

Earlier a 9-year-old girl was raped and murdered and her body found in a toilet inside a missionary school it had raised communal temperature as some Christians were suspected to have done that. But it was a false rumour and Chief Minister Uma Bharti herself confirmed that the culprit arrested had no connection with the church. It seems the religious literature being distributed was not innocuous and likely to have provoked some Christians. Chief Minister assured that the Christian missionaries working in the area would receive full protection.

It was again Godhra in Gujarat that a communal incident took place on 18th February in which six persons were injured, including a police sub-inspector and two constables when members of minority community and the police clashed in this sensitive town. The flare-up comes barely 10 days before the Sabarmati Express incident two years ago. It all started during police operation to arrest Salim Paanwala, one of the main accused in the Sabarmati train carnage from Umar Masjid in Saat Pul area. The locals alleged that the cops misbehaved with them, beating them up and ransacking their houses. One Amin Guri sustained serious injuries and was shifted to SSG Hospital in Vadodra for treatment. Two other civilians injured in the incident were identified as Rafiq and Yaqub. According to the SP. Police more than 35 persons were arrested. Though situation was under control, additional forces were deployed to maintain law and order. Paanwala was absconding and on being tipped police came to arrest him and this incident took place. Among those beaten up by the police was Husaina Farooq Jiteli, a six-month pregnant woman. She told the cops hit me on the abdomen when I resisted my husband's arrest. The house of Kasimbibi adjoining the mosque was ransacked. "My two sons had just returned from the mosque when the police broke open the door and began beating up them", she said.

Ujjain in M.P. witnessed communal incidents on 22nd February as M.P. under BJP rule has become more communally sensitive. The state under the BJP was experiencing more and more communal incidents. On 22 February two groups clashed on the question of removing illegal shops in front of a mosque after which 7 areas came under curfew. These shops were being removed for facilitating Mahakumbh Mela. In these clashes 10 persons including I.G. police Sarabjit Singh were injured. The police used lathicharge, tear gas shells and water cannon to control the clashing groups. More than 57 persons were arrested. About 200 Muslims who had taken refuge inside the mosque were transported to safe places.

Vadodra in Gujarat again witnessed communal violence on 27th February in which three persons were killed and 13 others were injured. The violence erupted after the Tazia procession was stoned in Bavamanpura area. One person was beaten to death. Paresh Pushwani when he was travelling on scooter was attacked by a mob of 200 persons. He succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. One another person was hit by the police bullet and one person was stabbed to death. Thirteen persons injured included four police personnel in stone pelting. Nagin Parmar and Chotalal Borsi were attacked by sharp weapons by a mob in Paginate area of which Borsi succumbed to his injuries. On 29th February one person was stabbed to death again in Panigate area. But police refused to accept it as a communal incident and ascribed it to personal quarrel.

On the eve of Moharram small incidents took place in several towns on 2nd March in India. Moradabad in U.P. witnessed stone throwing, one person was stabbed in Baroda, Gujarat, ships were closed in Ajmer in Rajasthan. In Pratapgarh one laundry was set on fire. In Barida Muslims decided not to take out Tazia procession to maintain peace in the city. Baroda again witnessed violence on 4th March when one more person was stabbed in Yaqutpura area. There were incidents of stone throwing between two communities in Yaqutpura, Fatehpura and other areas. More than 5 persons were injured including two policemen. Police resorted to firing in the air to disperse the mob.

After Moharram Holi festival on 7th March became an occasion for communal clashes in Darvha town of Yeotmal district in Maharashtra. Curfew had to be imposed after 16 persons were injured. Violence broke out when coloured powder fell incidentally on the mosque. And 24 persons were injured when clashes broke out in Sikandrabad locality of Allahabad in U.P. when minority community members objected to Holi revellers passing through a particular lane. Two groups pelted stones at each other damaging many shops and vehicles in the area.

Ahmadnagar in Maharashtra experienced communal violence on 7th March when a Shiv Sena MLA was arrested for provoking violence on 3rd March. Ahmadnagar had witnessed communal violence on 10th of Moharram (3rd March) and next day i.e. on 4th March Chitre Road, Sarjepura, Tillikot, Milindnagar and Delegate areas Muslim shops were attacked, burnt and looted. The violence continued for more than five days. Though Muslims were main victims the police arrested many Muslim youths. Muslims were greatly upset due to alleged partial role of the police.

Bhavnagar in Gujarat came under pall of communal violence after one person was stabbed on 4th March at midnight. More than six persons were injured including a woman in these communal clashes. This happened when one group tried to stop another group from taking out religious procession. The police also recovered body of a 9 year old child with injuries on its body but it was not clear whether he was killed in communal incident.

One person was killed in Chirli village of Gwalior in M.P. on 7th March on the occasion of Holi and 23 were injured of whom many were critical. The clashes between Hindus and Muslims started when Holi revellers threw colour on some Muslims. Knives and other weapons were freely used during the clashes.

Baroda was under spell of communal violence yet again on 4th May when 5 persons were injured in walled city when the two groups clashed with each other. The police was forced to lathicharge, then used teargas shells and then fired in the air when a mob attacked a house. The mob damaged two vehicles in Chabuksawar Mohalla and Pancholi area. Two persons were arrested for resorting to violence. Two injured youth were taken to hospital of which one was in critical condition. His name was Shahnawaz Qureshi. The police fired two rounds but no one was injured. The clashes broke out after two persons quarrelled on the question of parking their vehicles.

Next communal disturbances took place at Chita Camp, Trombay in Eastern suburbs of Mumbai on 7th May. Police sources said that trouble began following an altercation between members of the minority community and devotees of who were participating in a procession taken out from Mariamma temple in Cheetah Camp. Some members of the minority community objected to the procession being carried out late in the night in front of the mosque. They objected to the playing of drums. Some one threw stones on the procession and devotees retaliated. Temples and mosques are situated closed to each other. Next day there was stoning at the time of Friday prayers. The police lathi charged and brought the situation under control at midnight. Eighteen persons including several policemen were injured.

Next rioting broke out again in Gujarat in Savarkundla Town of Amreli district on 14th May. A police head constable Abdul Sattar Baloch stabbed one Sukhabhai from the Koli community. He later succumbed to his injuries and people returning from his funeral procession began to stone Muslim houses and set a truck ablaze. Curfew was imposed. Sukhabhai was stabbed during cricket match. He died one week after that. The communal disturbances broke out after his death.

On 15th May communal riots occurred in Gomtipur Ahmedabad. Eight persons were injured and more than 16 persons were arrested. The members of two communities clashed on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti. Two shops were also set ablaze by the rioters.

Meerut, a communally sensitive city in U.P. witnessed communal flare up on June 19 in which two persons were killed. The communal flare up took place after one Babi Gujar was killed on 18th June and people returning from his funeral began to stone near an Eidgah. Communal violence intensified thereafter and one person was stabbed and one was killed by firing. Curfew was imposed in the Sardhana area of Meerut where disturbances broke out. The police sources said three persons were killed. Many were arrested. Curfew continued next day also and in all 48 persons were arrested.

Next Sanghavli village in Muzaffarnagar district in U.P. came under spell of communal violence on 21 July in which one woman was killed and 20 persons were injured. One Dalit girl two and half years old Shivani was knocked down by a car belonging to a Muslim. Thereupon Dalits attacked the Muslim locality and began to fire. The police on receiving information rushed to the scene and took injured to the district hospital where one woman Raghuviri succumbed to her injuries.

Gujarat continues to take cake in communal violence. Verawal in Gujarat witnessed communal frenzy on 26th July in which 2 persons were killed and 8 were injured. The violence between the two communities broke out on the question of eve teasing. A young Hussain Zair was killed in Taj Society when police opened fire to disperse rampaging mobs that resorted to heavy stone pelting and setting ablaze nearly 40 shops and as many vehicles, police said. Another person was stabbed to death in Jalaramnagar area and was brought dead to civil Hospital. The person could not be identified. Curfew was imposed but rioting was going on in some areas. The girl who was teased belonged to Kharva community and teaser was a Muslim boy.

Belgaum on border area of Karnataka and Maharashra witnessed communal clashes between the two communities in which about 50 persons including 20 women were injured in Durbar Gulli of the town. The injured had to be hospitalised. The Belgam Devathal had organised puja in all the city temples to mark the last Tuesday of Adhik mass. A large number of people thronged the temples. Some devotees began to throw turmeric powder at a temple in Durbara Gali as members of minority community were coming out after offering prayers from a mosque. Some people objected to turmeric powder being thrown and scuffles started. After the ritual persons from both the communities started pelting stones. Both the communities blamed the police for inaction. A year before also violence had broken out during the same ritual.

On 16th August Akola came to experience communal violence in which one person was killed and one was severely injured. During the celebration of independence day there was some quarrel between two groups and violence broke out. The person who died was identified as Rau. Six persons were arrested. This led to communal tension in the area.

On 15th August violence broke out in Petla in Anand district of Gujarat on the question of parking an Autorickshaw between two communities. The police had to resort to firing in which one person was injured and curfew had to be imposed. Many shops were set ablaze. To keep the situation under control additional police force was rushed to Anand.

On 7th August there were serious clashes between Hindus and Muslims in Akot of Akola district in Maharashtra in which 3 persons were injured. It started with a man being wounded by a scooter of another community. Stone throwing started after arguments between them. One car was also damaged. The police reached the spot swiftly and cooled the tempers with the help of social workers. Akot is a communal sensitive area so security was immediately beefed up.

Then on 29th August in Dekhar Gaon of Anjha Taluka in Mehsana district of Gujarat witnessed clashes between two communities in which more than 15 persons were injured of which two persons were in critical condition. The police reached the spot on time and brought the situation under control. According to the police a son of a retired police officer had gone to the village for Puja and clashed with persons of minority community and others got involved from both communities.

Jalna and Purna in Marathwada district of Parbhani in Maharashtra witnessed bomb blasts near a mosque after the Friday prayer on 27th August in which 23 persons praying in the mosque were seriously injured. The persons who threw bombs came on motorcycles and their faces were masked. Their identity could not be established immediately. Since it was on the eve of state elections it was suspected that communal forces tried to ignite communal violence to polarise Hindus and Muslims. The department declared security alert throughout the State in view of these bomb attacks. Mr. Sharad Pawar, the NCP chief also warned in a press conference in Marathwada that communal mischief will not be tolerated. This bomb incident created an acute sense of insecurity among Muslims.

In Khantalao, Bhandara Maharashtra communal violence broke out on 11 September on the question of land ownership and 20 persons were injured. Many shops were set ablaze. More than 60 persons were arrested. The trouble broke out when Siv Sena and Bajrang Dal people gave a call for bandh to protest against a plot of land near a temple having been wrongfully occupied. The Shivsainiks soon became violent and began to attack minority community in which 20 persons were attacked. More than 35 places were set to fire. Curfew was clamped to control the situation.

Muradabad in U.P. another communally sensitive place, saw communal disturbances on 15 September in which one person died. The problem began with dispute about the construction of a wall in the courtyard of a mosque. Stoning and firing took place between Hindus and Muslims and one person was killed and 18 persons were injured including two policemen. The members of two communities fought despite the presence of the police personnel.

Baroda again came under communal spell on 19th September in which six persons were injured when Ganesh Chaturthi procession was being taken out in the Panigate area which is hyper sensitive and witnesses communal violence repeatedly. The procession was passing through Dudhwala Mohalla of Panigate area.

Badohi in U.P. known for carpet weaving experienced communal violence on 24th October when idols of Goddess Durga were being taken out. It took violent turn when some slogans were raised during the procession of idols. The mob set afire several shops including an electronic shop on Chauri and Gyanpur Roads. About 24 persons were injured. Rapid Action Force and additional police forces had to be deployed to control the situation. The mob also damaged buses and obstructed movement of trains on Bhadohi-Varanasi-Janghai route. 10 persons were arrested for rioting and violence.

In Padrona Qasba of Kushinagar, U.P. disturbances broke out on the question of hoisting a flag near the idol of Durga in which 25 persons were injured and 38 persons were arrested according to the police.

Bhopal in M.P. saw communal clashes in the Shahjahanabad Policethana area on 26th October in which one person died and one was critically injured. Curfew was clamped and judicial inquiry ordered. Deceased was identified as Jaiprakash. Two children quarrelled and their elders intervened leading to communal clash.

Zakaria Buder area in Mumbai witnessed communal violence on 1st November near Cottongreen station in which seven persons were injured. Trouble broke out when a fruit vendor Habibullah was beaten up by some youth from Ambewadi Chawl because of previous enmity. Habibullah's friends intervened and two groups started pelting stones and threw bottles.

Silcher town in Assam also was rocked by communal violence on November 7 in which 50 shops belonging to minority community were burnt and looted and they sustained loss amounting to crores of rupees. It all started when police refused to give permission to take out a funeral procession of an employee who was murdered through minority locality. The mob went on rampage and curfew had to be imposed.

All the riots we have described above started with small incident which are quite common place but did not assume serious proportion and could be controlled easily as there was no intention by any communal party to exploit these incidents for engineering communal violence for political purposes. No major communal riot can take place without previous planning and providing infrastructure for the same. Any of these incidents could have assumed serious proportions if any communal party had intended to exploit it for their interests.

The major riots also start with small triggering incidents. In that case police is also under pressure not to act and let the violence spread. In post-Gujarat situation, the communal forces did not want to engineer any major riot and hence both in 2003 and 2004 we see only small communal incidents but no major and widespread communal violence. In all these instances the police could effectively control communal violence as they could act independently without any political pressure. If the police is under strict instruction not to allow communal incidents and politicians do not interfere no riot can continue beyond few hours. Widespread communal violence takes place not only by the connivance of unscrupulous politicians but by their complete involvement.

Communal Riots 2005 : News clippings from HRLU

COMMUNAL RIOTS – 2005
(News Clippings on Communal Riots for the year 2005 )

HUMAN RIGHTS & LAW UNIT (hrlu)
INDIAN SOCIAL INSTITUTE
Centre for Reseach, Training and Action for Socio-Economic Development and Human Rights
Lodhi Road, New Delhi - 110003 (INDIA)
Email: hru@unv.ernet.in, Phone:24622379/ 24625015
Web Site : http://www.isidelhi.com

1. 150 houses gutted, several injured in clash

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, FEB. 27. Two persons were seriously injured and over 150 thatched houses gutted when a mob attacked a fishermen colony belonging to a particular community on Poovar beach near here this evening. Scores, including women and children, sustained injuries. The police are searching for 600 persons in connection with the violence. Nearly 1,000 people lost their houses and belongings in the fire.

The clash started when a youth was apprehended on the charge of theft from a house in EMS Colony at 3 p.m. The accused was handed over to a police patrol. However, the relatives of the youth freed him forcibly from the police vehicle. The colony residents staged a protest demanding the arrest of the youth. This resulted in a standoff between members of the two
communities on the road skirting the beach. Soon the groups started pelting stones at each other. Fifteen policemen led by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Neyyatinkara, reached the spot. At 4.15 p.m., more than 600 people armed with paddles, petrol cans and country-bombs stormed the colony. The police party scampered for cover while the residents fled the colony and sought refuge in the nearby Poovar Masjid.
(The Hindu 28/2/05)

2. Night attack on Kerala mosque leaves 1 dead, RSS workers held

ALAPPUZHA, FEBRUARY 24: A 30-YEAR-OLD man was killed in an attack on Wednesday night on a mosque, allegedly by RSS activists, in Kerala's Alappuzha district. According to reports, a group of men who came in two jeeps attacked the mosque in Kathuvinal on Wednesday night. The police have reportedly taken nine RSS activists into custody. The mosque's Imam Muhammed
Musaliar was among the two injured in the attack.

Police believe Ashraff, who died early this morning at the Medical College Hospital here, was an activist of National Democratic Front (NDF), an Islamic fundamentalist organisation. There have been frequent fights between the RSS and NDF over the last one year in the area. NDF's district convenor Sudheer Punnapra denied that Ashraff was an activist but his organisation called a bandh in protest in the taluk. While Ashraff was buried in the presence of a large
gathering, tension prevailed in the area. A strong police force led by I.G. Sen Kumar and DIG Sreelekha are camping there. (Indian Express 25/2/05)

3. 3 killed during Muharram clash, curfew clamped

LUCKNOW, FEB 20. Three persons were killed and about 10 wounded in a sectarian clash during a Muharram procession in Old Lucknow even as indefinite curfew was clamped in the area. State Principal home secretary Alok Sinha told mediapersons here that the condition of four of the injured, including a policeman, was critical.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakhs and Rs 3 lakhs to the kin of those killed and critically injured respectively. Mr Sinha said the curfew had been clamped in selected troubled spots in Thakurganj area to prevent any untoward incident. Officials maintained that situation was tense but under control. All the deceased belonged to a particular sect of the community, however, the administration was yet to give names of the victims. The bodies had been sent for post mortem. The home secretary said the victims were wounded in firing from .12 bore gun and later three persons succumbed. He said two culprits involved in the firing incident had been identified but were yet to be arrested. Mr Sinha said the trouble started when some people objected to the unfurling of a religious flag during a Tazia procession this morning near Chhota Imambara. This sparked a clash and incidents of stone throwing and arson. (The Hindu 21.2.05)

4. Love story causes a communal flare-up

Baroda, Feb. 23: One constable of State R