The Indian Panorama

Tag: Nuh Violence

  • Nuh trigger : Police inaction led to communal violence

    The communal violence that erupted during the Brijmandal Jalabhishek Yatra organized by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Haryana’s Nuh district on Monday could have been avoided, had the district administration promptly taken pre-emptive measures, such as close monitoring of the movements of the Hindu processionists and the Muslim mob that allegedly attacked them. According to Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala, the organizers did not provide complete information to the administration, particularly regarding the estimated number of participants. The police, with no due diligence, granted permission for the procession following a mere assurance that the participants would not carry weapons. The fact that armed processionists managed to enter a communally sensitive area — a locality whose residents predominantly belong to the Muslim community — underlines serious lapses on the part of the authorities. It’s obvious that the standard operating procedure (SOP) for such situations was given the go-by, which apparently made it easier for the waiting mob to launch an all-out attack.

    The inflammatory videos doing the rounds on social media on the yatra’s eve — with members of both communities making provocative remarks — should have alerted the administration to the possibility of a physical confrontation. With Bajrang Dal’s cow vigilante Monu Manesar, an accused in a lynching case, mobilizing people to throng temples in Mewat, trouble was just around the corner. No lessons were learnt from the clashes that had taken place in Bihar and West Bengal (March-April this year) and in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh (April 2022) during Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti celebrations.

    Earlier this year, the Citizens and Lawyers Initiative, a civil society group, had brought out a report titled ‘Routes of Wrath — Weaponizing Religious Processions’. It presented a case-by-case analysis of the genesis and spread of communal riots and how processions taken out on religious occasions had become a platform for inciting hatred and violence. Taking cognizance of such reports, the authorities must exercise caution while granting permission for processions; subsequently, it should be ensured that the SOP is strictly adhered to. Troublemakers of both communities should be detained well in advance to prevent the situation from spinning out of control.
    (Tribune, India)

  • Hate crime on train and Nuh’s riots expose majoritarian violence

    In a shocking instance of a hate crime, a Railway Protection Force constable shot dead his senior and three passengers on board the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express near Palghar station in Maharashtra. In a video clip, the remorseless accused is seen standing beside a blood-soaked body and heard saying: ‘Pakistan se operate hue hain… inke aaqa hain wahan… Agar vote dena hai, agar Hindustan me rehna hai, toh mein kehta hoon, Modi aur Yogi, ye do hain, aur aapke Thackeray’ (They operate from Pakistan… their leaders are there… If you want to vote, if you want to live in India, then I say, Modi and Yogi, these are the two, and your Thackeray).

    The cruel irony is not lost on anyone: the passengers were gunned down by a member of a force entrusted with the protection of their lives and property. The hate-filled rant and the cold-blooded murders leave no room for doubt that the communal virus has deeply permeated our society. The chilling fact that the accused mentioned the names of the Prime Minister and the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister while giving a blood-curdling warning to India’s Muslims lays bare the unwillingness of the political leadership to deal firmly with hate speech. The train horror comes just three months after the Supreme Court, while terming hate speech as a serious offence that could affect the country’s secular fabric, had directed states and UTs to suo motu register FIRs in such cases and proceed against offenders without waiting for someone to lodge a complaint.

    Communal tensions have turned countless neighborhoods across India into a tinderbox that gets ignited by a mere spark — a remark inciting violence or a provocative show of strength in a minority-dominated locality. The clashes that erupted in Haryana’s Nuh over a religious procession are now scorching other districts of the state too. The onus is on the police to arrest and prosecute rioters and also those indulging in hate speech — else the government’s inaction would be read as its complicity.
    (Tribune, India)