Is 'Riot Free
India' A Possibility?
By Ram Puniyani
15 September, 2005
Countercurrents.org
After
the tabling of Nanavati Commission report (August 2005), we have once
more seen the face of our polity in the mirror, the defects and flaws
in implementation of democratic ethos are there for us to give a serious
thought once more. The first thing, which emerges, is about the sequence
and the major victims of the communal violence. Starting from Jabalpur
riot (1961), Hindu-Muslim riots have gone on and on, the last one being
the horrific anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat, in the aftermath of burning
of Sabarmati express at Godhra. These riots have been projected as Hindu
Muslim riots but the statistics tell a different tale. In the data released
by the ministry of Home affirms that prior to the Babri demolition,
the percentage of Muslim victims in these riots had been 80%. (In the
total population Muslims are 12.6%). Post Babri demolition the ratio
might have become more adverse to Muslims.
The second minority
to be on the target has been the one dealt in the report mentioned above,
the Sikh community. In the single and intense anti Sikh pogrom (1984)
around 3000 Sikhs were butchered in most merciless fashion. The third
on the firing line has been the Christian community, amongst them particularly
the nuns and priests, working in the remote areas. In this violence
the most horrific case has been the burning alive of Pastor Graham Stuart
Stains along with his two sons, Philip and Timothy (Ages, 11 and 7).
Apart from this glaring act many a nuns and priests have been done to
death, and an additional tool of community humiliation, rape, has been
used against the nuns at places.
The inquiry commissions
have been instituted off and on, not all of them have been satisfactory
for various reasons. But surely some of them have been outstanding in
their approach from judicial and human rights angel. Justice Jagmohan,
Madon and Shrikrishna being few examples of that. In most of the anti
Muslim riots the investigation commissions have shown the RSS links
of some organization floated at times by RSS swayamsevaks for the specific
purpose of the riots, apart from the deeper role of RSS ongoing program
of 'Hate minorities propaganda', which keeps going on ceaselessly through
its vast and frighteningly organized network of trained, indoctrinated
swaymsevak.
In the anti-Sikh
pogrom the PUCL report was a work of outstanding quality. Various reports
on this riot did put the blame on second rung of Congress leadership,
while the top leadership occupying the throne, was apparently too grieved
to discharge the constitutional duty at that time.
The anti-Christina
violence has been investigated only once at official level, Wadhva Commission
after the murder of Pastor Stains. This commission while not totally
satisfactory in some aspects did point the finger to Dara Singh, who
was convicted initially for the death sentence, which later was reduced
to life imprisonment. This commission report did point out that the
allegation that Pastor Stains was 'converting' is totally baseless.
It is not the place the debate whether or not preaching one's religion
is a crime or a perfectly valid legal and social activity. Apart from
this many a human rights groups have come out with significant reports
on this issue and practically all of them conclude that the propaganda
of conversion activity is a manufactured myth and that one can see the
hand of RSS affiliates, Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram, Vishwa Hindu Parishad
and Bajrang Dal's in all such acts of violence. The writer of these
lines also happened to be part of few of these committees and needless
to say one is amazed as to how cleverly RSS has laid and continues to
lay the mines to trap the missionaries working in remote areas.
The second most
disturbing general observation is that while on one hand it is the innocents
who are killed in the communal violence, the perpetrators and planners
of the riots generally go unpunished, many a times their social and
political prestige also goes up. Shiv Sena, a close cousin of BJP, was
the leading force in Mumbai riots. Its supreme leader, Balasaheb Thackeray,
was elevated as Hindu Hriday Samrat (Emperor of Hindu Hearts) after
leading the Mumbai riots. Narendra Modi was given the same prefix, after
he "successfully" presided over the Gujarat carnage. Dara
Sing was also anointed, Hindu Dharm Rakshak (Protector of Hindu Faith).
And seems to be the lone exception who is in the jail for his crime.
What connects these different events of anti-minority violence? Is there
a method in the madness, which grips the section of society? One cannot
fully generalize from these acts of violence but some observations do
stare us in the face. The first one is the strengthening of the communal
forces in the area where the riots take place. Starting from the decade
of sixties various add on factors have also been aiding in the communal
violence, like settling the business rivalry, grabbing the land by the
builder lobby. The major aftermath of communal violence has been the
electoral strengthening of those who have led the riots. Congress in
1984, Shiv Sena in 92-93 and BJP in post 2002 elections. These parties
improved their electoral performance. Some do say that BJP lost the
2004 elections at national level due to Gujarat, but one wishes this
conjecture were right. In Gujarat BJP did emerge as a more powerful
force.
The biggest common
factor, which underlies the communal violence and, which needs bigger
highlighting is the intense demonization of that particular community
prior to the riots. This acute demonization rides on the ongoing chronic
demonization, which is part of the program of communal outfits. In case
of anti Sikh riots it was a temporary phenomenon, where every Sikh was
made to look like Bhindranwale, a terrorist. In case of Muslims it is
an ongoing process, which began before the partition tragedy and keeps
building itself by the day. In case of Christians the propaganda was
intensified in the mid nineties and violence followed in due course.
The major players in the anti minority violence have been the RSS along
with its progeny and the Congress. While RSS and its progeny has well-oiled
machinery for spreading hate on sustained basis for Congress it was
a one go affair in the anti Sikh pogrom.
It is not to exonerate
Congress for its other acts of omission and sometimes commission, which
either let the violence go on and sometimes even initiate and perpetuate
it. The crucial difference is that RSS combine has specialized in demonizing
the minorities. As far as Muslims are concerned, the building blocks
of demonization are constituted by the communal history, the bunkum
about temple destructions; forcible conversions and torture of Hindus,
particularly atrocities on Hindu women. From contemporary social phenomenon
four wives twenty children and the fanatic nature of Islam. Lately what
has been propagated is that all terrorists are Muslims, due to the teachings
of Maadrassas and nature of Islam. Most of these have been shown to
be totally baseless at worst and small fragment of the larger canvass
of truth at best. Needless to say that fragment of truth is more dangerous
than a lie.
About Sikhs, their
being terrorists, became a fodder for the popular understanding for
quite sometime. That Christian missionaries convert is equally rooted
in the popular imagination today. Again what is common in most of the
components of social common sense is the uniform projection of the whole
community. Few Sikhs indulged in terrorism, all Sikhs are looked at
as terrorists. Few Muslims took up the terror tactics; all Muslims get
dubbed as terrorists. Muslim Kings destroyed temples like Somanth, for
wealth or for insulting 'our' religion is irrelevant here. 'Let's avenge
that historical phenomenon', list the places to be destroyed one after
the other. Christian Missionaries do conversion activity, let's burn
them in remote places while at the same time pressurizing them to admit
'our' children in their schools and colleges in cities! We will not
go in to the motives behind this propaganda and its totally manufactured
character here, what we have to see is that the germs of this understanding.
This 'call a dog as mad', to prepare ground to kill it, is widely being
practiced in a systematic and 'socially approved' fashion. One has a
firm understating that punishing the guilty is the first prerequisite
for future riot prevention. The other most essential step, which is
crucial for riot free India is effectively combating the outpourings
of Hate Spreading factories. The demonization of minorities seems to
be the ground on which violence stands and sustains itself. No measures
for the riot free India can be complete without bringing to halt the
stereotyping the minorities and effectively neutralizing the 'hate other'
propaganda.