Communalising
Rajasthan
By Kavita Srivastava
PUCL Rajasthan
3 May, 2003
Trishul Distribution
Though the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had been indulging in armed communal
mobilisation in Rajasthan through its Trishul distribution Programmes
since 1998, this gained in pace and stridency since the Gujarat massacre
of last year. While only four thousand Trishuls had been distributed
in Rajasthan in the four years till the Gujarat happenings, ( 1998-2001)
the year that followed saw more than 150 percent increase in Trishul
distribution and the figure crossed well above 10,000. Todate, in the
first four months of 2003, more than 5,000 trishuls have been distributed
in different places in Rajasthan.
The VHP called these Trishul
ceremonies symbolic religious exercises undertaken in order to awaken
the Hindus. But the VHP distributed Trishuls were not at all the iconic
harmless Trishuls, which are not sharp at all, associated traditionally
with Shiva temples and Shaivite orders. The VHP Trishuls were in fact
sharp three bladed daggers meant to cause grave injury and even kill.
And there was a definite correlation between Trishul distribution ceremony
in an area and violent communal conflict therein. These Trishul distribution
ceremonies were invariably accompanied by VHP leaders, led by Pravin
Togadia, delivering inflammatory hate speeches against religious minorities,
which immediately exacerbated communal temperature in the area concerned.
Alarmed at this heightened
armed communal mobilisation, the civil society groups led by the People's
Union for Civil Liberties had been pressurising the state government
through petitions, press statements and public protests to bring the
VHP Trishul under the purview of the Arms Act and prosecute VHP leaders
like Togadia for their communal hate speeches in the Trishul distribution
ceremonies and otherwise. The state government finally acted in early
April this year and brought the VHP Trishul under the purview of the
Arms Act on April 8th. The VHP in a bid to capitalise on this action
of the State declared a "trishul diksha" by Togadia on the
13th of April. Two days before the event the police confiscated 650
trishuls from the office of the VHP. The VHP reacted and tried to create
tension in the city. One day before Togadia's arrival members of women's
organisations and the PUCL carried out a public contact programme around
the message " trishul nahin talwar nahin chahiye , roti, paani,
rozgar chahiye". They also distributed flowers to people as a response
to the trishuls.
When Togadia openly violated
the Arms Act and prohibitory orders by holding a Trishul distribution
ceremony, he was arrested in Ajmer on April 13. He remained in jail
for more than a week before being released on bail. All attempts by
the VHP and the Bhartiya Janata Party to whip up a communal frenzy in
the state in the wake of Togadia's arrest did not evoke much public
response and not even their bandh call gathered any significant public
support.
The Attack on MKSS shops:
Politics of Coercion
An incident during the VHP-BJP
sponsored Rajasthan bandh call in the wake of Togadia's attack exposed
the coercive and fascist nature of saffron politics. Ajmer district
is a stronghold of the RSS-VHP-BJP politics in Rajasthan. Mazdoor Kisan
Shakti Sangathan, a mass organisation of peasants and workers that is
well known in the country for its anti corruption and right to information
movement, is also active in certain rural parts of this district and
the adjoining Rajsamand, Pali and Bhilwara districts. The MKSS also
runs five provisions shops for the rural poor in their area of operation.
The organisation defied the VHP-BJP bandh call in the wake of Togadia's
arrest and kept its shops open.
Angry at this defiance, the
VHP thugs tried to force the MKSS workers to close down their shop at
Jawaja in Ajmer district. When the MKSS workers refused, the local police
also pleaded with them to close their shop in the interest of peace.
The MKSS still refused and when the VHP-BJP workers tried to apply force,
the organisation informed the higher authorities in the administration.
As the VHP-BJP workers were foiled in their attempt, they attacked the
MKSS shop at nearby Surajpura in frustration and looted it. On a First
Information Report filed by the MKSS, the police arrested 25 people
in the case.
This even further angered
the VHP-BJP combine and they kept a Jawaja bandh for three days to get
their people released. Their tactic did not succeed though. The 25 people
arrested under charges of breaching prohibitory orders were released
by the administration in due course after giving an undertaking of good
behaviour and the five among them who were named accused in the MKSS
FIR were rearrested. They were only released after a court bail order.
The MKSS decision to keep their shops open during the bandh made a significant
political statement in itself and also ultimately provided an opportunity
for exposing the true nature of RSS-VHP-BJP politics.
A few works earlier Kaluram
Sankla, self styled president of the Shiv Sena Commando force had come
and held a "dharma sabha" in Bhim, the headquarters of the
MKSS area, in February 2003. The purpose of the sabha was actually to
publicly distribute swords and Pharsas (an axe like weapon) accompanied
by hate speeches. When the MKSS filed FIRS against him, and demanded
strong action, the government booked him first under section 153 A and
then later under NSA. The day of the post Togadia bandh in Bhim was
like anyother normal day. Bhim now minds how it treats public spaces
and fears the consequences of participating in the Sangh Parivar's aggressive
and unlawful tactics. Though like most small towns it is still a BJP
base and vote bank
Strategising & Mobilising
against
Communalism and Fascism
After Gujarat and the stepped
up saffron activities in Rajasthan, the people's movements and civil
society groups in the state have become acutely aware of the need to
seriously mobilise and strategise against communal and fascist politics.
This being an election year in Rajasthan adds to the urgency of the
situation. There is full realisation among progressive circles that
one Togadia's arrest or such other isolated legal actions are not sufficient
to stall the communal or fascist forces in their track. Various people's
organisations and civil society groups in Rajasthan have embarked on
a series of mass contact programmes, workshops for activists and strategy
meetings.
Women's Day Celebrations
this year, in most parts of the State had the theme Right to Work, Communal
Harmony and Equal Citizenship. When the Desh Bachao-Desh Banao yatra
initiated by the National Alliance of People's Movements ( NAPM ) passed
through Rajasthan Over a perod of three days more than seven big public
meetings were held between Udaipur and Jaipur Against Communalism Against
Globalisation.
The Mazdoor Kisan Shakti
Sangathan has fanned out in the villages in its area of operation in
four central Rajasthan districts with cultural teams putting up plays
focusing on the themes of communal harmony and secularism and issues
of food, livelihood, employment and governance to counter the saffron
politics. This mass contact programme of the MKSS will continue till
its annual May Day celebration at Bhim in Rajsamand district.
The Akal Sangharsh Samiti
is a coalition of some 80 organisations in Rajasthan agitating for the
Right to Food and the Right to Work for the past four years of severe
drought in Rajasthan. Realising that communal politics diverts attention
from the real issues of the people, various other organisations of the
Akal Sangharsh Samiti, apart from the MKSS, have taken the issue of
communalism upfront and have been holding various programmes, camps
and workshop in their area.
The People's Union for Civil
Liberties is now trying to develop a multi pronged strategy to combat
communalsim and fascism in conjunction with other Rajasthan based organisations
and also organisations based outside the state that are active on the
issue of secularism and defence of democracy like Anhad and Hamwatan.
Intervening in the Media
As the two leading mainstream newspapers in the State, the Rajasthan
Patrika and the Dainik Bhaskar are turning more and more communal in
news coverage and expression of views and giving less and less coverage
to people's issues, some media persons in Rajasthan have started a feature
service to give voice to people's issues and concerns of a secular and
democratic polity. This is called Vividha Feature Service and caters
to more than 60 newspapers in fifteen districts of the State. Unlike
mainstream newspapers, small newspapers do not have access to internet
and feature writers therefore publish what they obtain from Vividha
Features. In this way an alternative viewpoint is also reaching the
public which helps in sustaining a space for an enlightened discourse.
This goes a long way in countering the atmosphere of hate and devious
discourse set by the RSS propagandist.