First Ram Navami and then Hanunman Jayanti, the Shobha Yatras/ religious processions to mark the two Hindu festivals saw widespread violence & arson at many places across the country. While the riotous mob went on rampage & vandalised properties during the procession, political parties engaged in sparring over their respective ‘vote banks’, in turn fanning the communal hatred.
In Rajasthan, Gehlot government blamed the BJP & saffron outfits for provocations leading to riots while in Maharashtra, the Sena-Congress-NCP alliance accused BJP of engineering ‘politics of hatred’ to gain mileage in upcoming BMC elections.
Recently, the BJP governments in UP, MP and Gujarat launched a crackdown on rioters and demolished their houses with bulldozers. This was seen as an instant justice for perpetrators but also drew condemnation from opposition parties for action without notice. The ‘bulldozer model’ of punishing culprits began in Yogi’s Uttar Pradesh, where it was used to raze illegal structures of mafias & dons of the state.
Now, Yogi govt has again taken the lead in containing communal clashes during processions. Ahead of upcoming Akshya Tritiya & Eid, Yogi govt has issued a set a guidelines, directing the cops for compulsory submission of affidavits by Yatra organisers. Only traditional processions will be allowed to operate while religious places have also been told to keep the volume of loudspeakers inside their own premises. Cops have also been told to engage with religious leaders while allowing any processions. If the religious processions happen under close watch of police, it will go a long way in nipping communal tension in the bud.
Yogi govt’s directions on ‘regulating’ religious processions is a step in the right direction. This also underlines the need for reforms and ‘sweeping changes’ in the way police operates. As per current practice, people waving sharp weapons during processions are not stopped by police. Even if the rally operates with permission, it wavers from defined route or crosses the limits. If these loopholes are plugged in advance and turned into practice, a lot of fire-fighting that happens after riots won’t be required.
The violent altercations at Shobha Yatras also brings to fore the understaffed & overworked police force across the country. There is an urgent need for reforms, for augmenting their numbers and also provide better training. In the Jahangirpuri riots, it was the police who were at the receiving end. Many of them were injured & hospitalised while violent mobs engaged in pelting stones & bricks.
However, the real reason behind communal riots is not that people are eager to break into violence but it’s the political patronage & signalling that make people engage in riots. Anti-social elements take advantage of situation only when the police are hobbled by dangerous & irresponsible political signalling. It is time that political masters take the first step and make a change in political signalling rather than leaving it on police force to firefight.
Maharashtra is a case in point. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNC) chief Raj Thackeray recently raised the pitch on Hindutva agenda and gave an ultimatum to Uddhav govt to get loudspeakers removed from mosques by May 3, failing which they will up the ante. However, Uddhav govt in spite of reining in troublemakers went a step ahead in sharpening the divide between two communities. Nashik Police issued an order banning Bhajans/Hanuman Chalisa within 100 metres of mosques and also before & after 15 minutes of Azan. Hindutva outfits are calling out the administration for partisan behaviour and accused them of ‘shielding’ Azan in name of Chalisa.
Yogi Adityanath’s commandments on directing the police to nip the fire in bud before it escalates is commendable. Police have been advised to act in advance and restrain any ‘inflammable’ procession. This will rule out any chance by the hate-spewing fringe in conspiring against the state. They will fail in their efforts and won’t be able to upset communal harmony by hijacking random religious events & symbols.
