Communal Riots Are Not Just Communal or Political

…Call to memory what MNS did to Hindu North Indians; they ruthlessly bashed up Bhaiyyas and were almost on the brink of driving them out of Maharashtra. The current tension, more than communal or political, is regional and reactionary. But then, regionalism is part of politics, too. So, current tension is all: communal, political and regional…

Saurabh Dharmeshwari

One thing on the topic of communal riots, I hope, nobody has any doubt about is that communal elements rummage around for a reason to fight, for a provocation to express their communal hatred, something that some netas (even those claiming to be secular) have capitalized on time and again to give a boost to their career. The hot off the fire communal tension at Sangli and Miraj (now under control) could hardly be an exception.

Maharashtra is a political battlefield of forces likes Shiv Sena and MNS and for this explicit reason, the latest violence, besides communal and political, have regional facet.

Like many others, this communal clash extracted its fodder from a historical event, killing of Islamic warrior of Bijapur Afzal Khan by Maratha king Shivaji maharaj, and depiction of the event in a poster put up by Ganesh ustav mandal despite administration’s denial of permission. Such disputes are run-of-the-mill, you’d say, politically motivated and all, as the mutual blame game subsequently launched by the BJP-Shiv Sena and the Congress-NCP almost authenticates. Both the alliances accused each-other of politicizing the issue eying on assembly elections next month.

To any awakened mind, this argument instantly beckons two significant queries from the backyard of the medulla oblongata: Is it necessary to recall history time and again merely for the purpose of awareness at the cost of permeating the present with tension and clashes? If yes, is visual depiction of history, that too, at public places right out of history books, the only way out?

Well, the most prominent aspect of the trouble is history, the much disputed territory. Being no authority on the subject, I would circumscribe myself to two points. One, majority of historians say that Afzal Khan who tried to kill Shivaji by treachery in a diplomatic meeting while hugging him was slain by Shivaji by who exhibited swiftness of mind and action at the moment (organizations like Shiv Sena, MNS, VHP highlight this fact). Some say Shivaji got Afzal’s tomb built in Pratapgarh, the place of that diplomatic meeting, as a mark of dramatic incident (VHP want the tomb to be pulled down).

Some Others say, a minority in fact, Shivaji killed an unarmed Afzal like a terrorist. They perhaps lack enough historical evidence to corroborate their theory. This is all the communal part the story is about, which, to my mind, is the smallest fraction of the issue under discussion.

In the past, there have been demands to do away with the chapter of Afzal Khan’s killing from Shivaji’s biography. Many (Hindu) organizations have conventionally put up the poster of the contentious killing in various parts of Maharasthra for years on festive occasions and police have always unsuccessfully called for their removal prefiguring any communal tension.

The puzzle about historical part – even which is not disputed – of communalism is that the BJP-Shiv Sena-MNS never see anything wrong in their justification to what they call awareness measures to make younger generation know their glorious history, arguing why people should not be told the truth.

To any awakened mind, this argument instantly beckons two significant queries from the backyard of the medulla oblongata: Is it necessary to recall history time and again merely for the purpose of awareness at the cost of permeating the present with tension and clashes? If yes, is visual depiction of history, that too, at public places right out of history books, the only way out? I think most people would answer the two questions in negative. There’re always better ways to do things.

There’s one more argument from the saffron brigade on why Muslims should object to (depiction of) the historical truth. They should note that in history, there were killings of Muslims warriors by Hindu fighters, of Hindu fighters by Muslim warriors; it happened both ways. Has any Muslim outfit put up any poster depicting an Islamic king killing a Hindu warrior? No, because some times even demonstration of truth could cause mutual misunderstanding resulting into import of historical killings into concurrent massacre. BJP-Shiv Sena-MNS are morally wrong even if they present the undisputed facts. In case of disputes, they need to be settled first.

In the past week, we heard a ridiculously riveting statement from some people. They said it was for the first time that Muslim community reacted to the poster of Afzal Khan-Shivaji duel in so many years, and it not only reacted, it reacted robustly, violently. And this came to pass only because some people (the Congress-NCP) misguided and incited Muslims this time around eying on next month’s assembly elections.

Analyzing the event from purely political vintage point, it throws surprises. The Congress-NCP did a bang-up job in Lok Sabha elections bringing in impressive results and can hope to repeat the performance without much trouble in assembly polls, especially if the opposition is a feeble Shiv Sena, its split-out MNS and the beleaguered BJP. In addition, any communal polarization has always worked against the Congress-NCP. It is foolish to think of them maneuvering a communal tension.

The Congress-NCP did a bang-up job in Lok Sabha elections bringing in impressive results and can hope to repeat the performance without much trouble in assembly polls, especially if the opposition is a feeble Shiv Sena, its split-out MNS and the beleaguered BJP. In addition, any communal polarization has always worked against the Congress-NCP.

At the same time, you can hardly place the political blame on BJP-Shiv Sena’s door, for the installation of the said poster is a little old tradition, not initiated recently with an urgency of a fragile alliance needing polarization of electorates before elections. Why it would choose a way that never caused riots? If eying on elections, it could have gone a little ahead with provocation.

Then, why this tension erupted and spread? Was a rage building up among Muslims for years and then they burst out all at once? Did the Congress-NCP, BJP-Shiv Sena, though not a mastermind or executor of the idea, suddenly see in tension a good opportunity for their politics and played their cards? Was the first time reaction of Muslims to the poster (for below the picture, in books, is written: Terrorism must be finished like this) was actually their reaction to the word ‘Islamic Terror’ which they find offensive; for every Muslim is not a terrorist. Or was it a blend of all? Hard to find an answer!

There’s one more side to the issue. It’s not a crystal-clear case of Hindu-Muslim tension either, not at all. Maratha king Shivaji maharaj is the most venerated historical character in Maharashtra. Afzal Khan, to the provincial chauvinists like Shiv Sena and MNS, was a Mughal warrior but Shivaji maharaj, to them, was not primarily a Hindu fighter but a great Maratha combatant. Call to memory what MNS did to Hindu North Indians; they ruthlessly bashed up Bhaiyyas and were almost on the brink of driving them out of Maharashtra. The current tension, more than communal or political, is regional and reactionary. But then, regionalism is part of politics, too. So, current tension is all: communal, political and regional.

Hindu and Muslim are living in this country for a thousand years; they know each-other’s culture, religion, history, traditions sufficiently well. They are in complete know of what provoke other and what can lead to rioting. Unfortunately, as many instances show, certain elements on both sides don’t seem to be relenting to give other space for mutual peace and harmony. Hope good sense would eventually prevail.