Mau, also called Maunath Bhanjan, previously a part of Azamgarh
district in eastern UP, has had a long
communal history with violence breaking out frequently in the town in recent
decades: 1969, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1990 and 2000. But in more ways than one, the
fire that raged in the town this time has been the worst ever.
Ten persons lost their lives – five Hindus and five Muslims –
while property worth crores was looted or consigned to flames between October 14
and 16, 2005. The seriousness of the situation could also be gauged from the
fact that the town remained curfew-bound for over a fortnight.
"Feeling of insecurity grips Hindus in Mau", read a
front-page headline in the regional edition of The Times of India of
October 18, giving the impression that only Hindus were being targeted in the
riot and they were all living in the shadow of fear. The Indian Express
also published such news. In the Gorakhpur edition of the Hindi daily, Dainik
Jagran, the situation in Mau was equated with that in Kashmir. One news
report said "the days are not far when Mau city would become synonymous with
Kashmir". Another news item in the same daily declared that "the condition of
Mau was much more dangerous than even the civil war in Kashmir". Reports
published by other dailies, Amar Ujala, Hindustan, Hindustan
Times, etc. also painted a similar picture.
TV channels repeatedly showed images of independent MLA Mukhtar
Ansari driving through the riot-ravaged town, reinforcing the viewer’s
perception of him as the main villain of the piece. In short, reports put out by
the national media, print and electronic, projected Ansari, an independent MLA,
as the instigator and Hindus as virtually the sole victims of the violence.
A fact-finding team of three Saajhi Duniya (a Lucknow-based
group) activists visited Mau on October 20 and again on October 30 and 31. Prof.
Rooprekha Verma (social activist and secretary, Saajhi Duniya), Vibhuti Narain
Rai (president, Saajhi Duniya, litterateur and activist on issues related to
communalism) and Nasiruddin Haider Khan (journalist) were the team members. Jai
Parkash Dhumketu (litterateur and activist) from Mau also joined the team. The
team not only visited the riot-affected areas in Mau but also inquired into the
causes of the violence. The team spoke to victims of the violence, social and
political workers, ordinary public and officers of the district administration.
It is evident from the well documented and detailed report
produced by the fact-finding team that the media reports were not a reflection
but a complete distortion of the communal reality of Mau.
That Mukhtar Ansari is better described as a notorious
law-breaker rather than a lawmaker, that the local administration and police
continue to turn a blind eye to his numerous criminal deeds is beyond dispute.
(The fact-finding report is quite unsparing of Ansari and questions the
administration’s indulgence of the man.) But to project him as the mastermind
and main villain behind the violence in Mau is poor journalism, to say the
least. If anything, the explosion in Mau is symptomatic of a dangerous broth
being brewed in eastern UP by a particularly vicious brand of Hindutva in recent
years. This is obvious from the trajectory of violence in Mau this time.
For the inhabitants of Mau, the most important of all programmes
held during Dussehra each year is the Bharat Milap. The venue for the Bharat
Milap programme is adjacent to the Shahi Katra Masjid in a Muslim majority area.
Ensuring a peaceful Bharat Milap is a big challenge for the local administration
year after year.
This year Bharat Milap coincided with Ramzan. On the night of
October 13, Muslims saying the special taravih prayers inside the mosque
objected to the birha singing during the Bharat Milap blaring out of
loudspeakers. After requests by an elderly person, the loudspeakers did fall
silent but started blaring again after a short while. Following some
altercations and intervention by the local administration, the Ram Lila
Committee and local BJP leaders decided to postpone the Bharat Milap function to
October 29.
The controversy seemed to have ended at this point but the
conflict had not really been resolved. In next to no time, followers of Yogi
Adityanath, proponent of a particularly virulent brand of Hindutva who for some
years now has been trying to upstage the BJP and position himself as the
undisputed messiah of Hindus in the entire Gorakhpur division, went on the
warpath.
The next morning (October 14), activists of Adityanath’s major
launch pads, the Hindu Yuva Vahini and the Hindu Mahasabha, blocked the road
near Sanskrit Pathshala, which is close to the Shahi Katra Masjid and the site
of the Bharat Milap. Office bearers of the Ram Lila Committee and BJP leaders
were accused of cowardice and extremely provocative slogans were raised
producing the desired result: sparking a riot. From slogan raising to
stone pelting, to private firing by two of the Yuva Vahini leaders in which some
Muslim boys were seriously injured.
The bleeding Muslim youth were carried to hospital in an open
rickshaw trolley passing through Muslim inhabited areas. Thus aroused, Muslims
came out on the streets, targeting Hindus and looting/burning Hindu-owned shops
in Sadar Chowk and Rauza area. Next, rumours of the "massacre of Hindus" spread
through the town like wildfire. It was also rumoured that Hindu property had
been destroyed on a massive scale and Hindu girls had been kidnapped. Though
baseless, the rumours were sufficient to ignite a "reaction" to the "reaction".
The violence, loot, arson and destruction triggered by rumours continued for
several days in the eastern parts of the city and in some other Hindu dominated
areas.
Rampaging mobs from both communities engaged in loot and arson
of property. But contrary to the impression created by reports in the national
media, the loss for Hindus could be added up in lakhs while Muslims suffered a
cumulative loss running into crores.
The ugliest face of the riot was to be seen in two new colonies
inhabited by Muslim weavers. The systematic manner in which the power looms were
looted or destroyed over several days clearly points to a diabolical plan to
economically ruin a community.
According to inhabitants of Mau, it was for the first time that
during a riot schools and hospitals belonging to the minority community were
vandalised; worse still, it was also for the first time that large-scale attacks
were made on several mosques. This is a great cause of worry.
Among the conclusions reached by the fact-finding team: "What
was limited to discourses only is now a naked truth before us. Eastern UP is
sitting on the mouth of a communal volcano. Anything may happen any time here –
The riot in Mau and the violence in the neighbouring areas clearly show this.
Quick on the heels of the violence in Mau, there were attempts to incite
communal violence in Ballia, Ghazipur, Azamgarh, Devaria, Meerut and Agra. The
intervention of secular forces is absolutely essential to stop this flow of
communalism. The state will also have to show its will power. Otherwise, several
other Maus can occur".