CP(M) Delegation Visits Muzaffarnagar

A CPI(M) delegation comprising of Shri Saidul Haque, MP, Subhashini Ali, Member Central Committee, DP Singh, member UP State Secretariat, and district party leaders  visited Muzaffarnagar on Saturday, 14^th September.  Since day curfew had been lifted, to visit the homes of Sachin and Gaurav who had been killed on the 27^th August and Rajendra Varma, an IBN7 correspondent who was killed on the 7^th September; meet hundreds of people in camps who had lost their family members, their homes, belongings and livestock; and visit the Dsst. Hospital.  It was possible to come to some conclusions and formulate demands at the end of the visit.

FINDINGS :

1.     Sexual harassment of young school and college going girls is perceived of as a major problem across communities. The perpetrators also belong to both communities.  The education of girls is being adversely impacted by this problem.  Unfortunately, this problem is being exploited by the Hindutva forces who are demonizing the minority community as being responsible for this crime and alleging that girls belonging to the majority community are the victims.  This is not only untrue but also reveals the fact that for them it is not the issue or the exploitation of women that is the issue to be resolved but it is an inflammatory issue when it is utilised for communal polarization. 

2.     While it is alleged that the incident of the 27^th September in which Sachin and Gaurav clashed with Shahnawaz allegedly because he was harassing their young sister which resulted in the tragic deaths of all three was the trigger for the later violence, this is not correct.  Such incidents have been occurring earlier and are common in the area and, in fact, in the State.

3.      It is extremely important to remember that on Eid, 9^th September, Idris was shot dead at the Idgah entrance just before the prayer started.  His killers were identified as Pradeep, Ram Niwas (lawyer) and Kishore. Pradeep used to harass Idris’ daughter and, after one such incident, was slapped by Idris which led to the killing. The administration promptly arrested the 3 accused and there was no retaliation from the Muslims who did not celebrate Eid. The people in the camp said repeatedly that had the administration been as active on the 27^th and afterwards the ghastly events that followed could have been averted.

4.     Our visit also confirmed that, while there have been casualties among both communities, it is the minority community that has suffered immeasurable more in terms of loss of lives, homes, property and livestock. Our visit to the District Hospital and conversations in the camps, confirmed the brutality of the killings.  Bodies of young children that had been brutalized and burned were brought to the hospital; a woman’s body, cut in pieces, was also brought. 

5.     It became very evident that Government and administrative failure are responsible for the terrible loss of life and property.  It is incomprehensible that after 3 deaths in one day (27^th), no decisive action was taken, instead, and DM and SSP (who had been responsible for correctly handling the situation on Eid) were transferred and replaced by new persons. There was no clarity as to how Sec. 144 was to be enforced and open provocation to be dealt with. Despite the fact that on each day after the 27^th until the 7^th, there were incidents of clashes, stoning, provocative speeches (from leaders of both communities) and mobilisations, nothing was done to intervene strongly and enforce Sec. 144 in the district. Even after it was discovered that a morphed video clip creating anti-minority hysteria was being circulated and the involvement of a BJP MLA, Som, was confirmed no strong steps were taken.  After banning the 7^th Mahapanchayat, nothing at all was done to enforce the ban.

6.      Despite fact that the RSS and Hindutva forces have been active in the area for some time and have been raising divisive issues in a planned manner, they were given every opportunity to exploit the situation with after the 27^th with devastating effect.  What was projected as a Khap Mahapanchayat was actually a massive mobilisation of the majority community from not only all the neighbouring districts but also from Uttarakhand and Haryana.  At the Mahapanchayat itself, while Khap leaders were present, the stage was utilised by leaders of the BJP (Som, Sadhvi Prachi and others) to make the most vicious, poisonous and communal speeches.  All voices of moderation were immediately silenced and the speakers were booed.  At a ‘Beti Bachao, Bahu Bachao’ mahapanchayat, the slogan was changed to ‘Beti Bachao, Bahu Banao’. The administration and police personnel were spectators to all this, to the nature of arms being brandished and the the fact that Israr was killed in full view, in front of the Thana.

7.     The crowds returning from the Mahapanchayat were attacked at Jauli with some casualties and news of what had transpired during the Panchayat led to a situation of confrontation in Muzaffarnagar town.

8.     After the return of the participants to their villages, attacks on the minority community members who had lived in peace with them for generations, began in many villages.  The exodus to the camps followed.

DEMANDS

1.     Immediate arrests of all those charged with inciting communal violence who have been filmed doing so

2.     Proper relief measures by the Govt. to be undertaken

3.     Payment of compensation for all those killed and injured to be done promptly and without any discrimination

4.     Measures to be taken by the administration to restore and maintain peace and to gradually begin the process to taking those who have fled back to their homes where this is possible and their security is ensured.

EXPERIENCES OF THE DELEGATION

The delegation went to the home of Shri Rajinder Singh and Shri Bishen Singh in Malipura mauja of Kawaal whose sons Sachin (25 years) and Gaurav (16 years) were killed on the 27^th September in Kawaal.  We also met the bereaved women of the family and spoke to them at length.  According to them, eve teasing of girls going to schools and colleges is a very real problem.  Reluctantly they admitted that boys of both communities were involved with this but insisted that Shahnawaz was a well-known anti social and he had been harassing the young girls from their family for months.  The girls had been sent away so we could not speak to them.  They were naturally traumatised by the brutal killings of their own sons but the fathers said that they did not want killings to be committed in their names.  In fact, we could see people, including women, of both communities moving on the roads, bringing in fodder etc. and we were told that there have been no incidents of killings in these villages after the 27^th.  Other people also collected there and the general opinion was that if the administration had acted promptly and those accused of the brothers’ murders had remained in custody, the rioting would not have taken place.

From here, we went through Jauli to the Tanwali camp.  Tanwali is a Muslim-dominated town where about 500 Muslim villagers, men, women and children, from neighbouring villages of Kharad, Kinauni, Hadauli, Sisauli (Mahendra Singh Tikait’s village) have taken shelter.  We met the women in the camp and spoke to them at length.  While all those in the camp had suffered loss of property and homes and livestock, their experiences were not uniform.  In Kharad, Sageer was killed and an entire family set on fire in their home but, fortunately, they were rescued with injuries.  In Kinauni, the women and children were sheltered on the 7^th night in the home of Devinder, the Pradhan and left for the camp the next day.  They said that they did not know what had happened to their homes, belongings and livestock.  The neighbouring village of Hadauli, however, the women said that at least 6 people were killed and some burnt in their homes.  They fled into the fields and then came to the camp.

The organisers of the camp said that till then they had received no rations from the administration although this had been promised.  They were running the camp with help from the community.

We then visited the Dist. Hospital but there were no riot-injured there anymore.  The Medical Supdt.  told us that serious cases had been referred to Meerut and the others had been discharged after their recovery.  We were told that since the 27^th there were 53 post mortems performed (may or may not all be riot victims) of which one was a woman and two were children of 10. Most belonged to the minority community.  A newspaper report that morning quoted a Government doctor saying that some of the bodies had been so brutalised that he could not eat for 24 hours.  The body of a woman was in pieces and the bodies of the children were so badly battered and burnt that it was difficult to identify the sex.

At the home of IBN7’s Rajesh Verma, an extremely popular journalist with a strong social commitment, we met his widow, children and family members.  He had covered the Mahapanchayat and had helped Farid and his wife.  He had been shaken by Israr’s murder.  This was conveyed to us by his family.  He had barely come home when he heard the news of rioting in the heart of Muzaffarnagar.  He rushed out, tried to pacify people as he filmed the clashes and was then shot dead.  Firing was taking place from both sides at the time.  His widow and he were both orphans. 

Finally, we visited the Shahpur camp.  It is situated in a large madarsa off the main road which has a large open ground next to it.  There are about 4000 people in this camp.  Not only are they staying in the madarsa itself but also in family homes all around.  There are 11 widows in this camp observing iddat.

The administration has been supplying milk and ration (not totally adequate) to the camp for 3 days. The DM himself was here putting up a pandal, perhaps in preparation for the CM’s visit the next day.  He said that they were trying to send rations to all the camps but had not succeeded.  He also said people were still leaving their villages and the number of camps was increasing every day.

People from nearby villages, some just across the road, Kakda, Kutba, Kutbi, Nirmana, have flocked here.  In Kakda, they said, they were attacked on the 7^th night by armed mobs.  They were looted and their homes were burned.  The mosque was attacked.  They could contact the CRP and come to the camp.  More than 2000 people from this village have left and they are in other camps as well. In Kutba village, 8 people have been reported killed – Irshad, Qayyum, Shamshad, Wahidi, Fayyaz, Tarabu and others.  One woman, Gulistan, is in the hospital.  They were helped to reach the camp by the police.  From Kutbi, there is the report of one casualty.  We met Qayums’ widow, Mehro,  and mother and his very young children, all in the camp.

As we left the camp we could see more people streaming in.