By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter
Following reports of communal clashes and tension in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh, a team of National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) visited the area on February 2 and 3, 2018 to assess the situation and intervene with the peace-process wherever possible.
According to a statement and report released by the fact-finding team, the team met Naushad, a 33-year-old laborer from Kasganj at the AMU Hospital general ward. During the violence erupted after “Tiranga Bike Rally”, Naushad was shot in his thigh and a bullet passed through it. Till now, no one from the police, administration or government has met Naushad or offered any help or compensation.
The team also met Irfan Khan, a brick laborer from Buddoonagar who works in Gujarat. Irfan Khan had rushed back to Kasganj as his son Imran Khan was arrested by the Police on charges of being a rioter. The team reported that Irfan could not manage to visit the police station and find out what happened to his son, as the community is too afraid to venture out to the police station which is located in areas where a large part of the population consists of Hindus.
NAPM also reports that many other youngsters from Buddoonagar were picked up by the police on charges ranging from murder, rioting to disturbing peace. The NAPM’s report said, “Their friends and relatives claim they are innocent. Such was the tale of Rashid who was arrested along with his father and brother and later released arbitrarily with charges of Sec 151. Their phones were snatched during the operation and never returned.”
“People are so much under pressure and uncertain about the future situation. The area is dominantly working class and lower middle class,” the reports states further.
The report claims that during the riot, which lasted for 3 days, around 45 shops belonging to Muslim communities were set on fire. Many mosques were vandalised. A prominent business owner along with his family members (who owns one of the few profitable enterprises belonging to people from the Muslim community) has been arrested on serious charges of having conspired the riots.
As a matter of fact, a peace meeting was called by the DG, Law & Order in Nagar Palika Hall on January 29. The meeting was concluded with an assurance that normal life and business would resume, but some shopkeepers later reported harassment/ arrests when they tried to go back to their shops.
NAPM further states that there was no effort by the administration to offer any real security or relief to quell the fear and paranoia of the citizens. It said, “Nor any other action has been taken by the government to bring peace and win people’s confidence. Till date, there has been no action taken for stopping rumours and Facebook – WhatsApp hate messages. The pronouncements of the Kasganj MP Raju Bhaiya from BJP openly calling for ‘blood for blood’ further created fear and hatred.”
The fact-finding team of NAPM talked with many locals and eminent people which gave the impression that “a controversy relating to ‘right to passage’ near a Hindu temple, Chamunda Mandir was a bone of contention for quite some time as the route is also used by Muslim commuters.”
The team claimed that prejudices like ‘Muslims cheer for Pakistan in an India-Pakistan cricket match and burst crackers if Pakistan wins’ may seem trivial, but the row that ensued in Kasganj over Tricolour and Saffron flags showed how human lives are today viewed and valued.
The statement from NAPM, which was endorsed by a number of social activists, said, “In past the few years, incidents of communal clashes have gained momentum and Uttar Pradesh is turning in to the next laboratory of Hindutva. This is only going to become worse as elections near and hence there is an immediate need for all secular and democratic forces to join hands together and defeat forces promoting violence, hate, and prejudice.
“We urge the youth to engage with burning issues of unemployment and focus on creating an equitable and sustainable model of development and progress rather than fanning the fire of nationalism and fake rumors,” said the statement.
NAPM has also asked the state to constitute a judicial commission to ensure fair inquiry into the 26 January incident leading to the murder of Chandan Gupta and causing injuries to several others, arson, and loot, burning of shops, damage to property and attack on Mosques etc. “The Government of Uttar Pradesh must pay compensations to all victims and whose property has been destroyed without any delay,” asked NAPM.