By Sharjeel Usmani
Almost two weeks after Bharatiya Janata Party’s Aligarh MP Satish Gautam reportedly wrote a letter to Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Vice Chancellor Tariq Mansoor asking him to remove a decades-old portrait of Mohammad Ali Jinnah from varsity’s union hall building, residents of Aligarh fear communal clashes in the city.
On 2nd May AMU students were lathi-charged by UP Police after they were protesting in demand of FIR to be lodged against right-wing groups who allegedly tried to enter varsity premises in an attempt to attack former Vice President Hamid Ansari. Students are staging a protest at the university gate Bab-e-Syed ever since. On May 13, Ansari broke his silence over the matter in a letter written to the president of AMU Students’ Union and has raised questions on the timing and the excuse manufactured for justifying it.
While the issue of Jinnah’s portrait inside university premises has invited unnecessary media attention, right-wing groups have taken this opportunity to create communal tension in nearby areas.
Residents of Aligarh’s upper fort –primarily a Muslim-majority locality, some five kilometres away from AMU campus, now live in fear of communal clashes after right-wing groups’ marched with saffron flags in the area, shouting anti-Muslim slogans, on 7th May. Apart from other provocations, slogans of ‘Jai Shree Ram’ were raised by them. Locals have identified these protesters and have reported it to the police. A video of the rally was captured and has been submitted to the police. TCN got the video footage in which members of right-wing groups can be clearly seen rallying on bikes while shouting provocative slogans.
Several other similar incidents of rallying and sloganeering by right-wing groups have been reported in different part of the city such as Patwari Colony, Baraula, Ayesha Colony and Hamdard Nagar ever since. The police have deployed the Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary (UP-PAC) in the areas where such incidents occurred.
“I was here in my shop when they came on bikes shouting slogans. They were around forty to fifty in numbers and were shouting highly provocative slogans”, said Mohd Rasheed, an eyewitness to the incident.
“Had anybody interrupted their rally, it could have turned into a communal clash”, admits Rasheed.
His son Zeeshan who studies in 12th standard in nearby school says, “I was also here, they were saying ‘Hindustan mein rahna hai to Vande Mataram kahna hai’ all the time.”
Meanwhile, Mufti Shahar or the Imam of upper fort Mosque has urged the local residents to maintain peace. He has also asked the police to increase the security of the area, while he’s continuously in touch with AMU students’ union about their ongoing protest. The Mufti has even written a letter to AMU students’ union on Tuesday asking them to take their decisions wisely.
“These rallies would turn fatal if retaliated, it must be stopped. We didn’t stop them this time, but not everyone is equally patient..you know..what if someone stops them? They’ll certainly start rioting because of it”, said the Mufti.
Concurrently, residents of Upper fort and Jamalpur area are also supplying food for the students protesting at AMU. Many of them even stay at the protest site all day, serving food and water to the protesting students.
“It’s the emotional attachment we’ve with the university. Hopefully, our kids will also study there someday…and they’re not fighting for themselves alone, they’re fighting for us also”, said a resident who has been sending food at the protest site, requesting anonymity.
Meanwhile, Tanveer Haider Usmani –the chairman of Uttar Pradesh Minority commission has asked the government to take notice of the people who were supplying food to the protesting students and has demanded their investigation.
Similarly, Vidhyut Gupta, a member of the Hindu Jagran Manch, said they will forcefully remove the statue of Jinnah if the AMU authorities do not do so. “It seems as if AMU has become a mini Pakistan and Muslims are dying to save Jinnah. We won’t let that happen. Who are the Muslims who’re sending Biryani and funding the jihadi students of AMU is a matter of investigation”, he asked.
Speaking with TwoCircles.net, Vishal Pandey, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Aligarh said they are investigating the rallies conducted in the city. “There have been reports that some groups rallied in the Muslim dominated areas, and we’re reported a case against nine unidentified people. A video footage of one such rally is also submitted to us by the locals”, he said.
“We’re investigating the matter and have increased security in and around the concerned areas. Ramzan is just around the corner and we can’t afford any such activity. The police are doing their job”, he further added.
On May 8, three people affiliated with HJM reportedly have been arrested for disrupting peace and inciting violence after they were marching to AMU to remove Jinnah’s portrait. However, immediately after the arrest, a mob of HJM clashed with police. The police had to call Rapid Action Force (RAF) and PAC to control the mob.