A flare-up in Malegaon

Police firing claims 13 lives in the Maharashtra town where an anti-American protest turns into communal violence.

COMMUNAL riots of the scale witnessed in the aftermath of the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition broke out in Malegaon, a powerloom town in Nasik district of Maharashtra, on October 26 following protests against America's war on Afghanistan. The incidents started with a scuffle between State Reserve Police (SRP) personnel and some Muslims who were distributing handbills outside the Jama Masjid urging people not to buy American goods. Thirteen people died in police firing and more than 100 were injured. The Army was called out and the town put under curfew.

On October 19, a 15,000-strong crowd attended a rally led by Janata Dal (Secular) leader Nihal Ahmed, raising slogans in support of Al Queda leader Osama Bin Laden. A week later, outside the Jama Masjid on the congested Kidwai Road fliers appealing for a boycott of American goods were handed out by some youngsters soon after Friday prayers. According to eyewitness accounts, SRP men patrolling the area tore the handbills and pushed the youth. A crowd gathered there and began to throw stones. A strong contingent of police arrived and allegedly began firing indiscriminately on the mob. Soon the violence took on a communal colour as the mob tore through the city, burning and looting shops and houses. By October 30, the violence had spread to 16 villages, some of them 70 km away from Malegaon, following vicious rumours.

"There was nothing objectionable in the fliers. All over the world people are protesting against America, why could we not do the same?" asks Haroon B.A., a community leader and editor of a local Urdu daily. He told Frontline that after the rally, the atmosphere in Malegaon had become tense. "They were waiting for something to happen, and of course in Malegaon the police need no excuse to fire."

Malegaon, 300 km north of Mumbai, is not unused to communal clashes. The town, with a population of 6.5 lakhs, 75-80 per cent of it Muslim, has been the scene of some of the worst communal clashes in the State. Political parties have often provoked Malegaon's population on religious matters in order to further their own ends. The town is so communally polarised that the Union Home Ministry declared it an ultra-sensitive area along with Bhiwandi, another town in Maharashtra, a decade ago. While Bhiwandi has since overcome much of its communal problems, Malegaon has not. In spite of efforts by peace committees and community leaders, the town's people continue to be incited by anti-social elements to riot, says Haroon.

"We have never seen violence of this scale before, " said Parveen Iqbal, who stays in a camp. She took shelter at the Shaikh Usman High School in a Muslim area as her house was torched by Hindu rioters. "They came with swords shouting 'Jai Shivaji, Jai Bhavani' - kill them, burn them, cut them up," she told Frontline, recalling those horrific moments. "Most of them seemed like outsiders. They were not from our village. These people burned our shops, looted our homes and snatched our jewellery. I saw policemen turn their backs to the violence. When we complained, they came and observed our damaged property as though it was a garden. When we tried to contact them over phone, they put the receiver down." She said that no official has visited their shelter. Neither District Collector Kishore Gajbhaiya, who was camping in Malegaon, nor Chhagan Bhujbal, Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister who came to the town, visited the shelter, she complained.

Hindu families living in Muslim-dominated colonies like Nihal Nagar have moved to make-shift camps in Hindu areas. Sanjay Patil, who is staying in a school in the Hindu-dominated Sangameshwar Nagar, said: "We had to leave with the clothes on our back. Normally we (Hindus and Muslims) live in harmony. We help each other. We collect water from the same tap, we shop at the same shops. Why are we drawn into politics?"

All fingers point to the October 19 rally. Iqbal says whenever there is trouble in the town, Nihal Ahmed is invariably involved in it. Patil says, "Nihal Ahmed and Rasheed Sheikh (Congress legislator) are the culprits."

After a round of violence in Malegaon.

According to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Malegaon secretary Baburao Khairnar, Nihal Ahmed is flexing his muscles as elections to the municipal corporation and zilla parishad are approaching. "Otherwise why should a harmless anti-America incident take on a communal tone? Ahmed knows how to instigate the community."

However, Ahmed denies any hand in the riots. He says the riots were orchestrated by his political adversaries in order to malign him. Khairnar says the riots were in many ways an organised affair. "It just got out of Ahmed's control." The police are partly to blame for this. The general impression is that in Malegaon they are trigger-happy and clearly biased in communal terms.

When questioned about the firing, a senior police officer told Frontline that "when property is damaged or when the police are threatened by the mob, they are allowed to open fire, to frighten not to kill." In this case, he said, when the police realised that the mob was getting out of control they had to resort to firing. But 19 of the 21 victims of police firing admitted to the Farhan hospital have been hit above the waist. Hameed Khan, 18, a loom worker from Abas Nagar, was on his way to visit a relative when he was hit by a bullet. Mukhtar Ahmed, 35, was in the bazaar when he was shot. The officer says that the police assessed the situation before they opened fire.

Chhagan Bhujbal told the media that the police were prepared with teargas shells and other riot control equipment but they had to act quickly. Regarding allegations that Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party supporters were part of the mob, Bhujbal said a thorough investigation would be conducted into the entire incident.

The violence could not be contained in Malegaon. However, rumours that Muslim traders had poisoned dairy milk and that Hindu women were hanged with Osama bin Laden's figure tattooed on them escalated tensions in Hindu-dominated villages. The police, unable to control the situation, imposed a curfew.

Kishore Gajbhaiya told Frontline that the administration was trying to supply essential items such as milk. He said the main water line had been damaged and it was being repaired on a priority basis. Describing the incident as an unfortunate one, Gajbhaiya said the administration had been working with local religious leaders and peace committees to create awareness about communal harmony. Local residents, however, told Frontline that the peace committee members were in league with the politicians. "Neither the administration nor the politicians do anything to help us. The District Collector has not come to our locality. We hear he is doing his rounds. But if cannot come to our area what is the point?" asks Suraiya Ahmed, a resident of the sensitive Kusumba Road area. "We don't have water and have to wait in long lines to collect water when the curfew is lifted. They do not realise how we suffer when these things happen."

Not only has the violence damaged many a life in Malegaon but there is little life in the town to help its residents. A recession in the powerloom industry has rendered thousands of people jobless. There are 84,000 powerlooms in Malegaon. The area produces a bulk of Maharashtra's cotton material. Among the powerloom workers of the town, a significant number belong to the Muslim community. One of the explanations given by the police officer for the frequent outbreak of violence is the economic slowdown in the township. But Shivaji Kadar, whose powerloom was damaged in the riots, says that it maybe a reason, but there are other evil forces at work in the town which will have to be removed first to find a long-lasting solution.