What does communal violence achieve? // Victims thank pradhan // Muzaffarnagar memories

http://www.indianexpress.com/picture-gallery/muzaffarnagar-riots-scared-villagers-continue-to-move-to-safer-areas/3386-1.html





http://www.indianexpress.com/picture-gallery/muzaffarnagar-riots-mob-targets-fleeing-villagers-/3369-10.html



http://www.indianexpress.com/picture-gallery/muzaffarnagar-riots-curfew-eased-in-3-areas-victims-narrate-harrowing-tales-/3380-10.html


Victims thank pradhan

Muzaffarnagar, Sept. 10: Dilshad still feels a shiver remembering how “50-60 people” raided his village on Saturday evening, armed with revolvers, petrol bombs and swords. But his eyes shine when he speaks of the man who saved the 200 Muslim families in Dulhare village, about 2km from Muzaffarnagar town, in an area where clashes have killed dozens over the past two weeks. Gram pradhan Sanjeev Balia “fought off members of his own community and spent the entire night guarding our homes”, said Dilshad, a 45-year-old day labourer who, like other Muslims from the village, has now taken shelter in a madarsa at Shahpur, 3km away.  “There would have been no killings had every village had a gram pradhan like Baliaji,” said Dilshad’s wife Ameena Begum, wiping her tears with the pallu of her sari.

Dilshad said Balia confronted the intruders as they rode in on four tractors and began beating up some young Muslim men. Soon fisticuffs broke out between the raiders and Balia’s Jat supporters from the village. The gram pradhan quickly marshalled Jats from nearby villages too, swelling his ranks to about 200 and scaring the intruders off. “Next morning, Baliaji and other sane members of the community arranged for several tractors to take us to the Muslim locality of Shahpur. We are thankful to him for saving our lives,” Dilshad said. But since then, Dilshad has heard that armed goons have looted and torched some of the houses in Dulhare. “We are praying peace returns and we can go back home. Never before in my life have I seen such communal strife h re; we lived in peace and helped each other,” Dilshad said. Hundreds of Muslim and Jat families have fled to relatives’ homes in other parts of the state. Many, like small-time Muzaffarnagar trader Anuj Singh, have lost their earnings to the curfew. “If the curfew is not lifted, common people will suffer. The poor are more concerned about their livelihood than anything else,” Singh said. read more: 

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130911/jsp/frontpage/story_17336412.jsp#.UjFfF9Lz1vA

 Sudha Pai - Muzaffarnagar memories
How political mobilisations divided communities with a shared past.

Since the Samajwadi Party came to power in March 2012, there has been over a 100 communal clashes in Uttar Pradesh. But the recent spate of violence in Muzaffarnagar district has particularly shaken people. With a toll reported to be around 50, the Muzaffarnagar clashes displayed some disturbing new features. The number of those killed in a single incident was very high and the riots spread to rural areas, with many villages swept up in it. Finally, the violence was so intense — a place of worship, shops and vehicles were burned, people fled their villages — that the army had to be called in after 21 years. The provincial armed constabulary and rapid action forces were also deployed.

But perhaps the most distinctive feature of the clash was that it took place between Jats and Muslims. The immediate provocation was a row between the two communities at a mahapanchayat called by Jat leaders in Muzaffarnagar town. The purpose of the meet was to discuss an earlier incident, which took place in Kawaal village on August 27. A fight had reportedly broken out in Kawaal when two brothers took up the cudgels against their sister's harasser. All three youths had been killed in the incident. While Jats gathered in large numbers at the mahapanchayat, Muslims protested on the streets of Muzaffarnagar. This culminated in a violent confrontation.

The Jats and the Muslims are the two important communities in the region, with sufficient strength to change the political fortunes of parties. The Muslims, mainly an urban community, are the largest religious minority in the state, but they still do not form the majority in any district. They are also not a homogenous community. They are divided into the Ashraf and Ajlaf groups and into 68 castes and sub-castes, as well as by dialect and geographical distribution. But they do possess a sense of group identity that is based on cultural and historical factors. This enables them to come together in times of crisis. In as many as 13 Lok Sabha constituencies, Muslims are a significant presence. The Jats are predominantly a rural community with a strong sense of identity. They make up 6 per cent of the electorate in western UP but can swing political fortunes in at least 10 Lok Sabha constituencies. But the growing dominance of the Yadavs under the SP has contributed to upsetting equations in the region. read more:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/muzaffarnagar-memories/1167888/0