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Author: Pramod Kumar from Mau
Publication: Organiser
Date: November 6, 2005
URL: http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=103&page=3
Introduction: Unprovoked, organised Muslim vandalism against numerically weak Hindus
It deeply hurt me when I saw my neighbour, Shuakat Ali, in the mob attacking my house. We had family relations with Shaukat and during the last more than two decades we shared all happiness and sorrow as good neighbours and true friends. His children always played with my children at our house, studied in the same school and even go for tuition to the same tutor. But, in a matter of seconds, he forgot the two-decade-old relationship and did not hesitate to ruin my family and that too without any reason. Though, I suffered a loss of lakhs of rupees in this attack, I fortunately managed to save my children," thus narrated Shrikant Goswami of Rauza Mohalla in Mau his experience on that fateful day, tears rolling down his cheeks. After a brief silence, he further added, "After this incident I fear for my children. They will no longer be able to live in Mau, if such a state of affairs continues."
This is the story of most of the Hindus in Mau, which has still been burning in the fire of riots since October 13. Hindus are so scared in this city, which was previously known as Maunath Bhanjan, that they cannot even think of retaliation. Reason, the acute demographic imbalance. In old Mau city, where the riots broke out, Muslims constitute over 90 per cent of the population and Hindus are hardly 10 per cent and that too scattered. Over all in the Mau district, Muslims claim 60 per cent and Hindus 40 per cent of the population. In this riot, the 99 per cent of the victims are Hindus. If any Muslim suffered, it was due to the action of security forces against the rioters. The administration claims 14 people are dead. But the unofficial figure is believed to be more than 200 dead, 1,000 injured and over 300 missing.
However, the actual number of the dead and loss of property will be confirmed only after the curfew is lifted. Officials also admit that they have received various innumerable complains of missing people.
People of the region are scared. It took me over 24 hours to reach Mau from Varanasi as all trains and road transport were banned and no private vehicle owner was ready to go there at any cost. I somehow managed to reach there via Ghazipur at 7.15 am on October 25. When I reached the curfew-bound areas along with a local journalist, the people candidly said, "Sir, it was a direct action against Hindus. The rioters burnt the shops and attacked the houses of Hindus alone. At certain points the rioters fired with AK 47 rifles." When usually a mob sets shops on fire, it does not discriminate. But in Mau, the shops were carefully selected before setting them on fire. There is a Sindhi colony which the rioters have completely destroyed and the Sindhis had to seek shelter at Madhav Hotel, near the railway station. "We have been totally ruined. All our businesses have been gutted. We could not even save the dignity of our women," said a Sindhi victim, but refused to disclose his name fearing more attacks from the rioters.
Construction of a mosque at the ground, where the function of Bharat Milap is held every year during Ramlila, is said to be the root cause of permanent tension in the city. There was a major riot in 1984, which claimed heavy causalities. Again, in 1994 the riots erupted with less causalities. After long deliberations, the Allahabad High Court had ruled that the local administration will take over the mosque/madrasa 12 hours before the Bharat Milap function, which is a major cultural event every year. After the overnight cultural activities, the main function of Bharat-Milap is held early in the morning. It is with a consensus between both the communities that the platform of the Bharat Milap is erected near the gate of the mosque. In turn the Muslims are allowed to rest their tazia on the stairs of the Sanskrit Pathshala, about 100 metres from the Shahi mosque, during Moharram every year.
"What went wrong this year is that the local police did not take over the mosque/madrasa before the stipulated time and even before the function of Bharat Milap could begin some talibs from madrasa broke the wire of the loudspeaker. After some time the riots broke out and the function had to be postponed till October 29. If the function had not been postponed at that time, there could have been more causality among the Hindus as the rioters were armed with sophisticated weapons. When the workers of the Ramlila committee that organises the function, protested against the mischief of the Muslims, they became violent," said Prof. Ramji Singh, BJP MLC, while talking to Organiser.
"The violence continued for three days without any action from the local administration. The rioters were killing innocent Hindus and burning their property in the old city, the heavy police forces were conducting flag-march on the Highway, outside the city. People believe that it was deliberately done to prevent the Hindus from the adjoining villages to come for rescue," said Shri B.N. Singh, senior advocate of Mau.
On October 14, the rioters crossed all limits when a mob of over 1,000 miscreants attacked the Mau railway station. They attacked the innocent passengers of Balia-Shahganj passenger train in which over 36 passengers were seriously injured. When the rioters tried to burn the train, the Railway Police Force (RPF) resorted to firing in which a Muslim rioter, Mehatab, was killed. It was only after the firing that the rioters started running away. People say another Godhra-like incident was averted on that day.
Certain incidents indicate that the riots were preplanned and the administration was aware of the planning. On October 3, some Muslim goons destroyed the idols at Dhekulia Ghat temple where Hindus go for pitruvisarjan on the last day of Pitrapaksh. When the Hindus protested, the administration gave them an assurance that the culprits would be nabbed within two or three days. But nothing of the sort happened so far. Again on October 9, a Muslim mob attacked the Durgapooja pandal in Sadar Chauk, where even the additional SP was injured. Despite that the police and administration remained silent. Even after so much tension, the police did not take over the Shahi mosque/madrasa on October 13 as is customerily done before the Bharat-Milap function.
I visited the entire curfew-bound area. People said outsiders were also included in the mob of rioters. It is alleged that they were all Mukhtar Ansari's men. People wanted to send their children and women to safer places as there had been repeated attacks by Muslims even under the curfew. They seemed least surprised at the continued attack by miscreants even during the curfew, as they knew of the silent support of the State government. The local administration is under the control of none other than the dreaded criminal and independent MLA, Mukhtar Ansari. According to officials, such is the stranglehold of Mukhtar Ansari in Mau and its surrounding districts of Ghazipur and Azamgarh that even a petty Muslim boy can threaten local officials claiming that he would complain to Bhaijaan, if his work is not done. Here it is worth mentioning that Ansari has also been misusing the Mau Rest House as his personal office ever since he became an MLA. His elder brother, Afajal Ansari is the Samajwadi Party MP from Ghazipur, 35 km from Mau.
Till the early nineties, Mau was part of Azamgarh district where also the Muslim population is about 40 per cent today. Ghazipur is another adjoining district where Muslims account for about 35 per cent of the population. In Ghazipur alone there are over one dozen madrasas. This belt of eastern Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Bihar is today under the fiefdom of three Muslim leaders-Mukhtar Ansari in Ghazipur/Mau, Atik Ahmed (Samajwadi Party MP from Allahabad) and Shahabuddin (RJD MP from Siwan) in Bihar. When it comes to Muslim interests, they are always united.
Muslims have criminalised and communalised this region. It is so mainly because of the uncontrolled mushrooming of madrasas and mosques near the Nepal border, which is hardly 200 km from Mau. Needless to say that these are acting as hate factories in this region. The officials also admit that these are safe havens for ISI and Al Qaeda agents. "Muslims in this belt are interested only in two things-fake currency and possession of sophisticated arms and ammunition. Both these things are easily available in the six districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh near Nepal border. The intelligence agencies too have reportedly warned the government of the activities in these madrasas and mosques," says Shri Dinesh Verma, a noted social worker in Mohammadabad, Ghazipur, and a neighbour of Mukhtar Ansari.
There are over 70 mosques and 25-30 madrasas in Mau city alone. Talibs (students) from Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal are said to be studying here. What is more amazing is that today about 6,000 Bangladeshi talibs are also studying in different madrasas in Mau. Though, the local administration has reservation on the number, the officials admit that there have been intelligence reports on the presence of Bangladeshis in Mau.
The appeasement of Muslims by the Mulayam Singh Yadav government has also encouraged them. Soon after coming to power the Samajwadi Party government announced the recruitment of more than 1,000 Urdu teachers. Hardly one year back, the government declared a half-day on Friday in all schools. Though, the decision could not be implemented following massive protest across the State, it sent the message to the Muslims that Mulayam Singh Yadav is their real messiah. The appointment of Mohammad Azam Khan as the lifetime Vice Chancellor of Jauhar University in Rampur also encouraged the Muslims.
It is the vote-bank politics that is still preventing Mulayam Singh Yadav from visiting Mau as it may anger the Muslims throughout the State. Not only the Samajwadi Party but the local Muslim leaders, including Mukhtar Ansari and Arsad Jamal, Chairman of Mau Municipality and SP leader, are polarising the Muslims. This is what allured Ansari to move around in the curfew-bound city in an open Jeep and encourage the rioters. This riot has also kicked off a race among local Muslim leaders to gain maximum popularity among the Muslims. Arsad Jamal, who is known as the only leader in this region who can openly challenge the parallel administration of Mukhtar Ansari, rushed to the curfew-bound areas with relief material.
However on October 25 Arsad Jamal while talking to Organiser, gave a clean chit to Anasari in the riots. "It must be investigated as to who broke the loudspeaker at the Ramlila function. Mukhtar Ansari has no role in the riots," he said. This is the same Arsad Jamal, who about seven years ago removed Kashmir from the map of India as published in one of his posters, following which he was framed under the National Security Act (NSA). Later, it was on the interference of Mulayam Singh Yadav that the charges against him under NSA were lifted. The fact that brought both these leaders closer is to put a stop on the growing discussion pertaining to mushrooming of madrasas and mosques in this region. Both these leaders do not want any discussion to go on regarding this, as it may harm the game-plan of the forces funding these madrasas and mosques.
Rejecting the enquiry by Neera Yadav committee into the riots, Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chairman, Salman Khursheed, has demanded a CBI inquiry into the riots, but he has not questioned the role of either Ansari or Arsad Jamal. The BSP chief Mayawati too closed the chapter by demanding dismissal of the State government and an inquiry, but she too does not want to anger the Muslims. When asked, Shri Kapil Dev, BSP MLA, admitted that the number of madrasas and mosques were mushrooming in the region at an alarming pace. But talking to Organiser he said, "I cannot say much on this issue due to political reasons (…laughs). I think you must understand my compulsion". He said the majority of Hindus were living under extreme fear and the local administration had not taken action against the rioters. CPI district secretary, Ramkumar Bharati termed the Mau riots as failure of the State intelligence.
The question that haunts everybody is that who provided the AK-47s and other sophisticated arms to the rioters. The Mau riots appear just a beginning of a larger disaster. The Hindus, whichever political party they support, are going to face serious troubles. After the recent attack, Mukhtar Ansari is said to have removed all his Hindu confidants and he now trusts only his Muslim workers. The entire region is under the control of dreaded criminals and the mushrooming of madrasas and mosques in the region is going to take a serious turn if both the Hindus and the government continue to ignore.
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