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Monday, May 02, 2005

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Image of an industrial town takes a beating after violence

Mohammed Iqbal

Villagers who fled the town return, but face social boycott

BHILWARA: Tension created by the spate of communal incidents during the past two months in Bhilwara is slowly subsiding but has adversely affected the image of the town as the industrial hub of Rajasthan known for its textile units. The transformation of the district into a hot-spot of communal trouble has seemingly emboldened the elements trying to disturb peace and harmony.

The pattern of violence - that forced a large number of families belonging to the minority community to migrate from several villages such as Karjalia, Kalias, Palri and Haripura - has depicted a new trend of using an incident as a pretext to terrorise the entire community. Villagers who mustered courage to return to their homes are still facing an undeclared social boycott.

Beginning of trouble

The trouble in the district, situated in southern part of the State, started in early March with the murder of a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist, Satyanarain Sharma, in Karjalia, for which two Muslim youngsters were arrested. Shortly afterward, a history-sheeter, Raju Bairwa - killed in a gang war in Bhilwara on March 11 - was "adopted" by Bajrang Dal as its activist.

While Muslims fled in the midst of continuing tension, a religious leader was stabbed in Bhilwara city on March 13. These incidents were followed by violence in Mandal town on April 8 after a saffron flag was hoisted atop a mosque and a post-Holi procession was allegedly stoned. Police were accused of committing excesses during the raids to arrest the accused.

`Trishul Diksha'

The presence of a large number of people who have received `Trishul Diksha' - outlawed by the previous Congress regime and allowed by the present Bharatiya Janata Party-led Government - has caused concern in the civil society here. However, the Bajrang Dal, while admitting that 5,000 of its activists are trained in the Diksha, denies that they were involved in the violence.

"Trishul Diksha is a religious custom aimed at uniting the people. Its response in Bhilwara has been tremendous, but it poses no threat to any community, least of all the Muslims," Chandra Singh Jain, Bajrang Dal's convenor of Chittaurgarh `Praant' (province) told The Hindu .

However, the Sangh Parivar outfits have ostensibly made an attempt to give communal colour to the series of incidents during the past couple of months. They are also seemingly feeling emboldened in the present BJP regime in the State. "Bajrang Dal has taken full advantage of its workers' reach at the grassroots. Its leaders have made a calculated move to benefit from the current atmosphere," said Pavan Kumar Jeengar, a lawyer in the district courts and a member of the Mandal Peace Committee.

Home Minister's role

The role of the Home Minister, Gulab Chand Kataria, during his visits to the district has especially been called into question. Mr. Kataria was allegedly seen extending his support to Sangh Parivar during the trouble, while a delegation of local Muslims raised slogans against him on one occasion, accusing him of misbehaving with them and siding with the RSS.

The transfer of the then Superintendent of Police, Ashok Rathore - when he opened fire to control a violent mob in Mandal on April 8 - has been cited as an instance of Mr. Kataria's alleged prejudice and patronage to communal outfits.

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