Multiple incidents of violence and violation of administration guidelines were seen during Eid processions yesterday in MP and UP.
A religious procession to commemorate Eid in Jabalpur of Madhya Pradesh turned violent and was brought under control by the police. Islamists threw stones and firecrackers at police, and police had to resort to lathi-charge and even tear-gas to bring the situation under control.
Earlier, Muslim leaders and officials had charted a route that the procession would take to avoid sensitive areas. Police barricaded roads and the route where the procession was supposed to avoid was turned into a fortress.
As the parade grew in numbers, some Islamists involved in the procession tried to create mischief and started removing the barricades. The police intervened and tried to explain. The miscreants threw live firecrackers at the police. They followed it up with rotten tomatoes and pomegranates. Police maintained restraint and tried their best to repel the crowd using mild force.
Media reports suggested that Muslim youngsters aged between 15 to 25 years turned violent. Police tried to chase the unruly ones but masked men in their dozens started pelting stones. The police resorted to tear gas shelling in a bid to control the rapidly deteriorating situation. Over 100 tear gas shells had to be fired.
By then, dozens of police personnel were injured. The police then resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse the crowd. They left behind an entire road that was littered with stones and footwear. By then 2 hours had passed since the violence began.
After the violence had run its course, Muslim leaders appeared to ‘control the situation’. They reached the spot and met district collector Karmaveer Sharma and SP Siddharth Bahuguna. Those leaders managed to assure the officials that given a chance, they could convince the criminals by talking to them. They urged the police to restrain themselves and promised to follow the designated path.
The procession then proceeded towards the final destination, under police supervision!
Police claimed that all the miscreants have been identified and some have been taken into custody. The collector said that none of the culprits will be spared and promised strict legal proceedings against them. After the disturbance, the police sealed off the entire area and a strict vigil is being maintained in sensitive areas. But clearly, the Muslim youth would not have carried out such pre-planned violence this without tacit blessings of local religious organisations, community elders and leaders. Even if a few are arrested, ‘secular’ politicians, activists and lawyers will manipulate the system to ensure they are soon released.
The way in which the Islamists got hold of such large quantities of stones and firecrackers points to conspiracy and pre-planning. It should be noted that the police had anticipated such disturbances. Their vigil made sure that the Islamists could not enter Hindu localities and indulge in violence. Related shades of violence had erupted from Jabalpur during the NRC and CAA violence.
Rajpur, MP
Similar violence was seen in Rajpur town of Barwani district, MP too. SDM Rajpur said no permission was given, yet the Eid procession was taken out. The DJ started playing a provocative song leading to stone pelting between two sides. 10 people were injured, including some policemen.
The DJ has been confiscated and the accused are being prosecuted.
Dhar, MP
A similar incident was reported from Dhar in MP. Islamists involved in the Eid procession tried to jump over barricades and started shouting provocative slogans when the police stopped them. Stone pelting began and the criminals were caned and chased away.
Dhar collector Dr. Pankaj Jain said that they are investigating and added that no one was injured in the clashes.
Kanpur, UP
In Kanpur of Uttar Pradesh, authorities had denied consent for such processions keeping Covid protocols in mind. Muslim religious leaders had also been taken into confidence. Despite this, Muslims started gathering in numbers and demanded that they be allowed permission. They started sloganeering with flags in hand and blocked traffic. Police tried their best but outnumbered they ended up escorting the procession of 1000s that took place anyway. A similar march was carried out in Jajmau area of Kanpur – police tried to block it using vehicles, but the procession went ahead and reached its target destination.
Conclusion
Such incidents are a stinging indictment of law & order in the secular Indian state. Administration guidelines for Covid restrictions are strictly imposed only on the silent, law-abiding majority.
This is how media covers up and waters down Islamist violence and breaking of laws –
Hindus were stopped from going to temples even for major festivals like Krishna Janmashtami. They were warned against celebrating Holi even in private colonies. Absurd restrictions were placed during Durga Puja – maximum height of murti, no dhak (drum), no public immersion, no visitors in pandals, no fruits or flowers to be distributed etc. Garbha events in Gujarat had an upper limit of 400 people, and police conducted random checks to enforce the same.
But here, despite permission not being granted, people gathered in hundreds and thousands, and the police watched helplessly. During Eid-ul-Adha in July, the Supreme Court also did nothing when lockdown restrictions were relaxed by Kerala government, despite the state being the worst-hit from Covid-19 at the time.
Our secular state lacks the will and capacity to enforce the law when it comes to well-organized ‘minorities’, who have learnt how to bully and manipulate the system at will. The message to all citizens is this: Indian state hesitates to act against those capable of organized violence and those who can activate international networks to generate negative publicity.
