Various Commissions Indict Hindutva’s Role in Riots

Turning to the events of January 1993, the Commission’s view is that though several incidents of violence took place during the period from 15th December 1992 to 5th January 1993, large-scale rioting and violence was commenced from 6th January 1993 by the Hindus brought to fever pitch by communally inciting propaganda unleashed by Hindu communal organisations and writings in newspapers like Saamna and Navaakal. It was taken over by Shiv Sena and its leaders who continued to whip up communal frenzy by their statements and acts and writings and directives issued by the Shiv Sena Pramukh Bal Thackeray ….

Even after it became apparent that the leaders of the Shiv Sena were active in stoking the fire of communal riots, the police dragged their feet on the facile and exaggerated assumption that if such leaders were arrested the communal situation would further flare up, or to put it in the words of the then chief minister, Sudhakarrao Naik, “Bombay would burn”, not that Bombay did not even burn otherwise.

– Report of the Justice Srikrishna Commission on the Mumbai riots of 1992-1993.

The organisation responsible for bringing communal tension in Bhiwandi to a pitch is the Rashtriya Utsav Mandal.  The majority of the leaders and workers of the Rashtriya Utsav Mandal belonged to the Jan Sangh (predecessor of the BJP) or were pro-Jan Sangh and the rest, apart from a few exceptions, belonged to the Shiv Sena.

--Report of the Justice D P Madon Commission on the Bhiwandi, Jalgaon and Mahad riots of 1970.

In Tellicherry the Hindus and Muslims were living as brothers for centuries. The ‘Mopla riots’ did not affect the cordial relationship that existed between the two communities in Tellicherry.  It was only after the RSS and the Jana Sangh set up their units and began activities in Tellicherry that there came a change in the situation. Their anti-Muslim propaganda, its reaction on the Muslims who rallied round their communal organisation, the Muslim League which championed their cause, and the communal tension that followed prepared the background for these disturbances… That is what the rioters who attacked the house of Muhammad asked him to do. “If you want to save your life you should go round the house three times repeating the words, ‘Rama, Rama’. Muhammad did that.  But you cannot expect the 70 million Muslims of India to do that as a condition for maintaining communal harmony in the country.  This attitude of the RSS can only help to compel the Muslims to take shelter under their own communal organisation.

--Report of the Justice Joseph Vithyathil Commission on Tellicherry riots, 1971.

Here was not only a failure of intelligence and culpable failure to suppress the outbreak of violence but (also) deliberate attempts to suppress the truth from the Commission, especially the active participation in the riots of some RSS and Jana Sangh leaders.

Report of the Justice Jagmohan Reddy Commission on the Ahmedabad riots of 1969.

The RSS adopts a militant and aggressive attitude and sets itself up as the champion of what it considers to be the rights of Hindus against minorities. It has taken upon itself to teach the minorities their place, and if they are not willing to learn their place, to teach them a lesson. The RSS methodology for provoking communal violence is: a) rousing communal feelings in the majority community by the propaganda that Christians are not loyal citizens of this country; b) deepening the fear in the majority community by a clever propaganda that the population of the minorities is increasing and that of the Hindus is decreasing; c) infiltrating into the administration and inducing the members of the civil and police services by adopting and developing communal attitude; d) training young people of the majority community in the use of weapons like daggers, swords and spears; e) spreading rumours to widen the communal cleavage and deepen communal colour to any trivial incident.

Report of the Justice Venugopal Commission on the Kanyakumari riots of 1982 between Hindus and Christians.

The dispute on the route of the procession became sharp and agitated reactions from the group of persons calling themselves the Sinjuku Badgering Bali Akhara Samiti who systematically distributed pamphlets to heighten communal feelings and had organisational links with the RSS. A call for the defiance of the authority and the administration for one of the routes led to a violent mob protesting and raising anti-Muslim slogans and thereafter an incendiary leaflet doing the rounds of Jamshedpur that is nothing short of an attempt to rouse the sentiments of Hindus to a high pitch and to distort events and show some actions as attacks on Hindus that appear to be a part of a design.  A survey had already established that all policemen, havaldars, home guards etc., were at heart ready to give support to them (Hindus communalist organisations).

Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Communal Disturbances at Jamshedpur, April 1979.