People's Democracy

THE TRUTH OF KOSI KALAN

No Riot But Planned Conspiracy

Digambar Singh

KOSI KALAN is a small town in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, situated on the state’s border with Haryana, on Delhi-Agra National Highway 2. It has a population of about 80,000, with a majority of the Hindus. The Muslim population here is less than 15 per cent. However, Kosi Kalan always maintained its tradition of communal harmony and accord, and the town remained peaceful even when the Babri Masjid was demolished in December 1992. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has got some base here and it always tried to vitiate the town’s atmosphere several times, but the people did not allow its attempts to succeed.

BACKGROUND

AND THE RIOT

For the last two times, it was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that won the chairmanship of Kosi Kalan municipality, and the chairman has been from a bania caste. However, this time the post is reserved for the backward caste people, and the banias, who constitute the main vote bank of the BJP, feared that their hold on the municipality was about to end. A backward Muslim candidate is also in the fray here. However, the BJP is trying to capture the municipality again by putting up a backward caste candidate, and several such individuals have been trying to get the BJP ticket for the position. Ever since the schedule of the municipal polls was announced, efforts have been on to magnify each and every small event in order to engineer a communal riot here.

It is also to be noted here that Kosi Kalan is the main town of Chhata assembly constituency which Tejpal of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) won this time, by defeating the incumbent Chaudhari Lakshmi Narayan who was minister of agriculture in the erstwhile government of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). It is clear, among other things, that while Muslims had voted for the BSP in the 2007 assembly elections, this time they preferred to vote for the RLD. The recent riot of Kosi Kalan took place in this very background. According to whatever has come to the fore from the media reports and from official investigations, each of the BJP, Congress, BSP, RLD and even the Samajwadi Party (SP), played an active role in engineering a riot here. An FIR has also been filed against the former agriculture minister and his brother as well as nephew.

There was large-scale arson during the communal riot that started in Kosi Kalan on June 1. More than two hundred shops were looted and put to fire. These included 45 shops in the wholesale vegetables market and 50 in the retail vegetables market; these belonged to both the communities. More than a hundred houses, these too of both the communities, were set afire and gutted down to ashes. At places, attempts were made to burn people alive inside their houses. Legal and illegal arms of all kinds were freely used. Four persons lost their life while hundreds were injured.

However, the riotmongers failed to burn the humaneness of the people to ashes. While they were bolting the targeted houses from outside in order to burn the inmates alive, victims of each community moved out from roof to roof and were sheltered by their neighbours often belonging to the other community. The people’s proactive role is evident from the fact that the riotmongers failed to burn a single person alive in his or her house. It is clear that the common people were no participants in this riot. Rather they are wondering how all this took place at all. An overwhelming majority of the town’s population is openly condemning the riot and the riotmongers.

WORST KIND

OF POLITICS

It was in fact a very small event that was used as an excuse for perpetration of the riot. On June 1, Narendra Gurjar, the BSP’s nominee for the chairman’s post, was about to distribute sharbat (a sweet, aromatic and cold drink) among the worshippers at the Sarai Shahi Mosque that is situated in the main market. However, a Hindu shopkeeper thrust his hand into the sharbat, and then he was beaten by some youth who were present in the mosque at the time. However, some other shopkeepers belonging to the RSS called for some Hindu youth from other areas, and the latter attacked the mosque, stoned it and thrashed some students of the madrasa located inside the mosque. On the other hand, rumour was spread out in the Muslim localities that Hindus were out to destroy the Sarai Shahi Masjid, thus inciting some Muslims to vandalise some shops in the market. On their part, pro-BJP elements invited a large number of anti-socials from the nearby villages. The refrain of the rumourmongers was that Muslims had thrust their dirty hands into the nirjala ekadashi sharbat and, when they were prevented from doing so, they killed five Hindu youth with their swords; that the wife and daughter of Rama Tailor’s owner were stripped naked and then burnt alive; and that they were arsoning and looting the shops belonging to the Hindus.

The people from villages began their vandalism as soon as they entered the town. Petrol was freely used to set shops and houses afire, and soon the entire town was engulfed in flames. The fire on all sides, the shrilled cries of women and children, and the reports of gunfire were all telling the horrendous tale of the riotmongers’ sheer cruelty. People of both the communities fell victim to these gory activities. A kabad shop on the National Highway was also gutted in fire. Two young Muslims were burnt alive when they were trying to save their shops from fire. The riotmongers did not spare the poor --- handcarts, thelas, puncture repair shops, roadside ironing kiosks, and many other such means of livelihood were put to fire without any compunction.

Hari Patel (a claimant for the BJP’s ticket for chairman’s post), Bhagwat Ruhela (owner of the Rama Tailors), and Puran Singh Advocate were seen leading the rioting crowds.

POLICE AND

ADMINISTRATION

Terror now reigns in the town. The escape of Muslim families to other areas is continuing since June 1 night itself. Despite scorching heat, people were compelled to remain inside because of the curfew for days together. There were great shortages of various food items, and shops remained closed for several days. Those to suffer most were the non-salaried people who have to work everyday to earn a living. Means of transport remained out of sight for several days at a stretch. Rumours are still floating unhindered. Anti-socials are busy with their false propaganda campaign in rural temples.

It is patently clear that, despite everything else, this riot could have been prevented if only the police and the administration had been vigilant and done their duty. There is one police post and a police station at barely 100 metres each, in two directions from the place from where the riot originated. The police station’s in-charge reached the spot much after the attack on the mosque began, and cowardly ran away immediately after. He had not come with adequate police force either.

Moreover, the local CO and the SDM remained confined to the police station whole day long. While the trouble began at around 12 noon, the police and Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) reached there only at 5 p m though Mathura is only 40 km from Kosi Kalan. While the Superintendent of Police (SP) exhorted his men to act against the riotmongers from villages, policemen remained mute spectators; at places they even motivated the goons to go in for arson and loot. Though the riotmongers freely moved through the city, the police did not even use water cannons and rubber bullets to control the vandal mobs.

All this gives one the impression that a good many policemen were in league with the riotmongers, and was giving the latter a free hand in order to cow down a particular community. The police and the administration are equally, if not more, responsible for this riot.

THE CPI(M)

IN ACTION

The CPI(M) has a branch here, covering the town and some nearby villages. Its local members swung into action against the riotmongering as soon as the trouble began. CPI(M) district secretary Dr Harishankar and the state committee were immediately informed of the events. Through the local media, the CPI(M) district secretary made an appeal to the people to remain calm, maintain harmony, and not give in to rumours. The party organised meetings in Paigaon, Vishambhara Dhanota, Dhamisangha, Dautana, Barka and some other villages as well as in the city in order to nullify the impact of rumours. The party’s campaign continues to date.

Balram Sharma, Prakash Chaand, Brajbhan, Madan, Chetram Sharma and other local comrades, Digambar Singh, Kailash Verma and Shad from Mathura and Idris from Aligarh have toured through many of the surrounding villages as well as the town, while Dr Harishankar has constantly been monitoring the situation. On June 7, a delegation sent by the CPI(M) state secretariat visited Kosi Kalan to ascertain the facts and assess the situation. Its findings are being published alongside.