It was as if the trauma of forgetting the horror was not enough. One year since the communal riots in Muzaffarnagar-Shamli broke out affecting thousands of people, the victims are now faced with options which pander to the competitive riot politics of political players in the region.
One such plot is being played out in the Dabheri Khurd village of Kairana Assembly constituency, which in the aftermath of the riots, became a hub of relief camps having as many as twenty thousand victims. Because of its significant Muslim population, leaving behind their houses under attack of jats, the victims fled to this constituency and its vicinity finding security in their numbers. A year after living in relief camps now when they don't have the option of going back to their villages out of fear of retaliation of the majority community, they have become a pawn in the fight for influence by local Muslim political leaders for influence in the area.
In the aftermath of communal riots which witnessed displacement of about fifty thousand members of minority community, politics over rehabilitation of the victims was a potent and potential weapon - especially in the polarised Lok sabha poll pitch in May, which Muslim politicians and candidates of the Samajwadi Party and the BSP in western UP exploited to galvanise Muslim votes. In that context, running a relief camp or donating land or getting houses built for the victims became a way to get popular support and influence in the Muslim community.
The story starts with shifting the victims to settlements of newly built houses for which the local Samajwadi Party leader Nahid Hasan had, ahead of contesting Lok Sabha polls from Kairana parliamentary seat, allegedly promised, completely built houses in an area as big as that of 22 bighas. He contested the polls but was defeated by the BJP candidate Hukum Singh, then an MLA from the assembly seat, by a margin of more than two lakhs.
Now that six months have passed and no building is in the sight especially after his humiliating defeat, the occupants of relief camps in Dhaberi Khurd village, most of whom are working as daily wage labourers, complained that promise of their rehabilitation is seasoned and guided by polls.
Now that the bypoll of Kairana Assembly seat recently vacated by Hukum Singh, is expected very soon, the victims highlighted that the SP leader, who is likely to contest the bypoll from SP, has once again started promising a full fledged colony on 22 bigha.
At present, according to unofficial estimates about 8,000 riot victims stay in the relief camps in and around Kairana constituency. Residents of the relief camps emphasize that more houses were required for their rehabilitation in new colonies.
"It is all a play of politics which guides the behaviour of these people," said a resident of one relief camp in the village who works as a construction worker, on condition of anonymity.
Alauddin, one of the riot victims living in Malakpur relief camp alleged that the SP leader though was promising houses, was not giving agreement and documents which could give them a sense of assurance and ownership of the houses. Echoing fears of the fellow victims, Mr. Alauddin said that the SP goons were preventing them from smaller colonies being offered by other trusts which are anti-SP.
Now Mr. Alauddin who had to leave his savings to save his life in the riots, said, " I don't have enough money to buy a piece of land from these trusts operating in the Muslim areas. I am in a dilemma now. If I leave the relief camp and the SP government cleans it all as it did during last winters, then my family won't have any shade above their heads".
The situation is complicated by the fact that people who run several relief camps in the area owing political allegiance to other political parties, are Mr. Hasan's competitor for gaining influence.
Haji Dilshad who runs several relief camps in the village alleged that Mr. Hasan was not "serious" about building houses for the victims. "Instead he has been making people vacate the camps only to prove to his party leadership that he got rid of the relief camps, which are a major cause of embarrassment for the ruling party," he added.
Mr. Hasan denied these allegations as politically motivated.
The politician and the relief camp owner may change, but the story largely remains true in all the relief camp hubs which The Hindu visited across the riot affected region, confirming their status of being a pawn in the larger politics.
For the riot victims, there is no good news at least for now, as their rehabilitation awaits the future polls.
