Saturday’s arson and vandalism during protests by Muslim groups against the ethnic killings in Assam and Myanmar caught the Mumbai police on the wrong foot, and not for the first time. The violence erupted despite advance intelligence reports and the deployment of an 800-strong police force and is a sad commentary on the state of law and order management in the city. Inflammatory speeches by irresponsible Muslim ‘leaders’ goaded the crowds to go on a rampage, burning media OB vans and vehicles, smashing buses and paralysing South Mumbai for a while. The police itself bore the brunt of the mob’s fury. The manner in which the violence unfolded points to pre-planned disruption and even city police commissioner Arup Patnaik, who made an attempt to pacify the crowds, admitted it was a close call. The media too came under fire and had to run for cover with many photographers and TV crew assaulted. While the madness lasted, a sense of insecurity and terror prevailed in the city with protesters taking over local trains and, for a while, the roads in front of Azad Maidan. For a police force that had reasons to fear the rally might end in violence, the failure to deploy and plan adequately was glaring.
That is not to say that political protests — even those built around the emotional pull of religious solidarity — must not be allowed in the city. In the past too, the roads of Mumbai and the sprawling Azad Maidan have been jammed with Muslim groups demonstrating against the Iraq war and earlier over the Supreme Court's Shah Bano judgment. Despite the overwhelming numbers, the protests were peaceful except during the 1989 rally in Bhendi Bazar against Salman Rushdie’s book, The Satanic Verses, which resulted in nine deaths in police firing. After that, Mumbai witnessed its worst communal carnage in 1992-93 in which hundreds of Muslims lost their lives. In the 20 years after the riots, the city has witnessed many bomb blasts after its first in 1993, the terror strike of 2008 and the serial blasts last year. There is a sense of fear, especially among Muslims, after each bomb blast since they are on the radar of suspicion. The failure of the criminal justice system to punish the instigators and facilitators of the 1992-93 violence also rankles them. This is the emotional terrain that self-styled community leaders and aspiring politicians are quick to cash in on by playing on the insecurities of the Muslim community. Saturday’s violence could well be the result of such mischievous instigation. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan must now take swift action against these vested interests and prevent the city from turning into a cauldron of hate.
Keywords: Assam riots, Mumbai protest, Azad Maidan Ground
The matter should be investigated in detail as their are clear signs of
pre-planning of the whole matter. It is known to all that ethnic
killings in Assam are being reproved by each and every Indian so Why the
protest was going on only in Mumbai and not in other places.
This is a well planned political violence for strengthening their vote banks played by the Congress and its ruling partner the NCP, under whose control the home ministry is. The NCP is using the police department for its benefit which the Congress and its rank and file do not like. There was total failure of intelligence and the police were simply outnumbered by the so-called protesters. And the daylight violence happened in the heart of Mumbai --- in front of Azad Maidan police station, court, CST (rail terminus), Press Club, a hospital, a college and Churchgate rail terminus, the area where over lakhs of people move everyday. This once again shows how Mumbai is vulnerable for violence and attacks. A through jucicial enquiry should be ordered.
Truly, it is Deja vu for more reasons than one. The Khilafat movement
was started in India in 1919 because the Ottoman empire was in trouble.
Gandhi supported this protest as well. From that time on, it is
customary for Muslims to protest distress of Muslims in far away places
and for the Congress party to support them. The Ali brothers who
started the Khilafat movement in India went on to join the Muslim
league and helped create Pakistan.
Seriously firstly these irresponsible leaders of communities should be
put behind bars for long then only sheep like following people can stop
of any community ..
I request to The Hindu (newspaper) please visit the area where Muslim majority live. You find some question and report this .Are these people enjoy same privilege that other have special in education and employment .Then the basic amenities the health and sanitation.Specially the government school , bank , hospital,public transport.Some of these area converted into slums . Their is anger for this . The global genocide is wrong , many people and groups protest for the cause their is nothing wrong in this.But labeling the whole fact in Bangladesh is not current , its like running from the main issue. If Syria get maximum coverage its far away country India will not affect from that . Myanmar is our neighbor which cause attention both for government and public.
Please send these people to Myanmar ?
It is right of people of Assam to stop illegal people to come in country
.Should we care about people from other country ? don't we have enough
problems here ? Why Muslim in Mumbai think that Assamese are killing
them in vicarious situation ? I think country is first then your
religion.
Why is it that none of the so called Muslim and secular politicians not condemned the senseless violence in Mumbai to protest events in faraway Assam and Myanmar (a foreign country) caused by migrants from Bangladesh?
It is not deja vu. Never in the past such voilence has been unleashed by Muslims in the city. Even the 1989 protest march against Rushdie's book was peaceful until a political decision by Sharad Pawar translated into a shooting spree by a communal police commissioner in charge. Pawar's worry was that such huge crowd was organised by politically lightweight Muslim leaders, threatening his own Muslim proxies. Currently too, there is clear sign that the group - Brelvis were more aligned to Sharad Pawar's NCP and it is widely believed Sharad Pawar was raring for a showdown with Congress, its coalition partner, who were investigating a big irrigation scandal by a NCP minister. Hindu has clear independence to go deeper into the news and views beyond the news and views that seems to become a stereo-type coverage of Muslim affairs. Muslims are not allowed to have an independent existence, without first paying their dues to the political parties. Hindu must probe and boldly report all sides.
Did Raza Academy ever protest for the sectarian killing of Muslims in Pakistan (and in Arab countries) by Muslims? For the killings in Myanmar, at the best these perptual victimhood/insecurity posers could have attacked the Myanmar embassy/consulate and not Police and Media vans. Anyhow, it eminently serves the secular media to be paid back in their own coin.
Of late if we see, the fundamentalists(both Hindu and Muslim) are not
doing well -- for the Muslim fundamentalists, there is not so much of
provocation from the Hindutva groups and for the Saudi-funded cash-
rich ultra-fundamentalist groups, this is not good news. These fanatic
groups need tension in the society so that they can justify their own
existence and survive.
This desperate intimidation by Raza Academy was done so that Hindutva
groups affiliated to Sangh Parivar would say something against the
Muslims -- this is exactly what these fundamentalist groups want. And
the BJP is happily taking up this case with all enthusiasm as this is
exactly the kind of polarization they have been missing all along.
Hope the smart people look through this design and remain cautious in
analyzing the situation. The Govt needs to keep a strong vigil on the
activities of Wahabi and Hindutva groups to prevent any further
mischief.
why so called writer is talking about " insecurities of the Muslim community" ? i really couldn't understand what he is trying to prove by making such irresponsible comments.
what he is doing is no more then the cheap politics played by our "GREAT POLITICIANS", he is trying to get some sympathy from muslim readers. You can not validate any such incident in name of vengeance.
A true example of demagoguery in the Indian Muslim community. Some wannabees take charge and just trying to cash on the sentiments of the people and project themselves as the next Khalif.... Now the events organisers should be asked ---
who is ready to take the responsibility of this whole mess and the loss of face for the community..?
It is high time that the organizers of such events should be held accountable (pay for the damages)if not arrested. Such agitations are clearly motivated to score political points and are marked by wantonic provocative speeches.
In reality such protests serve no benefit to the common muslims but are rather embarassed by these violent acts. If one bothers to analyse all previous riots one could see that Muslims have been at the receiving end, irrespective of who instigated the violence.
Though, legally it is not possible to ban these demonstartions, Muslims organizations need to refrain from such acts, voluntarily. There are many other ways to help the community, if one is interested to. Many other communities in India provide educational scholarships, professional training and other constructive support to people of their respective communities without raising eyebrows.
On the other Muslims needs to play it safe and stay away from these selfish social associations.
Mumbai Police Caught Unaware---
Basically, there is thorough lack of professionalism and man management on part of senior echelons of officer cadre of Mumbai police who are least bothered of welfare of am admi,this is due to "chalta he attitude" of home minster(maharastra) who has no clue how manage and pull-up such police officers for accountability and inefficiency.
Well it does need rocket science to understand it.
These nonsense protest should not be allowed. Protest for issues with in country itself is overwhelming. What to protest for BangalaDeshis? Because it is muslim conducted it must be a secular one as per government of the day. Long live secularism in India.
Its a matter of deep concern that self-styled leaders hijack the collective thinking of Muslims and do not allow individual perspective to take root.What pains me more is the concern for 'Muslims' and not Indians.Had it been a protest against communal violence,it would have had credibility and support of all. This sectarian approach has alsways hindered the Muslim integration in the main stream and will continue to do so until we have minority leaders with nationalistic outlook.
Police and state intellgence have bene caught napping. In such
agitations for which thousands travel in groups in suburban traisn,
there is a laot of advance indication. People trek from trains right
from 1 am onwards. The precise questrion is on the issue of police
lack of alertness and not being rpeapred to meet the situation. All
these potential demonstrators congregated in VCST station. EVEN TGHEN
POLICE DID NOT GET ALERTED AND AUGMENT THE FORCES. the result the mayhem in A MAIDAN. politcal accountability demands the home minsiter's resignation.
I am surprised at the tone of this editorial. This newspaper as well as the other English newspapers always provide sporadic riots between Muslims and non- Muslims as justification for the so- called "victim hood" that Muslims suffer (across the world, not just in India). If that be the case, why these so called secular and liberal editors do not go back further in the history and state that the Islam's jehad against the non - Islamic people, over last 1500 years, has left hundreds of millions dead across the continents. Do other people not have right to feel the victim hood? If an eye for an eye were justified, then Muslims will never be able to justify their actions. We all know these riots (like Assam riots) are the result of appeasement policies of the "secular" politicians, activists, artists, media men, leftists and liberals.
The lasting problem with Indian muslims is that they have not been able
to integrate themselves in the society post-partition.They think in
terms of ummah,universal muslim brotherhood rather than Indian quam(as
said by Sir Syed Ahmed).Political parties for their own reasons try to
play on their insecurities and shield even their wrong deeds.I do not
hear a word of condemnation from parties for this arson,though they
would be quick to denounce a similar arson by Hindus(and rightly so).
Violence in any form is intolerable and 'the silence on violence' is the
extreme violence which Media practiced in Myanmar issue. The Massacre of
Rohingyas minority in Myanmar was totally ignored by International and
Indian Media. Even in Assam, the allegation of violence shifted to Muslim groups. Media must introspect and must cover all news with
unbiased nature.
Bangladeshi migrants’ issue is an issue which has a humanitarian angle as it is the abject poverty which has driven Bangladeshi migrants to our states on Bangladesh border. But more important questions are: why have we failed to contain migration and why should the migrants get voting rights?
Let also accept that once these migrants settle down in the states like Assam it is far easier for them to move to other parts of India and get settled any of our metro cities wherein the citizens’ identities are totally lost in the crowds. This aspect cannot be ignored when police investigates the riots on Saturday in Mumbai.
Media, political leaders are soft on such occasions and go out of the
way to justify their actions - like King's children. It is an issue
happening in some part of the country because of local condition /
reality. In what way these people are affected in Mumbai. Such
incidents are to be condemned outright, not finding reasons to be
justified.Secure / insecure should be build up by actions, trust and
faith - not getting by showing muscle power. People should thing
basically , Hindu, Muslim just because of their birth only, and it is
a factor for thier personal belief and life. If you start thinking I
am a Muslim / Hindu first and give priority only for that, how can
insecurity be removed. Women, children, old people and many are
insecure in our country.
The incidents like what happened in Mumbai or attacks on students from
North-East in Pune are indeed very unfortunate. There is lack of
responsible leadership from Muslim community. The influential and
sensible members of the community can talk only with in the confines
of television studios while those in political arena worry for vote
banks leaving the field clear for fundamentalists and mullahs. There
has to be introspection within the community to take leadership in
right perspective while law and order should be left to the police to
act with out fear of transfers and inept political bosses.
Why would Muslims in Mumbai indulge in unruly violence to protest against alleged killings of Muslims in Assam and Myanmar? Feeling of insecurity, as stated by you, could be one of the many reasons. But surely, these are not local Muslims or else they should have protested about more valid reasons rather than alleged violence in far away Assam or Myanmar ( a foreign country). What is the country having common borders with both Assam and Myanmar? The answer is Bangla Desh. Why were these protestors having more affinity towards issues pertaining to Bangla Desh rather than towards the local issues? This is a matter of investigation.
The violent demonstration which appears to be pre-planned in Mumbai is unacceptable. The mischief makers who instigated the mob must be punished and asked to pay for the damages caused. The events in Assam occurred because of massive influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and both Bodos and Muslims were affected by the violence. The Govt has a right to protect its citizens regardless of their religious persuasion. It has no such obligation against migrants. Not does it have any obligation towards people living in Myanmar. Your paper always finds excuses such as feeling of insecurity amongst Muslims. There are so many religious minorities in India in addition to Muslims such as Sikhs, Christians etc. Why is it that only Muslims feel insecure and not others when the Indian state and the media bend over backwards to placate them?
Why would Muslims im Mumbai indulge in a rampant violence over killings of Muslims in Assam and Manmyar? The feeling of insecurity amongst Muslims, as stated by you, could be one of the many reasons. But the most important reason could be affinity towards country which has common borders with both Assam and Manmyar- i.e. Bangla Desh. How many Bangla Deshis have infiltrated in Mumbai is a matter of investigation.
JFK said that those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of
the tiger ended up inside. The more the govt panders to religious
sentiments and tries to appease, the more the governance is pushed
backwards in history. Mumbai in particular and the country in general
cannot afford such blemishes on their faces. Not sure when the
politicians would understand this.
The matter of Assam,politicized as a matter of religion by some, is the reason of such hooliganism.Country should be kept higher than religion.Also there is a need to put some strict actions against such activities.There can't be a protest rally for anything happening in Libya or Syria or Myanmar at the cost of disruption of communal harmony in our own country.
Please Email the Editor