The communal riots which started in Bhagalpur on 24.10.1989 is completing its 25th year on 24th October this year. After 1947 the biggest Hindu-Muslim riot was Bhagalpur riot. Bhagalpur has witnessed Hindu-Muslim riots even before 1989, in 1924, 1936, 1946 and 1966.But all of these were limited to a few lanes and Mohallas (wards) in city areas and the administration succeeded in containing them from spreading to other areas.
The 1946 & 1966 riots were controlled by district administration within a few hours. But the story of 1989 riot is completely different. The communal situation in Bhagalpur in fact started deteriorating from 1983 due to some reason or the other in which antisocial elements of both communities, some people from educated classes of both communities and politicians of all parties (excluding a few) were active.
The beginning was made by the publication of a book named “boya ped babul ka”written by one professor Dhanpati Pande in which derogatory comments were made against Hazrat Mohammed which incited Muslim feelings. The Patna court judgment in favor of the book further vitiated the communal atmosphere and a Muslim youth fired a shot at the Patna court judge which missed him, but the youth was caught and a case was filed against him. This incident communally charged the atmosphere in Bhagalpur.
In 1986, Ram –Janki Rath was taken out in the city of Bhagalpur by VHP and RSS. Permission to take the Rath Yatra through Muslim areas were not given which infuriated RSS and VHP. The permission to take out the procession for the immersion of Goddess Durga through Muslim areas of Tatarpur was similarly declined but the procession was nevertheless taken out through Muslim areas from 1987 onwards, thus increasing communal tension.
In 1989 April a similar procession of Ramnavami was taken out by the Hindus of Parvati through the Muslim areas of Tatarpur in spite of decline of permission by the administration and this also added fuel to the fire of communalism.
There was police action during this incident and people were arrested from both the communities but the Hindus were released at the behest of SP which again infuriated the Muslim community further.
On 12.8.1989 disputes were created on the occasion of Muharram and Vishari Puja and the partial attitude shown by the administration in favour of Hindus again infuriated the Muslim feelings and they decided not to take out Muharram procession, as a protest.
Vishari Puja which was never held on such a huge scale before was now planned by RSS, VHP in August 1989. Administration knowingly did not pay any attention to these preparations, thus creating the grounds for October riots. The continued negligence shown by the administration and even by the so called secular forces towards these developments led up to the riots of October 1989.
What happened on 24.10.89?
Time for Shilapuja had arrived,the preparation for which was going on since August 89 by VHP. Bihar was a Congress ruled state at that time and the CM was S.N Sinha. He had given orders to administration to maintain peace and order. A meeting of peace committee was called in which Muslims objected to taking out the procession through Muslim areas, but the administration assured the Muslims that only 50 people would participate and there would be no slogan shouting. These assurances were proved wrong subsequently. On 22.10.1989 thousands of people participated in the rally and many objectionable slogans were raised. The intensity of slogan shouting was increased when the procession reached Fatehpur, a Muslim majority area. A bomb exploded as a result of which people started to run helter skelter, there were stone throwing on a large scale and shops were also looted. All these happened in the presence of SP and DM. The news spread like wildfire in the city and there was an atmosphere of fear all around. Children were taken away from schools, shutters of shops were down. Although orders were given to depute police in sensitive areas since 19 October, the orders were never implemented. No actions were taken on those officials for dereliction of duty.
On 24th October there was an atmosphere of fear all over the town. Muslims started to gather at Tatarpur Chowk. A huge Shilapuja procession was coming to Tatarpur chowk indulging in filthy slogan-shouting against Muslims. The Muslims requested the administration to stop the procession but the request was not heeded. People indulged in Stone throwing and the procession was disrupted which now entered Shujaganj Bazar and started looting Muslim shops. All these happened in front of policemen who remained mere spectators. The riots started all over the city in which Muslims were specially targeted. Those who could not escape were massacred. At Parvati 18 Muslims were killed and the dead bodies were dumped in wells. A series of rumour mongering started.(1) A rumor spread in the city that the SP had been killed. (2) 400 Hindu students from Bhagalpur University staying in hostels run by Muslims were killed. This rumour was spread systematically by young Swayam-sevaks on motorcycles in rural areas (3) College students of Bhagalpur women’s college have been raped.
These two rumours helped spread riots throughout the city and adjoining districts of Munger,Sahabganj, Dumka, Godda etc. The administration remained silent and did nothing to stop the rumors.
On 25.10.89 at Mujahidpur, Mararpur and Nathnagar railway stations 100s of Muslim passenger trying to escape from Bhagalpur were looted and killed reminding of partition days. On the same day police officers instigated the new recruits to attack and ransack Muslim homes in Bhikanpur in which two people (both government employees of minority communities) lost their lives. About 50 people were arrested accusing them of participating in Tatarpur incidents of 24th October and were sent to jails. Cases were filed against the Muslims of Bhikanpur that they wanted to loot arms and ammunitions from Police stations and therefore police fired in self defense in which two Muslims were killed.
The wives of the two Muslims killed approached the police but FIR was not lodged; where after they approached court and after court order FIR was filed. A CID enquiry found the police guilty and the police officers were charge-sheeted. The entire Bhagalpur came under communal riots by 24 &25 October in which hundreds died, properties burnt but police did not do anything to stop the riots, rather many of them were involved in the riots. SP and DM were ordered to be transferred by CM. In place of SP Dwivedi, Ajit Dutt was ordered to join Bhagalpur as DIG with additional job of SP. The transfer of Dwivedi incited the POLICE FORCE OF Bhagalpur and they started giving slogans of “Ajit Dutt, go back”. On the same day PM Rajiv Gandhi visited Bhagalpur but was detained in the airport by the rioters and police force demanding cancellation of Dwivedi’s transfer and did not allow the PM to visit the riot affected areas. The PM returned to Delhi after visiting the injured in hospital.
After this incident the morale of the rioters as well as the policemen rose to a high pitch and helped intensify riots after 26.10.89.Nathnagar, Madninagar Sahabganj,Miantoli(Girjaghar), Jogsar,Naya Bazaar,khanjarpur,Chanderi Logai. Nurpur, Bhatodia under Nathnagar kotwali, Sabbor, Jagdishpur police stations where most deadly riots took place in which hundreds of Muslims were killed, their homes and looms looted and burnt aided by police and administration. After this outskirt areas, Rajjon, Amarpur, Banka,Sahabganj, Godda Thanas were affected. Riots continued for over a month. Even after one month, small incidents continued for six more months. Muslims who got down from trains could not reach their home at odd hours. Rickshawallas refused to carry passengers. Muslim passengers avoided boarding Hindu Rickshawpullers while Hindu passengers avoided boarding Muslim rickshaws. The entire business establishment including medical services was vitiated for months together.
Bhagalpur pogrom against Muslim community paved the way for series of political riots in India continuing till today, the largest being the Gujarat riot of 2002, in which again the Muslim community was targeted in a well organized pogrom by Hindu communal fascist forces killing more than a thousand people and destroying homes and property of thousands of Muslims.
The 25th anniversary of Bhagalpur communal riot has arrived at a time of triumph for the very same communal fascist forces who have engineered large-scale political riots in pre as well post-independence India and have now installed themselves in political power at the centre as well as many of the Indian States through the very process of parliamentary democracy that the secularists have always lauded as the most fair and just in the entire world. The so-called secular forces have been thoroughly defeated and decimated in the recent Indian Elections.
These so-called secular forces are not likely to learn any lessons from this defeat and are likely to continue with the same discredited politics of status quo.
Tasks before the secular and democratic forces
However for the genuine secular democratic and revolutionary forces this is certainly a time for reflection and a time to rethink their entire perspective on secularism. Those who have considered themselves as secularists and democratic have always believed that there is nothing wrong basically with the existing economic and political system in India, although it needs some reforms to make it perfect. They also believe that the administration, the police, the armed forces and the judiciary are the true guardians of secularism and democracy, although some politicians and a few people in the administration, police, army and judiciary are communal as well as corrupt. If only the corrupt inefficient communal people running the police and administration are replaced with honest secular people and some reforms are introduced to make them more efficient, everything would be alright and India would become a paradise of secularism. However if we think hard we would come to realize that establishing a truly secular and human society is not as simple as that.
On this occasion of 25th anniversary of Bhagalpur communal pogrom which is an extremely painful event in the history of India, the questions we should ponder over are
(1) How the communal, fascist, rightwing Hindu nationalist forces could install themselves at the helm of power, if the basic fabric of our society is really secular as claimed by the “secularists”.
(2)Are the political parties who claim themselves to be secular really so? Is it possible for any political party to remain secular in the arena of the existing parliamentary democracy where money, religion, caste and community play the most crucial role? What kind of democratic system do we need for the establishment of a truly secular and human society?
(3) Can “Sarva Dharma Samabhav” based on encouraging religious fundamentalism, bigotry and irrational superstition be the true basis of secularism?
(4)Can we establish a truly secular society, keeping intact the existing economic system based on exploitation of working class, women and people of lower castes—a system whose only motto is accumulation of more and more capital and profit for more and more exploitation of the oppressed and the weak?
(5)Are only communal elements in police and administration responsible for the riots and communal pogroms against Muslims and other minorities, or is it a deeply communalized society at all levels which is responsible for the recurrent occurrence o these riots? If our society and the masses are afflicted with the disease of communalism, casteism and hostility towards women how do we to address this reality in order to establish a truly secular society?
These questions need to be taken up seriously on this occasion in our discourses on secularism. If we continue to hold on to our naïve beliefs about the existing economic, social and political system as an ideal for establishing secularism and do not think and act deeply on how to bring about a truly secular, democratic society free from economic exploitation, caste-ism, communalism and based on true equality between men and women; then we are doomed to a grand failure and in that scenario no one can stop the onward march of the fascist, communal, Hindu nationalist forces to establish a dictatorial regime in which all the questions of human freedom would recede into the background.
The choice is ours! Let’s take a conscious decision on our course of action on this occasion of 25th anniversary of Bhagalpur communal riots.
sureshkhairnar@yahoo.com