1. 1 Social Harmony & Communal Conflict in India Feb 2019 naresh.saxena@gmail.com

2. Trends in Hindu-Muslim Violence 2

3. Incidence of riots in India, 1960–2011 3

4. 4 Incidents of communal violence - govt. data KILLED YearIncidents HindusMuslOthersTotal ims /Police 196834624 9910133 19695196655849674 19705216827654398 197132138 65 0103 197224021 45 3 70 197324226 45 1 72 197424826 61 0 87 197520511 22 0 33 197616920 19 0 39 197718812 24 0 36 197821951 56 1108

5. 5 Casualties in some important riots :- Name of placeNo. of people killed HindusMuslimsOthers & unidentified Aligarh (1961) 1 12 - Ranchi/Hatia(Aug. 1967) 20156 1 Ahmedabad (Sept. 1969) 2443058 Bhiwandi (May 1970) 17142 2 Jalgaon (May 1970) 1 42 - Firozabad (1972) 3 16 2 Aligarh(1978) 6 19 3 Jamshedpur (1979) 12 107 8 Moradabad (Aug. 1980) 18142 0 Meerut (1987) 41131 Bhagalpur (1989) 50896 53 Bombay (1992-93) 275575 50

6. 6

7. Casualties in some recent riots Official deathsUnofficial estimates Nellie 198318003300 Delhi 198427334000 Bhagalpur 1989896 Muslims and 50 Hindus died, and 106 persons were missing Bombay 1992-93900 deaths, 575 Muslims, 275 Hindus Gujarat 20021044 (790 Muslims)2000 Muzzafarnagar 201362 deaths60,000 displaced 7

8. Paul Brass on Meerut Riots 1982 PAC behaved as they normally do, sympathising with the Hindus. All the PAC jawans on duty were non- Muslim. And, I believe, here as in so many other riots in India since then, they took out their rage, embedded in Hindu minds since partition, and intensified during Hindu-Muslim riotous confrontations, upon the Muslims in general. 8

9. Rajat Sharma (Meerut 1982) Steel-helmeted, rifle-wielding jawans forcibly entered the Muslim houses, breaking down doors that were not opened. They refused to obey the order of the civil officers and commenced reckless ransacking of the houses. They overpowered everybody inside and beat them up with rifle butts. Then suddenly the jawans opened fire, their weapons aimed at the residents. At this point the civil officers fled from the scene. More than 100 bodies were removed by the PAC. It is said that 450 houses were raided by the PAC and each house had now at least one occupant who will live with a deformity for the rest of his life. A PWD Engineer was killed in Kotwali area and his 16 year old boy was shot dead at Bhumia Pul. His mother, a convent school teacher was assaulted. The trauma made her go insane. Ustad, a motor mechanic and his helper were shot dead in Shahghasa, their hut was set afire. Sakhawal, a rickshaw puller was killed in Purwa Faiyaz Ali. 9

10. Field inspection by NC Saxena Inside the Feroze Building, I met Shabana, aged 11, who still bears many marks of knife injuries on her body. I visited the houses of Abdul Rasheed, Sheru, Anwar, Sherdin, Zafar Ali, Abdul Aziz, Irshad, Kalwa, Moin, Salim Iqbal, Abdul Zayyam and Wali Mohd., all deceased in the unfortunate police action on October 1. I was shown bullet marks on the walls, blood-stained clothes belonging to the deceased and many photographs of the houses which were taken soon after the incident which prove not only the fact of entry of force inside the houses, but also looting and wanton destruction of property. After detailed enquiries I was convinced that at least the killing of eighty innocent people by the PAC were not accounted for in the Police records. 10

11. Bhagalpur Inquiry Commission Report 1995 “We would hold Dwivedi, the then superintendent of police, Bhagalpur, wholly responsible for whatever happened before 24 October 1989, on 24th itself and after the 24th. His communal bias was fully demonstrated by his manner of arresting the Muslims and by not extending them adequate help to protect them. The manner in which the search was conducted was reminiscent of the searches in occupied Europe by the Nazis.” 11

12. HINDU (2016) on Hashimpura Massacre, 1987 A Delhi court acquitted 16 PAC men, who were among the 19 charged with abducting 42 members of the minority community in May 1987 during the riots in Meerut. The victims were picked up from the Hashimpura Mohalla in a truck, and taken to a nearby canal, where they were gunned down, according to the prosecution. The Uttar Pradesh police destroyed documents that could have helped to prove the involvement of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel in the Hashimpura massacre of 1987. 12

13. Home Ministry on the role of administration With few exceptions, it has been observed by almost all the commissions of enquiry that police were not sincere in meeting the important objective of protecting minorities, or the people who were in a weaker position and were either victim or target of killing in a communal disturbance. There were serious allegations that the police remained passive on many occasions. In many instances, police remained idle while looting, arson, and murders were committed in their very presence. In certain cases, police were an active participant in the violent mob. 13

14. Discrimination & Prejudice?

15. 15

16. 16 Prejudice leads to friendship only with ‘people of your own kind’ taking ill of the other group with friends distortion and filtering of facts preference for confirmation of opinion rather than objective reality hatred and legitimisation of violence wanting extermination of the other group What kind of policies reduce prejudice?

17. In ‘Secular’ India Muslims should have 1.Individual equality, but no group rights 2.Individual equality + cultural rights (AMU, separate personal law), but no affirmative action 3. Individual equality + cultural rights (AMU, separate personal law) + reservation in government jobs 4.Individual equality + cultural rights (AMU, separate personal law) + reservation in government jobs + proportional representation in Parliament/Assemblies 17

18. 18 Social legitimacy of ethnic group solidarity and politics Linguistic/Regional Highest Scheduled Tribes Women Scheduled Castes Backward Castes MuslimsLowest

19. 19 Legitimacy of Indian ethnic groups Whether political consensus Whether social consensus Regional pluralism Yes Caste reservation YesNo More women in parliament NoYes Quota for Muslims No

20. 20 Policy Framework Majoritarianism or control Assimilation Pluralism Vs Non-discriminatory

21. 21 Policy Framework Assimilation Pluralism Political assimilation and cultural pluralism vs

22. 22 Muslim share in education in Rampur town (U.P.) Share in population 72% Share in those who appeared in class XII 27% Share in those who passed class XII 20% Share in those who got First Division 5%

23. A.R. Sherwani "And all this while, the Muslim leaders and the Hindu secular leaders have been telling the Muslims they are not getting jobs because of discrimination. I do not deny discrimination. We Indians are the most discriminating people on earth. The Agarwal Bania discriminates against a Gupta Bania, the Sarjupari Brahmin against a Kayakubja Brahmin and so on. But the position is that the Muslims are not even giving anyone a chance to discriminate against them in worthwhile services. Anyone can discriminate against the Muslims only when they qualify and compete. How many Muslims are competing? This no one tells, neither the Muslim "leaders" nor the secular Hindu leaders who go about as the best friends of the Muslims." 23

24. Educational Levels among Communities CommunitySecondary levelGraduation All Religions14.136.72 Hindus14.257.01 Muslims10.963.6 Christians17.488.71 Sikhs20.946.94 Buddhists14.095.7 % of graduates among SCs/ STs = 4.1/ 2.6 24

25. Poverty by Social Groups Social groups % population below the poverty line Rate of annual decline 1993-942011-12 Muslims51.225.4 4.0 Hindus45.621.9 4.2 Christians38.516.4 4.9 Sikhs19.65.9 6.9 Jains10.53.3 6.6 Dalits60.129.4 3.9 Total45.722 4.1 25

26. Muslim share in jobs (as % of the total) 26 Class I Class IIClass III Class IV Central govt 1.6 3.0 4.4 5.1 State govts 3.3 4.5 4.6 6.4 »

27. Akbar Allahabadi on Muslim reluctance to education 27

28. 28 کہا مجنوں سے یہ لیلیما کیما نے کہ بیٹا تو اگر کر لے ایم اے پاس تو فوراً بیاہ دوں لیلیٰ کو تجھ سے ٰبلا دقت میں بن جاؤں تری ساس کہا مجنوں نے یہ اچھی سنائی کجا عاشق کجا کالج کی بکواس کجا یہ فطرتی جوش طبیعت کجا ٹھونسی ہوئی چیزوں کا احساس

29. بڑی بی آپ کو کیا ہو گیا ہے ہرن پہ لادی جاتی ہے کہیں گھاس یہ اچھی قدر دانی آپ نے کی مجھے سمجھا ہے کوئی ہرچرن داس دل اپنا خون کرنے کو ہوں موجود نہیں منظور مغز سر کا آماس یہی ٹھہری جو شرط وصل لیلیٰ تو استعفیٰ مرا با حسرت و یاس 29

30. Thank You 30

31. Akbar Allahabadi on Muslim reluctance to education Kaha Majnu se ye Laila ki Maa ne, Ki Beta tu agar kar le M.A pass, To fauran byaah doon Laila ko tujh se, Bila diqqat main ban jaaun teri saas (bila diqqat- without any problem) Kaha Majnu ne: Yeh achchi sunaai!! Kuja aashiq, kuja college ki bakwaas? (kuja-kahaan) Kuja ye fitrati josh-e-tabiyat (Love is by nature spontaneous and unrestrained!) Kuja thaunsi hui cheezon ka ehsaas! (Where do you bring in this stuffed learning by rote?) 31

32. 32 Bari bee, aapko kya ho gaya hai? Hiran pe laadi jaati hai kahin ghaas? Ye achchi qadardaani aapne ki! (qadardaani- (here) well judged worth) Mujhe samjha hai koi Harcharan Dass?! Dil apna khoon karne ko hoon maujood (The blood of my heart can be readily shed!) Nahin manzoor maghaz-e-sar ka aamas (This cudgelling of the brain is sadly too much to ask!) Yeh thahri jo shart-e-wasal-e-Laila (If this be the condition for the consummation of my love) To istifaa mera ba hasrat-o-yaas! (Here's my resignation-regretfully and with a sense of loss!)

33. Debatable Constitutional Provisions 25. Freedom to practice and propagate religion 30. Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions 370. GOI laws need concurrence of State Government --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 44. Uniform Civil Code 48.Organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry: State shall take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle. 33

34. Who is to be blamed? ProblemGuilty party Violence/LynchingAdministration/Police Irrational PrejudiceHindus Rational ConflictMuslims 34

35. Muslims vs other minorities PopulationLiteracyWork Participation India64.839.1 Muslims14.259.131.3 Christians2.380.339.7 Sikhs1.769.437.7 Buddhists0.772.740.6 35

36. Muslim share in government jobs, 1981 Name of ServiceTotalMuslims %age IAS3,883116 2.99 IPS1,75350 2.85 Income Tax I88127 3.06 Railway Traffic & Accounts Service41511 2.65 Banks 1,13,7622,479 2.18 Central Government offices75,9153,346 4.41 State Governments 8,26,66949,718 6 Public Sector Undertakings 4,76,97251,755 10.85 Total15,81,2961,07,492 6.8 36

37. 37

38. 38 Secular State No State religion Does not discriminate on the basis of religion Does not interfere in religious practices India became secular only in 1976!

39. Supreme Court on Secularism Our Constitution has not erected a rigid wall of separation between church and state. We have grave doubts whether the expression ‘secular state’ as it denotes a definite pattern of church and state relationship can with propriety be applied to India. It is only in a qualified sense that India can be said to be a secular state. There are provisions in the Constitution which make one hesitate to characterise our state as secular. 39

40. 40 majority communalism wore the cloak of nationalism while the minority communalism appeared to be separatist Nehru

41. From MJ Akbar’s book on Meerut 1987 New Muslim leaders, including Imam Bukhari and Syed Shahabuddin, successfully encouraged Muslims to be more aggressive and assertive both in their public stance and in their demands. In Bukhari’s huge rally at the Boat Club in New Delhi on 30 March 1987, both leaders made inflammatory speeches, implicitly calling Muslims to violent action to defend themselves against ‘Hindu majoritarian aggression’. Their calls for violent protest resonated with many young people who were attending the rally on that day from Meerut city. There is truth in the charge that it was the Muslims who first provoked the riots. 41

42. Anil Rana’s report in Statesman September 8 While the police refused to give the exact number of people injured during the clash, the Kotwali police station lock-up had 18 arrested Muslims. All of them had blood-stained clothes and were pleading with the policemen to get them aid. No attention was paid to their demands even 14 hours after their arrests. 42

43. Memoirs of Rajeshwar Dayal ICS, Chief Secretary, UP, 1947 “I must record an episode of a very grave nature when the procrastination and indecision of the UP cabinet led to dire consequences. When communal tension was still at fever-pitch, the deputy inspector general of police of the western range, a very seasoned and capable officer, B B L Jaitley, arrived at my house in great secrecy. He was accompanied by two of his officers who brought with them two large steel trunks securely locked. When the trunks were opened, they revealed incontrovertible evidence of a dastardly conspiracy to create a communal holocaust throughout the western districts of the province. The trunks were crammed with blueprints of great accuracy and professionalism of every town and village in that vast area, prominently marking out the Muslim localities and habitations”. 43

44. 44 Rights demanded by Minorities Right to security of life and property Right to vote and individual equality Preservation of minority culture and way of life Right to organise themselves as a political pressure group Reservations in jobs Proportional representation in politics Separate electorates, and finally, AAZADI

45. Socio-economic profile 45

46. 46

47. 47

48. Muslim Population Year Total Population Muslim Population Percentage 1951361,088,09035,856,0479.93% 1961439,234,77146,998,12010.70% 1971548,159,65261,448,69611.21% 1981683,329,09777,557,85211.35% 1991846,427,03910,25,86,95712.12% 20011,028,737,43613,81,59,43713.43% 20111,210,726,93217,22,45,15814.22% 48

49. Trends In Fertility Rates 49

50. 50

51. 51 Age distribution 0-14 years AllMuslims India35%41% UP41%45% Kerala26%33%

52. Poverty by Religious Groups 52

53. Hindu-Muslim Communal Riots in India II (1986-2011) Violette Graff and Juliette Galonnier August 2013 http://www.massviolence.org/PdfVersion?id _article=738 53

54. Moplah Riots (the wagon tragedy) 54

55. 55

56. Gujarat 2002 56

57. Deaths in communal violence YearMuslimsHindusOthers Police 1961-7023972825151 1971-8017663733313 57

58. Delhi 1984 Officially, 2733 Sikhs were reported to have been killed in Delhi alone during the anti-Sikh massacre. Unofficial estimates place this figure close to 4000 persons. ‘when a mighty tree falls, it is only natural that the earth around it does shake a little’ 58

59. Meerut Riots 1982 59

60. 60 Views on Remedies  Discuss role of administration in handling riots in training programmes, and sensitise police  Control the extremists, woo the moderates, promote harmony  More scholarships for insurgency affected areas  Promote gender empowerment amongst Muslims  Better implementation of existing programmes in textiles, handicrafts, etc  Facilitate use of community initiatives? – Polio  Promote class based identities Discourage vote bank politics? Stop appeasement & shift the debate to economic issues?

61. 61 Police firing in Bhiwandi riots 1970 Group No. of No. of No. of Casualties fired upon occasions rounds rounds per fired occasion Muslim 26 353 13.69 Musilm died and 5 injured Hindu 4 11 2.8 Nil Unknown 6 9 1.5 Nil In the air 1 6 6.0 Nil

62. Delivery Issues Lack of good quality government schools in Muslim areas Schools are under-staffed, with poorly motivated and sometimes prejudiced teachers Mewat with 80% Muslims, only 20% of the teachers were Muslim most traditional occupations of Muslims, such as hand and power looms, silk and sericulture, garment making, and Home based industries like embroidery, zari and chikan work have not done well Muslim settlements systematically deprived of access to infrastructure and public services, such as power, piped water supply and sewerage 62

63. Why riots? Primordial vs Instrumentalist approach Economic factors Administrative failure Administrative bias? Communal propaganda by the press and organisations History of violence in that district 63

64. 64

65. 65 Deny group rights to Muslims ‘Secularism’ demands it; divides society; Would delay class formation; elite domination vs

66. 66 Why deny group rights to Muslims? group rights part of democracy fosters self esteem and group pride conflict consistent with progress national interest difficult to define ‘If to others, why not to us’

67. Islamization due to Immigration Sword Patronage Social liberation Hindu customs Weak penetration of Hinduism 67

68. Share in total Muslim Population 68

69. Muslim Performance in Competitive Exams 1978 ‑ 1980 Name of the CommissionMuslim Percentage in total who appeared Called for interview Selected Andhra Pradesh PSC4.273.373.06 Tamil Nadu, PSC3.953.914.63 U.P. Combined State Services8.461.212.46 Madhya Pradesh2.891.771.70 69

70. 70 IAS etc 1996 University/InstitutionCandidates Success % AppearedQualified IITs47510121.26 JNU, NewDelhi2244218.75 Punjab University, Chandigarh1502718 Delhi University93612213 Jaipur3493810.9 Roorkee University1181210.17 Jamia Millia Islamia2129.5 University of Lucknow221167.24 Banaras Hindu University171105.85 Meerut9855.1 Aligarh Muslim University4924.08 Allahabad779263.33 All-India80987399.125

71. 71 India’s social complexity Is there consensus on policies pertaining to ethnic groups? as defined by Language/ region Caste Gender Religion

72. Three aspects of Communalism Communal conflict Communal prejudice Communal violence contradiction between harmony and justice? 72

73. 73

74. 74 majority communalism wore the cloak of nationalism while the minority communalism appeared to be separatist Nehru

75. Defining Communalism Allegiance to one's own ethnic group rather than to the wider society An ideology that society is divided into religious communities whose interests differ and are at times even opposed to each other. The antagonism practiced by members of one community against the people of other community and religion can be termed communalism. Communalism is a political doctrine which makes use of religious and cultural differences to achieve political ends Strategy to mobilize people for or against by raising an appeal on communal lines 75

76. 76 Sachar Committee Recommendations Mainstreaming and inclusiveness should be the cornerstones for any policy initiative; There is an urgent need to enhance diversity in residential, work and educational spaces; More equity would reduce the perceived sense of discrimination; and Focus should be on general rather than community- specific initiatives. Need to move away from reservation-based prescriptions

77. Mahatma Gandhi on riots “Islam means peace. Hindus claim to follow the path of Ahimsa. They both swear by god, but in practice they follow Satan. The Muslims stabs the innocent Hindu and the Hindu stabs the innocent Muslim”. 77

78. 78 YearNo of incidentspersons killedpersons injured 20037111932261 20046771342132 20057791242066 2006364891186 2012668942117 20138231332269 2014644951921 2015751971979 201670386na 20178221112384

79. 79 Findings of Madon Commission (Bhiwandi riots) Discrimination was practised in making arrests and while Muslim rioters were arrested in large numbers, the Police turned a blind eye to what the Hindu rioters were doing. Those arrested for cognizable offences, 21 were Hindu and 901 were Muslims. Some innocent Muslims were arrested, knowing them to be innocent. Some Muslim prisoners were beaten both when arrested and while in police custody. There was almost no food or water for the prisoners on May 7, and 8, 1970. Muslim prisoners were made to stay in the compound of the taluka Police station, with the shade of trees for only a few of them, while Hindu prisoners were made to stay on the verandahs. There was discrimination in the distribution of food and water between Hindu prisoners and Muslim prisoners.

80. Amnesty International on Meerut riots of May 1987 "there was strong evidence that north Indian provincial police had deliberately killed dozens of unarmed civilians and caused dozens more to 'disappear' in the state of Uttar Pradesh earlier this year" "The PAC is alleged to have disposed off some of the bodies of those killed by throwing them into rivers and canals. Other bodies are said to have been burnt. At least 80 bodies have been recovered altogether”. Amnesty International says it has the names of 29 victims known to have been killed and of another 32 listed as 'disappeared'. All were Muslims!' 80

81. 81