India: Attack on a prominent Faizabad mosque ignites fears of a larger communal design

Several communal incidents have been reported in eastern Uttar Pradesh recently.
by Dhirendra K Jha

Early on Tuesday, anxiety gripped the town of Faizabad as word spread about a prominent mosque being set afire by unidentified miscreants the previous night.

A part of the Madani Masjid, located in Faizabad's Mughalpura locality, was gutted in the attack. The mosque houses a madrasa and the local office of Jamat-e-Ulema Hind, a national organisation of Muslim clerics. [. . .]
FULL TEXT AT: http://scroll.in/article/749596/attack-on-a-prominent-faizabad-mosque-ignites-fears-of-a-larger-communal-design

India - UP: Hindutva Lawyers attack Khalid Mujahid’s lawyer in Faizabad

The Milli Gazette

Hindutwadi Lawyers attack Khalid Mujahid’s lawyer

The Milli Gazette Online
Published Online: May 21, 2013

Faizabad: Hindutwadi lawyers here attacked and seriously injured a lawyer defending Khalid Mujahid who was murdered in police custody on 19 May while being transported from Faizabad to Lucknow.

A large march was organised yesterday, Monday, at Faizabad from the Eidgah to the Commissioner’s office to protest against the custodial murder of Khalid Mujahid, a terror-accused who, alongwith the co-accused Tariq Qasmi, was found innocent by the Nimesh Commission.

Yesterday’s march of around 700 people included some lawyers who had been defending the terror-accused despite opposition by Hindutwadi lawyers who had in the past attacked such lawyers in the court premises.

In yesterday’s march slogans were raised against such lawyers and the Faizabad bar association which has been opposing lawyers defending persons accused in terror cases.

This morning the Faizabad bar association passed a resolution condemning lawyers defending the terror-accused. Thereafter, the Hindutwadi lawyers attacked and seriously injured advocate Mohammad Saleem who was assisting Advocate Jamal Ahmad, the lawyer for Khalid Mujahid. The attack took place around noon today in the courts premises.

Police admitted Advocate Mohammad Saleem in the Faizabad district hospital in serious condition.

The photograph shows the seriousness of the attack by the Hindutwadi lawyers. The Hindutwadi lawyers were also on the look out for a number of advocates who defend the terror-accused but could find only Advocate Mohammad Saleem.

Meanwhile, the authorities have converted the whole city of Faizabad into a cantonment area with security forces fanning all over the city.

Faizabad

For more information, contact human rights activists Ghufran Siddiqi (09554040722) and Shah Alam (09454909664) in Faizabad.
Rihai Manch statement:

On the other hand, the Lucknow-based Forum for the Release of Innocent Muslims imprisoned in the name of Terrorism popularly known as "RIHAI MANCH", said today in a statement that the attack on Advocates in Faizabad is conspiracy hatched by SP and communal forces. It said in a statement issued this evening:

“Rihai Manch condemns the attack on Faizabad Advocate Salim and damaging chambers of Advocate Shakilur Rehman, Jamal Ahmed and Nadeem Ahmed. Rihai Manch demands the arrests of hooligans of SP, Bajrang Dal, Hindu Yuva Vahini and BJP who are responsible for the attack. The spokesperson of the Rihai Manch blames Samajwadi Party for encouraging the communal elements in order to stop the rising opposition and demonstrations in support of martyr Khalid Mujahid. But SP must understand that its countdown has begun, warns Rihai Manch. These communal elements are those who are named as accused in many FIRs related to the recent communal riot which occurred in October 2012. But the local administration on the direction of the high level political bosses not made any effort to arrest them.” (Issued by Shahnawaz Alam and Rajeev Yadav, Spokespersons, Rihai Manch 09415254919, 09452800752; Harinath Banerjee Street, Naya Gaon Poorv, Laatoosh Road, Lucknow – Email: rihaimanchindia[@]gmail.com)

‘Aap ki Taaqat’ – was targeted by mobs during the recent Faizabad riots

November 5, 2012
From: The Hindu

An uncanny victim

by Mohammad Ali


A bilingual publication that promotes communal harmony -- ‘Aap ki Taaqat’ – was targeted by mobs during the recent Faizabad riots

The recent Faizabad communal riot witnessed the usual religious symbols and shops being targeted in an attempt to disturb the communal amity of the city, which along with Ayodhya has historically been regarded as ‘twin cities’.

But what didn’t find mention in several mainstream discourses was that the vandals also attacked Faizabad based bilingual publication ‘Aap ki Taaqat’, a Hindi-Urdu weekly, which promoted communal harmony and the syncretic traditions of Ganga-Jumna tehzeeb in the city and the nearby regions.

But when the riot engulfed the city on October 24, the office of the publication which since its inception in December 2006, carried the slogan of ‘Hindu-Muslim do bhai, Hindi-Urdu do behen’ on its masthead, was also targeted by the rioting mob. “The attack was in spite of its message of communal harmony or may be because of that,” as its editor Manzar Mehdi puts it.

The newspaper’s office was located on the premise of Chowk Masjid that dates back to 1790 A.D. and every year the mosque used to welcome the goddess Durga procession with floral tributes. The office was gutted in the fire that also consumed other shops in the mosque’s premise.

Condemning the attack, last week, the Press Council of India (PCI) chairman Justice (retd) Markandey Katju constituted a one member PCI committee to probe the incident.

Mr. Mehdi painstakingly highlights the fact that the paper attracts almost 80 per cent advertisement support from the Hindu community.

“To tell you frankly, the paper survived on support from affluent Hindu brothers. The attack first took me by surprise because there was never threat to the paper,” says Mr. Mehdi who runs the paper single-handedly from a one-room office on the first floor of the mosque.

“I have always written about common welfare of the people. People used to read the paper with interest because we ran several special stories highlighting the secular history of the twin cities of Ayodhya and Faizabad,” he adds.

In spite of its rather modest circulation, for the residents of Faizabad the eight-page ‘Aap ki Taaqat’, with four pages each in Hindi and Urdu, was “a flame of communal harmony”.

What has “hurt” Mr. Mehdi, who is also the president of the Urdu Press Association, is the “ambivalence” of the national media. He alleges that the media did not take notice and raise it as an attack on the freedom of the press.

“Why is the media deserting its own, especially a small publication that has become a symbol of intercommunity harmony?” he asks.

Mr. Mehdi said in all likelihood the mob that ransacked his office and then set fire to it was familiar with the paper and knew about the office. But he has not named any one in the FIR.

He regards the attack on the publication as a “setback” in more ways than one. “It was shocking to come to terms with the fact that people can destroy everything and anything in communal frenzy. It will take some time to start the paper again,” he says adding that the paper’s edition which was scheduled for October 29 had to be delayed due to the communal violence.

He mentions the help which has started pouring in from local residents. “I am happy to see the spirit of communal amity back to the city. All the readers of the paper, Hindu, Muslims alike, have contacted me offering their help and support in starting the set up for the paper once again. But I must say it won’t be easy to get it back again. ”

UP: ‘Secular’ weekly victim of communal violence in Faizabad

From: Indian Express

Faizabad: ‘Secular’ weekly victim of riots

Faisal Fareed : Lucknow, Wed Oct 31 2012, 00:56 hrs

For six years, the bilingual weekly Aap ki Taaqat, published from Faizabad, carried the slogan ‘Hindu-Muslim do bhai, Hindi-Urdu do behen’ on its masthead. The slogan could not save the weekly when communal riots flared up in Faizabad on October 24.

The newspaper’s office on the premises of Chowk Masjid was gutted in the fire during the riots. Press Council of India chairman Justice (retd) Markandey Katju on Tuesday set up a committee to probe the attack on the mosque and the weekly.

The eight-page Aap ki Taaqat, with four pages each in Hindi and Urdu, had a small circulation, but was “a flame of communal harmony”, said Iqbal Mustafa, who manages Faizabad Public School.

Manzar Mehdi, who launched the weekly said, “It survived on support from Hindu doctors, businessmen and leaders. I can’t imagine why it was attacked... There was never any threat to us. Nobody raised an objection to our reports.” He said it was likely that people in the mob that ransacked the weekly’s office and set it on fire were not outsiders.

Despite offers of help, he is unsure whether things can return to normal soon.

Symbol of Communal Harmony In Faizabad Attacked

by Sandeep Pandey (28-10-12)

We remember visiting the office of Sayed Manzar Mehdi, who was the Bureau Chief of Urdu periodical 'Sahafat' then in Faizabad just before the Godhra incident in 2002. He was vividly describing how Muslims in trains leaving Ayodhya for Gujarat were being troubled by the Kar Sewaks who had ostensibly come to build the temple. He warned us that if nothing was done to stop them some untoward incident might happen. Nothing happened in Ayodhya region except for one Muslim youth being thrown out of running train and some minor incidents. But it flared up in Gujarat soon after.
Ten years later it was the turn of Manzar Mehdi himself. Now, an editor of 'Aap ki Taqat,' a daily which he has been brining out for the last six years as publisher too, in which the left page is in Hindi and the right one in Urdu with the slogan 'Hindu Muslim are two brothers and Hindi Urdu are two sisters,' Manzar Mehdi thinks he was targetted because he runs a newspaper which is critical of the politics of communalism. He happens to be the President of Urdu Press Association and attracts 80% of advertisements for his newspaper from establishments run by Hindus. He also runs a 'Guldasta Society' which organises a human chain every 26th January for promoting communal harmony. Hence, targetting him also means that saner voices will be silenced.
On the fateful night of 24th October, 2012, some people broke the lock of Masjid which also led to his office. The first floor office was completely ransacked, his laptop, camera, scanner, inverter and other such equipment which are key to his carrying out his journalism work were destroyed. Overall, he has suffered a loss of about Rs. 2-3 lakhs.
Those of you who would like to express moral support to Manzar bhai in this hour of confidence-shattering crisis in his life may get in touch with him at Manzar Mehdi, Editor, 'Aap ki Taqat,' Guldasta Lane, Imambada, Faizabad, Telephone: 05278 225881 (o), 260111 (h), Mobile: 9415717975 or sayedmanzarmehdi@gmail.com
Additionally, we would also like to raise resources for him so that he may continue doing his journalism work as well as the much needed communal harmony work in Faizabad. If you would like to help please get in touch with us.

(1) Yugal Kishore Sharan Shashtri, Saryu Kunj, Durahi Kuan, Ayodhya, Dist. Faizabad, U.P., India, Mobile: 9451730269, e-mail: ayodhyakiawaz@yahoo.com
(2) Sandeep Pandey, A-893, Indira Nagar, Lucknow-226016, U.P., India, Telephone: 0522 2347365, Mobile: 9415022772, e-mail: ashaashram@yahoo.com

Over 70 arrested in Faizabad communal violence

The Times of India

by Ashish Tripathi, TNN | Oct 27, 2012, 11.20PM IST


LUCKNOW: Curfew continued in the violence hit areas of Faizabad on the third consecutive day on Saturday. The Eid-ul-Zuha festival of Muslims and the Bharat Milap episode of Ram Lila organised by Hindus were held under restrictions and heavy security arrangements.

The district administration heaved a sigh or relief as no major incident of violence was reported during the day. However, a war of words broke out between political parties with the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) blaming each other for communal flare up in Faizabad. Some relaxation in the curfew bound areas was given to allow Muslims offer special festival prayers in mosques of their respective localities.

On the request of the district administration, the minority community agreed not to assemble at the Eidgah for prayers as normally done on the occasion of the festival. On the other hand, the administration issued special passes for the people participating in Bharat Milap episode of Ram Lila. No gathering of audience was allowed. The officials persuaded the organisers of the six big Ram Lilas to postpone Ram Barat episode till lifting of the curfew from the entire district.

Communal violence was triggered by a dispute over immersion of Durga idol on Wednesday. So far, the violence has claimed two lives. Several shops and vehicles were set on fire by the arsonists. Over 70 persons have been arrested and 30 FIRs have been registered by police so far.

Additional director general (law and order) Jagmohan Yadav, who visited Faizabad on Saturday, told reporters that petrol bombs and kerosene oil in large quantity was recovered in the search operations, which indicates that some people vitiated peace and harmony of Faizabad in a planned manner.

Yadav said people found with petrol bombs have been arrested. He also said that the police is also keeping a close watch on any attempt to spread rumours and tension through sms or social networking sites or any other medium. Heavy posse of police, PAC and Rapid Action force has been deployed. Superintendent of police (SP), Sitapur, Deepak Kumar has been posted in Faizabad for 'special duty'. He may replace the present SP Ramit Sharma.

The state government has replaced four officers of the district so far after complaints that delayed response of the administration aggravated the crisis. District magistrate Deepak Agarwal told TOI that peace committees are being formed in every mohalla to help administration bring normalcy. Both young and elderly are being made part of the committees, which will not only keep an eye on trouble makers but also counter rumours to check violence. Meanwhile, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav described communal tension in Faizabad as a 'conspiracy', which he said would be exposed soon. Senior minister Shivpal Singh Yadav accused BJP and RSS of instigating communal hatred. However, BJP leader Vinay Katiyar blamed SP government for riots.

All India Secular Forum statement condemning violence in Faizabad

26 October 2012

All India Secular Forum

We condemn the attack on Mosque, the office of Aapki Takat and Shops of Muslims in Faizabad

On 24 October 2012, when the immersion procession of Durga was going on, a girl was molested by few miscreants. Making this as a pretext few people started stone throwing in the nearby areas. A rumor also spread in Faizabad that Muslims are doing the stone throwing. The mob went on to burn nearly 25 shops of Muslim traders. They also rampaged the office of bilingual (Urdu and Hindi) paper Aap Ki Takat. This paper is continuously giving the message of Peace and calling for Hindu-Muslim unity. They also rampaged the mosque.

According to local activist Yugal Kishore Sharan Shastri, this was a pre-planned attack. The editor of the paper Mehdi Manjar feels, this is an attempt to silence the voice of Peace. The police took long time to reach the spot and did not intervene effectively. Similarly the fire brigade also took four hours to reach, by which time the shops were totally destroyed.

Faizabad, neighboring Ayodhya, is a symbol of Peace. The act of communal forces in targeting the shops of Muslims, the mosque and the office of Aap ki Takat, is highly condemnable. We appeal to the local and state administration to bring in peace and to rehabilitate the violence victims on urgent basis. The owners of shops and the office of paper, Aap ki Takat, must be totally compensated for immediately. Strict action is needed against the police officials for neglect of their duty and also against the fire brigade for such a lapse on their part. The guilty must be punished with the due process of law

Asghar Ali Engineer, L.S. Hardenia, Ram Puniyani, Irfan Engineer Mohammad Arif

All India Secular Forum

Phoney Jihadis, Real Culprits !

by Subhash Gatade

Ramvilas Vedanti, a senior leader of the VHP, refuses to remain out of controversies for very long.

If last year he was caught in a sting operation by CNN-IBN alongwith many leading stalwarts of the spiritual world 'explaining how he changes black money into white albeit with little bit of commission', this year he reached headlines when he issued 'death sentence to Mr Karunanidhi supposedly for 'insulting Lord Ram'. One still remembers how he asked Muslims to 'vacate' the Parikrama area of Ayodhya after the 'terrorist attack in Ayodhya' with a specious argument that their presence in the area creates a feeling of insecurity. It is true that if one were to create a rating for making provocative statements then there would not be much controversy over the fact that Vedanti like his more famous colleagues in VHP is not very far behind.

But the latest controvery is a bizarre one.

On 30 th August he lodged a complaint with the Faizabad police alleging that he is receiving death threats from SIMI and Al-Qaeda . The district administration promptly provided him with additional security and his mobile phone was placed under electronic surveillance to track down the miscreants. And lo and behold ! Forget Al Qaeda or SIMI, to everyone's dismay the police caught Ramessh Tiwari, city president of Bajrang Dal in Katra and Pawan Pandey, a local convenor of Hindu Yuva Vahini from Katra in Gonda district.

The duo told the police that since their Guruji ( Ramvilas Vedanti) was not getting Z category security as enjoyed by VHP leaders like Ashok Singhal and Praveen Togadia, they took this step 'after Guruji gave us the consent'. It was obvious that Vedanti did not press the police to take any legal action against them and the duo was promptly released. ( Indian Express, 15 th Sept 2008).

One can just imagine the mayhem followers of Vedanti could have created and how they could have tried to polarise the whole atmosphere on communal lines if the police had not shown alertness.

It was worth emphasising that recently a group of sadhus led by Mahant Yugal Kishore Shastri, who is a Mahant of Saryu Kunj temple which is adjacent to the disputed Ram temple in Ayodhya, demanded legal action against Vedanti. A memorandum signed by 100 sadhus has been despatched to the Chief Minister's office demanding immediate arrest of Vedanti 'for conspiring to create communal violence in Ayodhya and adjoining areas.' It is also learnt that since Vedanti, an ex MP is also contemplating to contest the elections from Gonda, he was keen to create a riot type situation there.

A look down memory lane reveals that there was nothing 'creative' in the complaint lodged by Vedanti with the local police. In fact he was just copying one of his own colleagues from the Ram Mandir movement
It was only last year that Anil Chamadia, a leading journalist, media critic and social activist in his column on media affairs in the hindi magazine 'Kathadesh' provided details of a similar case when Mahant Nrityagopal Dal of the Ramjanambhoomi Nyas supposedly received a threat 'at the hands of the Al-Qaeda.' The newspapers also took up the case of the threat received by him in a big way claiming it to be a failure on part of the government to provide security to 'patriots'.Alongwith a fourty lined newsitem about this 'threat' a separate box item was added giving details of Ashok Singhal's and Praveen Togadia's reaction to the whole affair.

Mr Purushottam Narayan, a leader of the VHP even claimed that a 'threat to the Mahant is a challenge thrown by Al-Qaeda before the whole Hindu society which necessiates 'unity of Hindus at every level'.

The very next day truth about the whole affair was out. Santosh, one of the disciples of the Mahant was arrested in Haridwar and he revealed that he had himself written this letter as his Guruji (Nrityagopal Das) was not getting Z category security as enjoyed by VHP leaders like Ashok Singhal and Praveen Togadia. It was worth noting that the newspaper which had printed the 'threat received by Nrityagopal Das did not deem it necessary to publish the denial of the charges.

One can just go on citing examples where close associates of the saffron brigade engage in acts which go to stigmatise particular communities and strengthening negative attitude towards them.

While the followers of Vedanti or Nritya Gopal Das tried to utilise and further buttress the threat posed by the likes of Al Qaeda or SIMI their other brethren in the Hindutva brigade have no qualms in engaging in real terrorist acts by taking up a fake identity resembling a member of a minority community.

The Nanded bomb blast on 6 th April 2006 which killed two activists of Bajrang Dal has demonstrated how these Hindu terrorists engage in meticulous preparations to fake their identity. The fake beards and clothes worn by the minority community recovered from the perpetrators of the act demonstrated the modus operandi of these fanatics.