Mail Today, 10 October 2009
Politics of hatred grips Maharashtra hinterland
By Krishna Kumar in Sangli ( Maharashtra)
BJP may gain as Sangli boils over clashes between two communities
POLITICS of hatred has cast its dark shadow over assembly elections in Maharashtra’s Sangli district.
A riot triggered by Muslim miscreants has led to the consolidation of Hindutva forces here.
On September 3, a poster put up by a local Ganesh utsav mandal showing Maratha warrior Shivaji slaying Mughal general Afzal Khan sparked a riot, the wounds of which are fresh.
Some Muslim radicals in Miraj took objection to the poster that led to stone throwing incidents in which Ganesh idols were damaged.
A month on, peace prevails, but political parties, especially the BJP, are out to cash in on communal sentiments.
Suresh Khade, the BJP candidate from Miraj in Sangli, is not campaigning in minority- dominated areas — he doesn’t have to — and by all accounts, would win hands down.
The riots have communally polarised the populace to such an extent that a huge percentage of Hindus will vote for Khade. A similar situation prevails in the Sangli seat where another BJP candidate Sambhaji Pawar is sitting pretty knowing the polarisation will see him through.
The Hindus are angry after the idols were vandalised. Many mandals refused to immerse their idols till they were allowed to put up the poster. But the administration did not budge and after more than a week of stalemate, the police forced the mandals to immerse the idols.
To cash in on these sentiments, the saffron party is telling the electorate to take ‘ revenge’ on the Congress- NCP government for the “ humiliation”. “ The Muslims did not have any reason to be angry as the poster was not against their community, yet they broke our idols and the police and the government did nothing. Why should we vote for the Congress- NCP?” asks Sanjay Kadam of Miraj.
Imran Ilyas Naikwadi, a social worker in Miraj, who also runs an NGO, admits that a few criminals were involved in the stoning incident which sparked off the violence.
“ The situation could have been controlled, Muslims do not have a problem with the poster, I repeat that it was some criminals who did it and we went and apologised, but no one was ready to listen,” Naikwadi adds.
He says the clashes were controlled the same day, but CDs and photographs of the damaged idols began circulating which sparked riots again on September 4. Naikwadi believes the situation will become normal soon.
However, the BJP, which is assured of victory, is still talking of “ vengeance”. Two nationallevel leaders have come to Miraj over the past week and have been telling people to show their “ anger” through the ballot boxes.
Khade, however, justified BJP’s campaigning. “ The Hindus are bound to be angry with the government for the way the whole issue was handled. We are going to get benefit out of it as the people know we are a Hinduvadi party,” Khade says.
The saffron party and its rhetoric have led to a few parts of Sangli and nearby areas like Kolhapur witnessing vandalising and looting of shops and business establishments belonging to people of the minority community.
In many villages, local Hindu outfits have told villagers not to patronise shops belonging to Muslims. Areas like Kavte Piran, Ichalganji ( a textile town), Elavi and Kolhapur have seen Hindus boycotting Muslim shops.
This ‘ economic blockade’ appears to be the result of a systematic campaign by radical Hindu outfits. For instance, immediately after the riots, incendiary pamphlets were distributed freely among the Hindu populace.
Sangli district collector acknowledged the pamphlets were distributed but said they have been stopped.
