Economic Times - Dec 6, 2013
Riot Survivors: Victims who retain the memory
by CP Bhambhri
An inter-religious violent conflict, commonly described as a communal riot, not only leads to killing of innocent men and women and destruction of property, it leads to flight of those targeted from their residence. They end up in so-called relief camps. It is not only that more than 45 Muslims were killed in the Muzaffarnagar and Shamli riots of September 8, 9, 10, 2013 in Uttar Pradesh, 70,000 residents of these riot affected areas are still living as "displaced" persons in "refugee camps" because they do not feel secure to return to their homes.
According to home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, there have been 451 communal incidents this year already while the total count last year was 410. The "survivors" of communal riots are not only condemned to live with painful memories of the "dead" but also expected to struggle with their new status as displaced persons, something bound to "condition" their whole personality, attitude and ways of life.
Riot survivors are likely to develop negative attitudes towards society on the basis of their experiences. First, a section of "victim-survivors" are, on the basis of their own bitter experiences, likely to lose their confidence in the capacity of the Indian state to protect the life and property of religious minorities. The victims of riots spoke to PM Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, when they visited "refugee camps" on September 6 that "we pleaded for help but the police did not come. We had to flee ...."
Second, a section, at least, of aggrieved survivors can be persuaded to take the law into their own hands and act in a vengeful manner. These refugee camps can become a breeding ground for hostile sentiments among the victims. Third, a refuge camp may become a place for shared bitterness among the victims not only against the other religious community but also against the whole system of governance of a country. Rahul Gandhi was "admonished" by the Election Commission and leaders of many political parties when he stated at Muzzaffarnagar that Pakistan's ISI is in contact with angry Muslim victims of the riot. The fact is that the feelings of anger, hurt and humiliation among a section of survivors of communal riots can tempt some to fall prey to forces inimical to society.
Those killed are no more. Their memory survives. But can it be denied that the Students Islamic Movement of India or the Indian Mujahideen or other violent and religiously motivated groups have emerged on the Indian scene after the 1990s? The Ram-Janmabhumi movement, which led to the destruction of the Babri Mosque at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992 and the large-scale communal riots which took place in the country clearly divided Indian society. Can these contexts be ignored? Fourth, frequent inter-religious riots have led to the ghettoisation of targeted Muslim minorities, who seek security of life by living together. Why are the Muslims of Muzzaffarnagar not volunteering, inspite of financial compensation, to go back to their home and villages? The refugee camps are considered safe because the victimised religious community has developed a feeling of togetherness with their co-religionists.
The worst impact of frequent communal violence is that the victims passively accept that they are fated to live along with the Hindu majority as "second-class citizens". The survivors of such tragedies transmit their experiences of deprivation and dispossession to coming generations and the best evidence is provided by the post-Partition "refugee population" which still remains tied to the bitter memories of the post-1947 communal holocaust. The past continues to haunt and every repetition of the same experiences, if faced by a new generation, strengthens the feeling of difference and separateness among religious communities.
The anti-Sikh riots of 1984 in Delhi are still part of the memory of this community and Muslims of Gujarat continue to live under the impact of post-Godhra riots of 2002. Narendra Modi is identified by the Muslims with the riots of 2002. Why is Modi making extra efforts to mobilise Muslims for his election meetings? Because he wants to erase the bitter memories of the Muslims of Gujarat.
The upshot of the above narrative is clear: frequent occurrences of collective violence in a multi-religious society solidify feelings of otherness and separateness. This is the reason the short-and-long-term consequences of these bitter memories should not be ignored by the political leadership.
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