Riot poison in sugar bowl: Report from Muzaffarnagar before 2014 elections

The telegraph, April 9, 2014

Riot poison in sugar bowl
IMRAN AHMED SIDDIQUI IN MUZAFFARNAGAR
Sridhari, a resident of Pinna village, who thinks the villagers fail to understand ‘ugly politics’. Picture by Prem Singh

Mithaas mein zehar ghol diya hai (The sweet atmosphere has been poisoned).

Sridhari, 62, captures the prevailing distrust between Muslims and Jats-Dalits and how the riots last year have sowed seeds of poison in the sugar bowl of India.

She is eagerly waiting for April 10 to teach a certain political party a lesson for manufacturing hatred among people and separating her neighbour and close friend Haseena, who fled to a “safer” village along with her husband and children following the riots.

“Gaon ke log murkh hain jo gandi rajneeti samajh nahin pate (People in villages are stupid, so they fail to understand ugly politics),” Sridhari says, sitting on a charpoy and drawing on a hookah in the verandah of her home in Pinna, around 8km from Muzaffarnagar city in western Uttar Pradesh.

She is busy campaigning in her village of 1,200 households, mostly Jats and Dalits, and has taken upon herself to ensure her fellow villagers vote for the candidate who is an “achha insaan (good human being)” and not along communal lines. The village is known for Hindu-Muslim unity and the two communities voted as one in the past elections.

“Vote for the candidate who looks after the poor and has love for both Hindus and Muslims,” she tells a group of 20 villagers.

At Pinna, a group of watchful Hindus and sane voices led by Sridhari and gram pradhan Ramdhan Chowdhury had protected 105 Muslim households from attackers. It still stands out in a belt blighted by fear and suspicion and where polarisation along religious lines continues unabated.

A large posse of policemen and paramilitary personnel was seen marching in “sensitive” villages. “This sight is alien to people of this area, where Hindus and Muslims have always lived in peace,” says schoolteacher Jogesh Singh.

Hundreds of Muslim families living in refugee camps in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts have a common prayer on their lips — aman wapas ho (Peace be restored).

“Muslims are safe only because of secular Hindus who protected us by fighting off members of their own community,” says Mohammed Athar, who runs a grocery shop in Muzaffarnagar town.

He said the BJP needed to change its nazaria (outlook) if it wanted to woo Muslims. “Muslims can embrace the BJP, provided it changes its outlook towards the community,” Athar says.

Akhtar Ali, a day labourer, adds: “All the parties should not forget that nobody can get an absolute majority if Hindu and Muslim votes are divided along communal lines.”

He was part of a group of six who were having animated discussions on politics and election results over tea in a shop in Muzaffarnagar city. They belonged to different castes and religions — two were Muslims, one belonged to a Scheduled Caste and two were Jats.

“Development is not an election issue in this belt,” says Ranveer Singh, a Jat. The others in the group nod in agreement.

He draws attention to the divide and how the riot had changed the social fabric and soured the poll pitch.

Speculation is rife about the Samajwadi Party’s alleged role in engineering the Muzaffarnagar riots to ensure its minority vote bank.

Shahbaz Khan, an electrician, says: “This Modi wave is the media’s creation. Our secular Hindu brothers do not like him.”

For 70-year-old Bhateri Begum, elections are far from her mind as she does not know when she will return to her village, Kankra. Living in a makeshift tiny camp in Shahpur, she is more concerned about the survival of her eight family members.

“I will vote for the party that gives me money,” she says.

Bhateri has not heard of Modi or any candidate.

The story is the same in relief camps in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli, where nearly 30,000 families are living.

Most parts in western Uttar Pradesh are polarised.

Muslims speak of voting for candidates from the community fielded by the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party as there is anger against the Congress for allegedly not doing anything for the Muslims. They said they would vote for the party that has a substantial chance of ensuring the BJP’s defeat.

The Jats and a section of Dalits have been attracted to the BJP and Modi. Many Jats who earlier talked about communal harmony now want Modi as Prime Minister. “Muslims will become the majority in another 20 years. What will happen to us?” asks Sompal Singh, 55.

He says this will be the first time Jats would vote for the BJP and desert their peasant leader, Ajit Singh.

The possibility of Muslim votes getting split between the Samajwadis and the BSP cannot be ruled out. This will benefit the BJP.

“We have to stop the communal forces and that’s the only paramount issue in this election for Muslims,” says Maulana Jawed Qasmi, the imam of Shahpur.

“Many Hindus do not like Modi and his communal agenda. And our faith in them got strengthened when we witnessed how they saved so many Muslims from attackers during the riots,” the imam adds.

● Muzaffarnagar votes on April 10