With the current riots in Uttar Pradesh, civil society in Lucknow is re-assessing the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP)'s record in tackling communalism.
UP-based political activist Ram Kumar told Business Standard even in 1992, when UP was judged to have seen the worst communal tension ever in the wake of the Babri Masjid demolition, the state police and paramilitary forces were used to quell violence. This is the first time in recent history that the Army has been deployed in UP.
Since SP has come to power in UP in 2011, a 100 small and big caste and communal riots have taken place. Many of these have been over trivial issues such as garbage dumping (leading to a clash between Dalits and Muslims) and perceived encroachment on Waqf land. But the massing of two communities on such a large scale, and that too in rural areas, political observers say, is a first.
The empowerment of one community should not be seen as disempowerment of another but often is. When Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati was in power, her patronage to the Dalit community led to a feeling that whatever their crime, Dalits would not be prosecuted. This was reported to have led to encroachment of Waqf property which, in turn, led to tension between Dalits and Muslims. This tension was exacerbated when the SP came to power, supposedly on the back of the Muslim vote and the Muslims allegedly tried to get their encroached land back.
In the initial days of the SP coming to power, the pattern of communal tension was different. But as the clamour for Narendra Modi became louder and Amit Shah was announced the BJP's man in charge of Uttar Pradesh, a campaign began to get Modi to UP to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. This led to Muslim fears and insecurities, which manifested themselves through exaggerated assertions of the need for protection.
The last such event was the suspension of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal who was targeted by the state government allegedly because action taken by her caused religious tension. Nagpal warned persons in a Muslim-dominated village against attempting to build a mosque on government land. No complaint was made by villagers and they razed the construction themselves. But Nagpal was suspended.
