A report by Mohit Ranadip and Subha Protim.

 

On 25th, 29th and 30th March of 2022, we went to North-east Delhi’s Shiv Vihar, on behalf of Aamra Ek Sachetan Prayas. We wanted to interact and converse with riot-victims of Delhi, who were at the receiving end of the ghastly riot that happened in February 2020. The purpose is to highlight the trials and tribulations of the riot-victims. Though we wanted to meet more people, it was not possible this time. Sometimes we met the victims privately. But at times, we had to talk to them while surrounded by a crowd. It was difficult. Here we present the gist of their accounts – the plight and agony of some of the victims, in the backdrop of a blood smeared map of a riot that broke out in Delhi in February 2020.

 

Background of the riots

 

The whole country erupted in protest at the heights of the anti-NRC and anti-CAA movement. A new charter in history was being written in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh. A sit-in demonstration by Muslim women started on 15 December 2019 at Shaheen Bagh in protest against the brutal crackdown by the Delhi Police on the students of Jamia Millia University, who were opposing the Citizen Amendment Act, 2019, passed by the Modi government in parliament. Shaheen Bagh soon became the symbol of the anti-CAA protest movement, organized and led by Muslim women. They protested against the unconstitutional and unethical ways through which citizenship rights of Muslims were targeted and the spot became a confluence of various social-democratic movements. That current of protest was also directed against unemployment, poverty, caste and religious discrimination. Shaheen Bagh envisaged the rainbow of social harmony.

 

Every day we heard anti-CAA protests spreading to new areas. Jaffrabad, Chandbagh, Khazoori Khas, old Mustafabad, Seelampur, Turkman Gate, Kordompuri, Sundar Nagari, Lalbaagh of North East Delhi, Nizamuddin, Hauz Rani of south Delhi, Sadar Bazar of North Delhi became the hub of protests. The whole country witnessed the slogans and songs that reverberated at every nook and corner of Jama Masjid and India Gate. The rest of the country also joined in the chorus. Its spirit permeated throughout the country. The sustained protest movements defying all odds by Muslim women at Rajabazar and Park Circus in Kolkata drew the whole country’s attention.

 

The ruling dispensation at the centre was pondering before taking any hurried step. They thought that the protests would fizzle out within a few days, the common masses, students and youth community and the civil society would not be able to sustain the movement for long. In order to break the movement they tried to sabotage it from within. They even tried to intimidate and threaten the protesters. The protesters were abused, branded as ‘anti-national’, ‘spies of Pakistan’, and part of ‘tukre- tukre gang’. But all these efforts came to naught. The protests took the form of an all-India mass movement gaining support and solidarity from other social movements and democratic forces. Singing Jana-Gana-Mana the protesters held aloft the national flag. It seemed the whole country was participating in a second War of Independence. One evening, we witnessed one such protest at the India Gate. The slogans that were raised there touched a chord in our heart.

 

‘Oh desh hamara Hindustan

(Oh this country is our favourite Hindustan)

Pyara pyara Hindustan

(Our most beloved Hindustan)

Dil ki Dhadkan Hindustan, Gulshan gulshan Hindustan

(Hindustan is like our heartbeat. It is like a beautiful garden)”

 

Even the tourists present at India Gate joined in the sloganeering.

 

“Khudai khidmatgar ka Hindustan

(Hindustan that belongs to the servants of God)

Bhagat Singh ka Hindustan

(Hindustan that belonged to Bhagat Singh)

Azad Hind Ka Hindustan

(Hindustan that belonged to Azad Hind)

Ashfaq ka Hindustan

(Hindustan that belonged to Asfaq.)

Gadar Party ka Hindustan

(Hindustan that belonged to Gadar Party)

Surya Sen ka Hindustan”

(Hindustan that belonged to Surya Sen)

 

Even the disinformation campaign launched by the rulers yielded nothing. Everyone anticipated that something ominous was lurking behind the cloud. The pungent smell of gun-powder was in the air, the dubious plot of the state apparatus did not forebode well for the future. The BJP was in a spot after noticing the ever-increasing numbers of protesters in North-east Delhi. Provocative hate-filled speeches laced with communal venom and overt threat were hurled at the protesters to instigate them.

 

On 30 January, 1948, Mahatma Gandhi courted martyrdom at the hands of Hindutva Vadi far-rights. On that day, one Gopal emerged from an anti-CAA rally and marched towards the police. (At first he identified himself as Sarjil Khan. Later it became known that his real name was Gopal. On Facebook he called himself Ram Bhakt Gopal.) Suddenly, Gopal made a U-turn and brandishing a revolver in hand started threatening the people in the rally. He started shouting “kise chahiye azadi, samne a deta hoon. (Who wants freedom? Come forward I will give him)”. At that point, a Kashmiri student of Jamia, Shadab Farook, offered his hands of friendship and tried to dissuade him, saying “Hold down your gun friend. Let’s talk.” But the descendant of Nathurm Godse did not relent. He fired from his revolver. Farook was hit on his hand. It got drenched in blood.

 

In this way, Gandhiji and his lofty ideals of communal harmony are smeared in blood, almost every day.

 

In January, 2020, the ruling dispensation started to organise processions in support of the CAA. In tandem with these efforts, the leaders and ministers of BJP started giving vitriolic speeches. On 23 February, BJP leader Kapil Mishra, tweeted against the sit-in demonstration of Muslim women in Jaffrabad. He categorically wrote “Stop another Shaheen Bagh.” In evening, he participated in another pro-CAA procession in Maujpur Chowk, which is one kilometre from Jafrabad. From that procession, Kapil Mishra threatened that within three days Delhi police should force the women to call off their demonstration at Jafrabad. He said to the Deputy Commissioner of Police standing beside him, “DCP sir is present here. I told him that we would remain peaceful till Donald Trump stays in our country. After that we would not pay heed to your words if the protest movement continues. We entreat you to take measures to vacate the demonstration from the road in Jafrabad and Chandbagh before the departure of Trump. Otherwise we took to the streets.”

 

It must be mentioned that throughout December 2019, from numerous processions and gatherings, Kapil Mishra was spewing venom on the anti-CAA protesters. On 23 February 2021, communal riots started in Delhi after the vitriolic speeches of Kapil Mishra. Within 29 February the riots spread to many parts of Delhi. (Source: Amnesty International, Investigative Briefing, Page-5, 28 August, 2020)

 

The Delhi police is under the Home ministry and the minister of the concerned department is Amit Shah. The two main persons in power in Gujarat during the riots there are currently our Prime minister and Home minister. The role of police in the Gujarat genocide has been elaborated upon in her investigative book Gujarat Files by Rana Ayub. In Cry, My Beloved Country, Harsh Mander has discussed what forced him to bid adieu to the administrative service. In order to get a grasp of what happened during riots in Gujarat, the interested readers can watch the movie Firaaq by Nandita Das. And we saw the same role of the police in the slums of Delhi in February 2020. The marginalized poor Muslim men faced administrative discrimination, repression and high-handedness. They solely became the victim because they were religious minorities. The rioters set fire to the houses of the people belonging to the religious minorities at the behest of the ruling class, and throughout the whole period of riots, the law enforcing agencies remained passive onlookers.

 

On 26 February, the Delhi High Court in Harsh Mander VS Delhi Government case (W/P 565/2020) directed the Delhi police to register FIR against Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma within one day, and that it should be based upon a ‘conscious decision’. No FIR had been registered against the political leaders by the Delhi Police.

 

Many houses were set ablaze in the calculated violence. Hundreds were injured and thousands fled their homes. In this riot, 55 persons lost their lives cutting across different religions namely Hindu, Muslim and Sikh. 22 mosques, many madrasas, majars and graveyards had been attacked.

(Source – Minority Commission Report, https://archive.org/details/dmcfact-report-2020, “Delhi Riots Death Toll At 53, Here Are the Names of 51 of the Victims”, The Wire, March 06, 2020)

 

The communal violence snatched away the kith and kin of many hapless citizens, destroyed their livelihood, peace and security, and assurance of leading a life with dignity. It had left deep scars on the psyche of hapless children, aged-persons and women. The long lasting deep wounds and extreme insecurity were conducive for breeding mutual mistrust and utter suspicion.

 

Bullet-riddled youth

 

It was just the beginning of the prayer of Maghrib (one of the five mandatory salah or prayers). Evening had set in. Muhammad Sameer was walking rather hastily. He was a juvenile of 15 years. He was studying in class nine. An Ijtema (a prayer meeting) was held in Delhi’s Koshab Colony. Sameer was returning from there.

 

Sameer: Tension was palpable everywhere. But I didn’t imagine such a thing would happen in this area. Suddenly I heard the sound of gun-shots near the nahar (stream).

 – Then?

Sameer: I lost my sense. Later, I learnt that two-three people brought me to the ground floor of our house. My parents rushed down from the first floor, and seeing my condition, an ambulance was called in. When I regained consciousness, I found myself in a hospital. Four bullets had pierced my hip and backbone. After the operation, I was put on ventilator support. From the MRI report, I came to know that my backbone had been fractured. I had no chance.

 – What chance are you talking about?

Sameer: I would not be able to walk again.

The conversation stopped here. It lost track in the maze of silence that followed. A pall of speechlessness descended upon us. It seemed that the shroud of darkness like at the time of the solar eclipse had engulfed us in that small attic of the second floor building. A youth was lying on a cot with his incapacitated legs. In the next room, eight years old Hafeeza, the sister of Sameer, was studying, waving back and forth. Sameer’s parents rummaged through his medical reports while sitting on the floor.

 

In a super-specialty hospital of Delhi, a renowned doctor who treated Sameer did not offer any hope. He told them that their son would not be able to walk any more. “There is no hope left.  But Kolkata is a big city. We have heard Bengali doctors can perform magic. If… “, said his father.

 

Muhaammad Jakir earned a meagre salary. He told us “Long ago, we came to Delhi from our village in Uttar Pradesh. There we never witnessed communal riots.”

 – Why do such incidents happen? What is your opinion?

Jakir : Dirty politics. They consider Muslims as enemies.

– Who are they? Are they Hindus?

Jakir : No no. Not all Hindus are like that. I am talking about BJP.

– What is the present situation? Is there any possibility of further communal flare-up?

Jakir : Till now it is peaceful. But who knows whether there would be communal violence again or not!

– Do you visit Uttar Pradesh, your village?

Jakir : Now all our relatives live around Delhi. In Uttar Pradesh the government is run by Jogi.

– The whole country has changed so rapidly?

Jakir : Exactly. We have never seen this before.

 

Sameer looked with rapt attention at the medical reports regarding his condition in my hands. Our conversation resumed.

 

– Which class did you read in at that time?

Sameer: I was in class nine, when I was hit by bullets.

– What is the name of your school?

Sameer: Government Boys S.R. School.

– Have you appeared in Madhyamik (Class 10 exams)?’

Sameer: Yes, I appeared.

– Online?

Sameer: Yes. The result is not out yet. It will be out soon.

– How will you carry on your studies? Any plan?

Sameer: I have thought about online courses, from the open education system.

 

After a few days, we again visited Sameer’s house. At that time Sameer told us “In the meantime we have not experienced anything fearsome. But people here still live in panic. You know, in our locality, even the youth belonging to Hindu community do not venture out frequently. They are also panic-stricken. I feel sad. Our slum is not like before.”

 

While returning, we advised Sameer to jot down his thoughts. If we really value the thoughts of a youth, who was hit by a bullet, we would perhaps be able to free ourselves from the pernicious virus of hatred and mistrust.

 

Those who extinguished the lights of your lamp

 

When we met him in Shiv Vihar, it was about twelve in the noon. His wife was running a grocery shop on the ground floor. In the upper-storey, her husband sat motionless and speechless. He resembled a statue.

Muhammad Wakil was fifty two years old. The communal riot of 2020 had snatched away his eyes. Tears streamed down from his right eye.

 

Muhammad Wakil’s version:

“They had snapped the electricity connection. It was all-encompassing darkness. Our house is small and quite old. I thought of going to the roof. We went to the roof. We realised if we stayed there we would not be able to save our lives! We should flee elsewhere. I leaned beneath from the balcony to watch the road below, someone flung a glass bottle! It hit my face. I thought it was a brick or a stone! I sat down on the roof and could not see anything! Blood started oozing out. Munni’s mother (his wife) noticed the blood. I did not realised till then that it was an acid-filled bottle that hit me. There was a burning sensation all over my body. I lost my consciousness. Somehow we escaped from here and took shelter in a mosque. It was quarter to nine pm. As the riot started, most of the people fled their homes. They took refuge in the mosque. Hindus and Muslims got embroiled into head-on clashes. Some took shelter on their roofs. Even Marwary families took shelter on the roofs.  

 

When it seemed that violence was abated a little bit, we mustered the courage to come out. It was a quarter to three am in the morning. Signs of mayhem were visible all around. Rioters had set fire to gas cylinders. The situation was horrible to say the least. I was in a disastrous state. We walked along the drains crisscrossing the area. Through alley no 18 we reached Chamanlal Park. At that time an acute feeling of burning sensation started in my chest. An ambulance was arranged. We reached Urban Hospital at 6.30 am. When I got released from the hospital, the lockdown started. I visited Doctor despite many hardships. This incident wrecked such havoc upon my life.

 

The treatment continued. There was no progress. For one year we wandered aimlessly at the hospital. We only got date after date. We had sent medical documents related to my condition to a hospital in Chennai. From there we got a phone call. We went there on 29th September. The treatment there started. My condition has slightly improved (he indicated to his right eye). I can discern that you are sitting there but cannot see you properly.”

– Do you get help for your treatment from any organisation?

Wakil : Yes. Kaer Bhai is making arrangements for travel, accommodation. Naseer Bhai is bearing the expense of hospital treatment.

(Later we learnt that one Muslim charitable organization was bearing the cost of treatment.)

“Here the AAP government is in power. Did you get any support from them?”

Wakil: In two installments I got twenty thousand rupees and one lakh eight thousand rupees respectively. I don’t know whether I received any other amount. My daughter may know that. At that time I was admitted to the hospital. Even now I am not fully aware of the whole scenario.”

– What did you do to earn a living?”

Wakil : I had a small shop. The one you would have noticed on the ground floor. It used to run quite smoothly. Our customer’s were quite satisfied with our service. But now we are left with nothing. There is no one to oversee the business (he pointed to his disability). Now the shop is limping. Sometimes one or two customers come. For two years the situation has been like this. 25th February destroyed everything.

– Did you recognize anyone that night? It is quite clear that if one does not know Muslim households such things can’t happen.

Wakil: No, I was not able to identify them. They knew which households belong to Hindus or which ones belong to Muslims.  But I was not able to identify them. (He had panic in his voice). But I can say that if the police wanted it could have contained the riots more effectively.

– Why do you feel that?

Wakil: We stay here for such a long time. Such a thing never occurred before. The administration could have taken effective measures to contain the riots.”

 

Role of the police

 

In this regard we can look into published versions of two women who described their trials and tribulations.

 

Shabnam had lost her husband in this riot. She said “My husband called the police. Even my father tried to contact me repeatedly. The police wanted to know our location and address. We gave them our exact location. But they did not arrive.  At 1 am, when our house was set ablaze, I  again phoned the police. They replied why are you pestering us?” We have sent a patrol van. It arrived, but only after everything got charred.”

 

Kamalesh Uppal recounted the panic-stricken state:

“In the afternoon they broke open the lock of our house and set fire to it. We have been living here for twenty two years. But such a thing did not happen earlier. It is quite strange when I think about that day. They destroyed everything. We sought police help. But they arrived after three days of mayhem. Unimaginable.”

 

Both the riot affected Hindu and Muslim pinned the blame upon the police for their dubious role during the riots. The riot was allowed to spread. It became quite evident that in order to stop the protest movement against CAA, communal riot was engineered in an organised way. Whether it was the Sikh pogrom of 1984 or the Delhi riot in February 2020, the needle of suspicion points towards the role of Delhi police. But still they enjoyed impunity. Apart from the police, the Union Home Ministry is also accountable. The political leaders who spewed communal venom should be brought to task. But who will bell the cat!

 

Shiv Vihar

 

On the other side of the drain there were several bakeries manufacturing bread and biscuits. Many people of this locality are closely associated with this business. Though it was predominantly a Muslim populated area but still a few Hindu families live here. It first became the target of an attack on 24 February, 2020. Lalbagh is twenty metre walking distance from Shiv Vihar. Hindus hailing from the Gujjar community lived there. In the annals of history Gujjars were portrayed as warriors and rulers. At present they were steeped into illiteracy and poverty. In Gujarat and Punjab they are categorised as Backward Castes. The local populace of Shiv Vihar told us that the Gujjars from Laalbagh took a pivotal role in orchestrating the attack on the minorities in Shiv Vihar on 24 February, 2020. This picture is ubiquitous throughout the country; the people from the disadvantaged sections of the society, who are themselves economically and socially discriminated against, are roped in to perpetrate attacks on religious minorities.

 

In Shiv Vihar, when evening had just descended, a bullet hit Muhammad Sameer’s backbone. He became incapacitated and he lost his ability to walk. In the same locality, when the Muslim community was at the receiving end, a Hindu housewife named Sudha, stood up and protested against the ravage, arson and plunder. Her efforts saved the lives of many Muslims. At present she is associated with Aman Biradari Trust run by Karwan e Mohabbat, an organisation formed by social activist Harsh Mander. We interacted with Taranuum at the office of Aman Biradari Trust in Shiv Vihar. In this office, many women who were the victims of this ghastly riot gather regularly. They have lost everything. They lost their family members. Their houses had been set ablaze. This riot had snatched away their livelihoods. We met those women who were mostly within the age group of below thirty. Among fifteen women, only two were Hindus and the rest were Muslims. Here we got the opportunity to meet the courageous Sudha. She recounted the horrendous experiences of the days of riot. According to her

“We have been living here for a long time. Never had we counted Muslim neighbors as our enemies. In times of distress they stood beside us. If we do not resist the attack unleashed upon them then how can we call ourselves human beings?”

 

We conversed with Sgufta, Khusnaj, Mehnaaj, Rubi, Najish, Anjum and Mumtaj. They were also the worst victims of extreme poverty. They had to struggle hard to eke out a living. The fear of the monster of the communal strife was still lurking in their minds. During the pandemic, they made three-layered masks and sold them. But the habit of wearing masks has now declined. The nagging thought of earning a livelihood threw them into a pool of depression. The male members of their families have lost their jobs. Though the process of healing the wounds in the physique had started, the deep laceration in the mind remained intact. Not only in sleep but even while awake, the thought of communal strife sent shivers down their spines. Many among them bore the marks of stress and anxiety. The manifestation of depression was also noticeable. When they recounted the experiences, tears rolled down their eyes. The gory and macabre nights of communal strife were still predominant in their memories. They were the ideal case study of Prolonged Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

 Many of them had escaped from their homes and took refuge in Chamanlal Park. Some took shelter in the nearest mosques. Some women ran with new-born babies in their laps. Many saw their homes plundered and houses set ablaze. Like the socially backward Gujjar they had built their houses brick by brick. But the tragic irony is that they are not able to unite against their common enemy – that is poverty.

 

The communal fire was not doused in 2020. The ruling BJP wants to keep it smouldering till the general election of 2024. Ram Mandir agenda has expired. Abrogation of article 370 is complete. So they have resorted to the ploy of spreading hatred by hate campaigns through Kashmir Files, CAA, Hijab, Uniform Civil Code in order to keep the communal hearth burning. The armed procession of Ramnavami also adds fuel to the fire. This year also the armed procession during Ram Navami tried to foment trouble before mosques by instigating the minorities. The Muslims didn’t respond to the provocations. Despite that, the administration proclaimed them as offenders and set bulldozers over their houses. Though the verdict of the court and the pro-activeness of the Left workers stalled the demolition drive, still we do not perceive any let-up in spreading of the communal virus in the foreseeable future. Perhaps our collective protest is the only weapon of resistance.

 

We acknowledge the valuable contributions of  Insaf, Karwan- e- Mohabbat, Aman Biradari Trust and the accounts of riot-inflicted people who shared their agony with us. 

Translated from Bengali by Joydip Ghosal.