Although many people in Congress might not be ideologically communal, they are ‘opportunistically communal,’ says Prashant Bhushan, senior Supreme Court advocate and rights activist
Abdul Bari Masoud | Clarion India
NEW DELHI — Hindutva forces are attempting to create an Uttarakhand-like situation in the Congress-ruled neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) has said.
These attempts are being fuelled by the Congress government’s inaction and Islamophobic speeches by state ministers. These communal speeches alienated Muslims and escalated communal violence in Himachal Pradesh last month, according to an APCR fact-finding report titled ‘Creating The Muslim: Outsider; Hate Speech, Migrant Vulnerability, and Faltering Law & Order in Himachal Pradesh.’
“In September, Himachal Pradesh witnessed escalating communal tensions sparked by Hindutva groups protesting against the Sanjauli mosque in Shimla. The protests turned violent, with clashes between protesters and police resulting in injuries. The controversy centred around the mosque’s construction, deemed unauthorised by Hindutva organisations. Hindutva organisations demanded the mosque’s demolition, citing illegal construction. In response, the Muslim community offered to demolish the unauthorised section voluntarily, in compliance with a court ruling. However, tensions continued to rise and Hindutva groups advocated for the mosque’s complete demolition. The protests took a violent turn on September 11, with protesters clashing with police and attempting to breach barricades in Sanjauli. The Himachal Pradesh government deployed additional security forces to maintain law and order. From Sanjauli, the violent protests against Muslims spread to the entire Himachal including Shimla’s Nerwa and Kasumpti, Mandi, Chamba, Bilaspur, Una, Palampur, and Nagrota Bagwan of Kangra, Hamirpur, Sirmaur and other districts,” read the report which was released here on Tuesday.
The report was unveiled at a press meet in the presence of prominent activists, lawyers, journalists, and concerned citizens. It chronicles the harrowing series of events across various regions in Himachal Pradesh where the unfolding events have sparked widespread concern and debate.
Of late, Himachal Pradesh is experiencing a surge in Islamophobia, which is deplorably a spillover from the neighbouring Uttarakhand where the state-sponsored hate campaign against Muslims is spearheaded by none other than Hindutva poster boy Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
During the discussion on the report at the press meet, the panellists said the need for dialogue, understanding, and peaceful resolution has become increasingly urgent and imperative. They said the Congress should not play the soft Hindutva card as it would prove counterproductive for the party in the long run. They also demanded that the Congress should sack two ministers Vikramaditya Singh and Anirudh Singh in the Himachal Pradesh government who are speaking the RSS-BJP language and firmly deal with the communal and divisive elements.
Former Shimla deputy mayor Tikender Singh Panwar stated that migration is not a recent occurrence in Himachal and that all of the cities appeared on the map as a result of migration during British rule. Regarding the distinction between legal and illegal construction, he claimed that the high court building was among the unlawful constructions occurring at least in half of Shimla. He also disclosed that five of the 20 temples built on the forest land now have electrical connections.
Panwar highlighted the speeches made by two ministers, Vikramaditya Singh and Anirudh Singh. “This is not desired by any minister… that too of Congress… It is ridiculous, it is highly condemnable,” he said.
Echoing his views, Prashant Bhushan, senior Supreme Court advocate and rights activist, said that communalism is a disease. “Congress is not immune to this disease,” he remarked and said although many people in Congress might not be ideologically communal, they are opportunistically communal.”
Moreover, he maintained that a politician of Rahul Gandhi’s calibre ought to kick these people out of the party since Congress cannot play the communal game as well as the BJP. “Any attempt to do so would only benefit the BJP,” he said suggesting forming peace committees at city and district level to counter the fissiparous forces.
Another senior advocate of the Supreme Court, Sanjay Hegde, said that it should be a matter of grave concern that communal violence is increasing day by day. “Why is it spreading? One thing is that it is being carried out. People and political parties are taking advantage by spreading fissures like this,” Hegde said.
Underlying the word “fraternity” in the preamble of the Constitution, he said we should take a lesson from the break-up of Pakistan on the basis of language.
Former Planning Commission member, Dr Syeda Saiyidain Hameed brought into sharp focus the already well-known reality that “Muslims are being ghettoised in this country…it is becoming increasingly hard to breathe as a Muslim”. When asked about the role of civil society in doing something about the increasing levels of communal violence, she said, “We should come to our senses, lest we let our nation be destroyed.”
The event’s moderator, veteran journalist Pamela Philipose, opened the conversation by stating clearly that “communal agendas have trumped classroom agendas” in reference to the growing frequency and intensity of communal violence in India.
The fact-finding team gave a summary of their experiences before the discussion started.
“The Himachal government’s inability to uphold law and order is its biggest failure,” Nadeem Khan said.
Srishti Jaswal gave a thorough explanation of her observations, starting with the fact that the mosque committee had started the process of demolishing three floors of Sanjauli mosque: “They started the process of destroying the mosque yesterday. At the very least, they could have tried to wait. This is the environment there despite the Congress government being the one in power.”
She further highlighted that Muslims are being asked to provide character certificates from their home states to police in every district of Himachal Pradesh.
Independent journalist Kaushik Raj said Raqib Hameed Naik of Hindutva Watch, an independent research project that records hate crimes and hate speech against religious minorities in India, contacted him and said that “Pictures of mine and Nadeem have been made to go viral in the internal right-wing groups with the message that you both are terrorists and should be arrested.”
While a complaint has been registered in this regard with the Himachal Pradesh police, no action has been taken so far.
Haryana’s senior journalist, Ramandeep Kirtan, offered his perspectives and concisely described how the Himachal Pradesh communal tensions affected the recent Haryana elections and linked it to the presence of Himachal Pradesh-based BJP politicians during the elections in the state.
The report included testimonies from survivors and witnesses in Shimla, Sanjauli, Mandi, Solan, Kullu, and Palampur.
“I have been working here for four years and have never seen such an environment. Sanjauli was completely peaceful. But now I can see the atmosphere changing. During the protests, the entire Sanjauli market was shut. We opened the shop in the afternoon the next day after the administration assured us of our safety. Many Muslims, especially from UP who used to work as labourers and vendors have left in fear. We have invested a lot in our shops. We cannot leave like them overnight. The shop is on rent and our landlord has supported us. Even our house is on rent. The locals are supportive but we are very fearful of Hindutva organisations. We have also verified our identities at the local police station,” Altaf Hussain, 25, who works in a shop in the main Sanjauli market, told the fact-finding team.
“I have lived next to the mosque my entire life and I have never seen Muslims there misbehave with women. This controversy is created for a political game. There was no issue with the mosque before,” 55-year-old Sunita who lives near the mosque in Sanjauli and was a witness to the protest and vandalism by the Hindu far-right groups protesting against the mosque, said.
She said, “When the first Hindutva rally was called in Sanjauli on 1st September, an innocent Muslim vendor was hit on his head by protestors. He used to sell vegetables at the Sanjauli Chowk. Then again on 11th September, after the call of Vishwa Hindu Parishad when the protestors took over Sanjauli Mall Road, I was very scared. The vandalism was happening in front of my eyes. I couldn’t believe that so many violent people were there. I was alone in my house. As a Hindu, I was even scared for my safety.”
She further said, “Since the protests have started against Muslims, they have been really scared. They do not talk to anyone. I try to build their confidence in local Himachalis and many Muslim families have appreciated our support. But it is very difficult for them.”
“They call us outsiders, a specific community, which is a code word for discrimination against Muslims. I don’t like it. We are not outsiders or a specific community. In fact, I have to go to two weddings next week. Both of them are Hindus. We are a part of society here,” said Anwar Ali, 45, general secretary of the mosque committee.
The report, which urged the government to take proactive steps to ensure the security of Muslims — such as increasing police presence in sensitive areas and engaging in dialogue with community leaders — also recommended that the government deny permission for rallies that could incite communal conflicts, as identified by intelligence agencies or local authorities.
The report also called for fostering inclusive dialogue by promoting open communication between Hindu and Muslim communities to encourage understanding and peaceful resolution. it also demanded enhanced social media monitoring to track and counter inflammatory content on social media platforms.
