If the police had a free hand to quell the violence, the Muzaffarnagar riots could have been contained sooner
Communal riots in Muzaffarnagar have so far taken 48 lives and caused immense destruction of property. The toll is expected to rise as some people are missing. Muzaffarnagar and its surrounding areas had not witnessed communal violence for quite sometime and Hindus and Muslims lived in peace. During the tenure of Ms Mayawati as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, the State, which had earlier witnessed communal riots, remained free of such incidents because the administration was prompt and decisive in dealing with problems. But the situation took a sudden turn for the worse with the Samajwadi Party coming in power.
Chief Minster Akhilesh Yadav has not delivered on his pledge of good governance and firm law enforcement. During the last one year Uttar Pradesh has become a communal cauldron. One of the factors responsible for the rapid deterioration of the situation is the ruling party's all-out efforts to consolidate its Muslim vote-bank by projecting itself as the zealous custodian of their interests.
The events leading to communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar show how small incidents, if not firmly addressed in the beginning, snowball into violent confrontations. The incident of eve-teasing on August 27 at Muzaffarnagar was followed by clashes between Jats and Muslims, who were otherwise living in harmony. The Mahapanchayat organised by the Jats to protest against the allegedly partisan conduct of the police was attended by 1.5 lakh people from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi. Slogans were raised and the stage was set for large scale communal disturbances in Muzaffarnagar and nearby villages. It was an administrative blunder to allow the Mahapanchayat.
The situation worsened following incidents of firing, stone pelting and violence in which a IBN7 journalist Rajesh Verma and a photographer of the State police were killed. Though, the situation has now calmed down and curfew relaxed after massive deployment of Army, police and paramilitary forces, the cauldron is still simmering.
The riot exposed the the political leadership which was effete and indecisive. Clear orders should have come from the Chief Minister to deal with the situation firmly and nip in the bud efforts of vested groups to cause trouble. There were clear reports of communal tension. The Union Minister for Home Affairs stated that the State Government didn’t pay heed to the warnings given by the intelligence agencies and failed to take steps to douse the communal fire.
There was also a clear failure on part of the police which did not take decisive steps to tackle the situation. While responding to communal riots, the police have to make a distinction between communal disturbances and general law and order situations where there should be restrained use of force. Though rules prescribe that the police should use fire arms as a last resort in dealing with unlawful associations, there should be no hesitation during communal riots to open fire to break up a riotous mob.
Another ground rule is that whenever there is apprehension of communal trouble, the police must swiftly nab anti-social elements who take advantage of the situation and indulge in looting, arson and murder. Senior officers must take with a pinch of salt pleas from subordinates that anti-socials have gone underground and could not be traced. A study of the cases of stabbing during communal disturbances has shown that the perpetrators were known goondas and not law abiding citizens in a communal frenzy.
Nothing destroys the morale and discipline of the police more than interference by extraneous elements in their core functions. Senior officers have to take a firm stand against political interference in police operations in tense law and order situations.
In the Muzaffarnagar case, police have already nabbed some rioters and registered cases against them. For investigation of such cases, special investigating squads under the State Crime Investigation Department should be set up. Sometimes State Governments withdraw cases registered during communal riots with a view to promoting communal harmony. This disillusions the police and has to be firmly discouraged.
The lessons of Muzaffarnagar riots are loud and clear, and policymakers must listen to them. The police should be given a free hand to deal with communal riots and must use maximum force to break riotous mobs. The police and administration should be neutral and non-partisan to command the support of all sections of the community.
Despite the State administration's overdrive to woo the minorities, its failure to protect the lives and properties of the citizens has eroded the support of minority groups which suffer the most in case of communal strife. No wonder some Muslim groups are now demanding the dismissal of Akhilesh Yadav's Government. In the end, the chickens have come home to roost.
(The writer is a former Director General of the National Human Rights Commission and former Director of National Police Academy)