COMMENTARY
Communal Riots in Mau
Mau is one of the main centers of the handloom industry in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Comrade Akhilendra Singh Demands CBI Probe into Mau Riots
On 20 October, CPI(ML) Polit Bureau Member and UP State Secretary Akhilendra Pratap Singh demanded a CBI probe into the incident of communal violence in Mau district of UP. He said that if Mulayam Singh had acted timely and played a proper role, the communal violence could have been averted. He blamed Mulayam of patronizing communal forces like the Hindu Yuva Vahini led by Hindu Mahasabha leader and MP of Gorakhpur Adityanath. Comrade Singh said that the controversy regarding the role of legislator Mukhtar Ansari is the creation of Mulayam, since Mukhtar is close to the C.M. and is being used to polarize minority votes. Mukhtar has not yet been arrested and questioned. Com. Akhilendra demanded a ban on the Hindu Yuva Vahini. He said that a probe by corrupt official of the Revenue Board, Neera Yadav was only an eyewash aimed at hoodwinking the people.
A day-long dharna was organized by CPI(ML) in front of the UP Assembly on 19 October, in Lucknow . It was led by Com. Akhilendra Pratap Singh, and leaders of various mass organizations participated. Tehreeq-e-Niswan leader Tahira Hasan also took part and addressed the protesters. Though permission for conducting dharna was not granted in Varanasi , demonstrations were held in all other towns of eastern UP. |
On 13 October 2005 , mob violence started during a Dussera procession, after which a shooting incident took place, in which one person was killed. After this, for nearly hundred hours Mau kept burning, while the administration refused to act. There are clear indications that the communal violence was started by the Hindu Yuva Vahini, an outfit led by the Hindu Mahasabha leader and Gorakhpur Member of Parliament Mahant Adityanath. 8 people were killed and dozens injured in the communal violence, while property and assets worth crores were burnt to ashes. Main leaders and activists of the Hindu Yuva Vahini are still at large and most of them have not been arrested. Despite heavy deployment of police forces and imposition of curfew and proclamation of shoot-at-sight, fresh violence broke out on 21 October. The Mulayam Government refused to concede the demand for a CBI probe or even a judicial enquiry.
Political observers say that since 29 August 2003, when Mulayam Singh Yadav became the Chief Minister of UP for the third time, his government began to give patronage to RSS, BJP and Hindu Yuva Vahini and has been using them to further his own political interests and that Mau violence is only a culmination of this. It sounds unbelievable but Mulayam has allowed the fascist Hindu Yuva Vahini to function unhindered in the eastern districts of Uttar Pradesh. The outfit also enjoys the patronage of the administration in this area. One could say that unless this outfit is banned there is every danger of communal-fascist forces gaining lost ground in the area. The Mau communal violence is a rehearsal of the Gujarat carnage on a smaller scale.
It is ironical that Mulayam has not named the RSS, the Hindu Yuva Vahini or the BJP for inciting violence. The BSP and the Congress have also not named anyone for the violence so far, though Mayawati has demanded a CBI probe. Although the President of the Revenue Board Neera Yadav, who is known to be a close confidante of the C.M., has been chosen to head a committee to probe the incident, people of UP feel that this committee cannot conduct a fair probe. Neera Yadav is working under the Mulayam Government and is herself already facing several charges of corruption which are being investigated by the CBI, and only a few days back she had been removed from the post of Chief Secretary by the Supreme Court.
The Hindu Yuva Vahini has been active in the eastern districts of UP with its center in Gorakhpur since the last 10 years. It has also spread its tentacles in the Avadh range during the Mulayam regime. In fact, even in the past, its activities have never been investigated or curbed by the Mulayam Government. Only a month back, in Machreta town of Sitapur district, the rioteers of the Vahini had made a false case of cow slaughter and looted and burnt several Muslim households. Mulayam had hushed up the incident.
Reports from local Party sources indicate that Mau and adjoining areas are still tense. With both Mulayam and the BJP keen on sharpening communal polarization keeping the next elections in mind, the whole of eastern UP might flare up into a communal conflagration. All democratic forces should remain vigilant and they alone can prevent a communal catastrophe in UP.