Tag Archives: riots

Bad ideas, Countryside, Right watch

Everybody Loves A Good Riot

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This here is a 360 video of Friday namaaz at the Rangrezi masjid in Lisad, a village where 13 Muslims were killed in the Muzaffarnagar Riots of 2013.

Play the video, and tilt your phone left, right, up or down to explore the mosque. If you are watching this on your computer, click on the screen and drag your mouse to look around this space.

I shot this video last week in Muzaffarnagar as part of “Everybody Loves A Good Riot” – an immersive multimedia project detailing western Uttar Pradesh’s “riot economy”. The story features 2 more 360 videos like the one above, as well as a text story to mark the 3rd anniversary of the Muzaffarnagar riots. Experience the full story here

Government, Law, Violence-Conflict

Information on Aluthgama – Fact Finding by a Women’s Collective

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A Fact Finding Report by a Women’s Collective on the Ethnic Riots in Aluthgama, Sri Lanka.

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On the 15th of June 2014 ethnic riots took place in Aluthgama following a rally organized by the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), a Buddhist fundamentalist organization. Even though the police and state officials had been informed of the potential of the rally to turn violent, no steps were taken to stop the same, instead a large number of police and Special Task Forces (STF) personnel were deployed in the area. In the aftermath of the violence that shocked the country, a women’s team visited Aluthgama and met with several survivors with the objective of documenting the events that took place. Below is their report. Considering the safety of the survivors their names, location and other identities are not recorded.

“Around 12 midnight on 15/06/2014 the Welipitiya Mosque administration made an announcement that a large group of thugs were coming to destroy the Mosque. Upon the announcement the men from the village brought their families, left the women inside the mosque for their safety, and stood outside the mosque to protect the mosque. Around 2000 persons arrived in a procession at that time chanting slogans saying ‘we will destroy the Dharga Town mosque’, ‘we will change Dharga Town into a Sinhala village’ and started pelting stones from all sides,” said a mother whose son was attacked in this incident. She stated that she has four sons, she has been separated from her husband since the birth of her youngest son, and has brought them up single handedly amidst various challenges. “My two unmarried sons aged 20 and 17 heard the announcement from the mosque and left to guard the mosque. A few minutes after they left home I heard gun shots and ran outside to look for my sons but I could not locate them. I ran back home and prayed for their safety. I could hear the firing of gun shots for about 2 hours. Continue reading Information on Aluthgama – Fact Finding by a Women’s Collective →

Right watch, Violence-Conflict

अकोट में साम्‍प्रदायिक हिंसा: एक पूर्व नियोजित साजिश

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Guest post by Sharad Jaiswal, Amir Ajani and others

DSC0036223 नवम्‍बर, वर्धा से गये एक जांचदल, जिसमें महात्‍मा गांधी अंतरराष्‍ट्रीय हिंदी विश्‍वविद्यालय के अध्‍यापक, छात्र, वर्धा के सामाजिक कार्यकर्ता और पत्रकार सम्मिलित थे, ने अकोट (जिला अकोला) का दौरा किया। पिछले 23 अक्‍टूबर को अकोट ताल्‍लुका में साम्‍प्रदायिक हिंसा की घटना हुई थी जिसमें 4 लोग मारे गये थे एवं कई लोग घायल हुए थे। मुस्लिम समुदाय के 22 घरों को आग के हवाले कर दिया गया था और लगभग 25 दुकानों को जलाया गया था। मरने वालों में सभी निम्‍नमध्‍यवर्गीय पृष्‍ठभूमि से थे।

साम्‍प्रदायिक हिंसा की पृष्‍ठभूमि :

साम्‍प्रदायिक हिंसा की पृष्‍ठभूमि 19 अक्‍टूबर को तैयार की जाती है। पूरे अकोट ताल्‍लुके में 65 मंडल देवी के लगाये गये थे। प्रत्‍येक मंडल का संबंध किसी न किसी जातीय समाज से रहता है। मसलन माली समाज, कुनबी समाज, धोबी समाज आदि। धोबी और भोई समाज के एक मंडल, जिसके कर्ताधर्ता बजरंग दल, शिवसेना, विश्‍व हिंदू परिषद के लोग थे, के पास से निकलते हुए एक मुस्लिम बच्‍चे ने गलती से वहाँ पर थूक दिया। उसके साथ उसका हमउम्र दोस्‍त भी था। उसका थूक देवी की प्रतिमा को छुआ तक नहीं लेकिन पर्दे पर उसके कुछ छींटे जरूर पड़े। उस बच्‍चे को मंडल के लोगों ने पकड़ लिया और उसकी पिटाई करने के बाद वहीं पर बैठा लिया। इतनी देर में जब कुछ शोर-शराबा हुआ तो लोगों की भीड़ वहाँ पर एकत्र हुई और मामले को समझने के लिए शोएब नाम का व्‍यक्ति भी वहाँ पर पहुँचा और उसने कुछ हस्‍तक्षेप भी किया और मंडल के लोगों को समझाने की भी कोशिश की। उसने बच्‍चे की उम्र का भी हवाला दिया। बच्‍चे की उम्र 7-8 साल की थी। मंडल के लोगों की तरफ से यह भी कहा गया कि आज ये देवी की प्रतिमा पर थूक रहे हैं कल हमारे मुँह पर थूकेंगे। बहरहाल शोएब ने किसी तरह से मामले को शांत कराया और बच्‍चे को मंडल के लोगों से मुक्‍त कराया। इस घटना की चर्चा लगभग आधे घण्‍टे के बाद आस-पास के इलाके में फैल चुकी थी। एजाज नामक टेलर जिसकी घटना स्‍थल से कुछ दूर पर ही दुकान थी मंडल के लोगों के पास आया और उसने जानना चाहा कि मामला क्‍या है और उसके बाद वह भी लौटकर अपनी दुकान पर वापस आ गया। Continue reading अकोट में साम्‍प्रदायिक हिंसा: एक पूर्व नियोजित साजिश →

Bad ideas, Everyday Life, Identities, Violence-Conflict

Of Shared Spaces and Experiences in Gujarat: Ayesha Khan

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This is a guest post by Ayesha Khan

The other day, my brother dug out an old DD animation film on unity in diversity – Ek Titli, Anek Titli… We replayed it umpteen times in a fit of summer nostalgia, until we got all the lines correct. We  ignored the political subtext.  But only until it rebounded starkly on us, with the wails of  a baby that had newly come in to the family. The little one foisted on us the first ponderous responsibility – finding him a name.

The family brief for me, aunt to a six day old nephew, and equally to childhood pal Vandana, who is soon-to-be aunt to a niece in US,  was to think up  names resonating a core Indian-ness, the Muslimness, the TamBram-ness (in Vandana’s case), with a universal appeal and encapsulating  everything that is pious, lucky and great.

Continue reading Of Shared Spaces and Experiences in Gujarat: Ayesha Khan →

Centre watch, Culture, Debates, Right watch

Opening Pandora’s box

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Source: NDTV.com

The Ayodhya judgement is out; Pandora’s box has been opened and I suppose the hope fairy is fluttering amidst us all. That there haven’t been riots is being seen as a sign that “the country has moved on”.  My personal sense is that the absence of riots simply proves that riots are rarely spontaneous: adequate security has ensured an uneasy calm.

It’s still too early (at least for me) to make sense of this verdict, so I thought we could kick off the debate on Kafila by posting a list of links and resources and perhaps take the conversation forward as more and more information comes in.

To start off, the Judgements can be accessed at http://rjbm.nic.in/ . The top half of the page contains the gist of the judgments while your can find the entire judgement below the fold.

Continue reading Opening Pandora’s box →

Everyday Life, Identities, Law, Right watch, Violence-Conflict

Such absurdity on a Wednesday

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Guest post by SHAHRUKH ALAM

On Wednesday, I met some young men from Dhule. I am not at all sure where Dhule is and I said as much to them. “There was some violence there. It has been in the news lately,” they said. “Did any bombs go off in Dhule?” said I. “No bombs, no. But there was communal violence. It was on the news.” “I only watch prime time news. I don’t usually manage to view the afternoon bulletins. Nor the eleven PM one (informative though they are),” I explained. “So where exactly is Dhule?” I persisted. “It is a district on the north-western tip of Maharashtra. It’s not so far from Malegaon.” Ah, Malegaon! Where the blasts occurred? Finally I had a co-ordinate. Continue reading Such absurdity on a Wednesday →