Muzaffarnagar riots: UP's poorest divided by netas, united by suffering

The riots in the prosperous sugarcane belt of western UP have hit the most vulnerable -the poorest among the Hindus and Muslims-the hardest.

By Rakhi Chakrabarty, TNN | Updated: Sep 10, 2013, 11.50 AM IST

Muzaffarnagar riots: UP's poorest divided by netas, united by suffering

SHAMLI: For Anwar, business this year had been pretty good. A cattle trader, he had mustered enough to make all arrangements for his daughter's wedding, including gold and other gifts for his 'laadli'. The tide of good fortune changed abruptly when riots reached his village, Baori, last week.

On Monday, he stood all alone at the Imdadiya Rashidiya madrasa, where hundreds of Muslims have found refuge. Anwar has no clue about any of the 10 members of his family, including his wife, sons and daughters. When riots erupted, his house was burnt and looted. "I have lost everything. I can't find my family. I have lost my entire life's savings," he said.

In another part of this town was an equally devastated Om Prakash, a Valmiki staring at the deserted dirt track that winds through Nanduprasad Mohalla. Life changed for him and several other Valmikis on September 3, when riots broke out.

A large number of Valmikis living here have fled their homes. "We have sent the women and children to our relatives living elsewhere," said Om Prakash. He has sent his wife, children and sister-in-law to his relative's house in Saharanpur. Another Valmiki, who refused to disclose his name fearing retaliation, is preparing to leave Shamli after sending his wife and children away.

As always, the riots in this prosperous sugarcane belt of western UP have hit the most vulnerable — the poorest among the Hindus and Muslims — the hardest. The reigning emotion among them is fear - and anger. Anger against the police and administration. The police apparently watched as Shamli burnt, alleged Hindus and Muslims.

"Tension was simmering for weeks. But the administration did nothing to defuse the tension. So, today there are flare-ups at the slightest provocation," said Bittu Jain of the Shamli market. The air is thick with vile rumours. And reaction to them tends to be instant. Both communities, for instance, alleged dozens of bodies were floating in a canal at Nangla Madour, although senior police officers trash this as "rubbish".

Since September 3, Shamli, one of UP's youngest districts, carved out of Muzaffarnagar in 2011, has downed shutters following communal violence. Communal tension, which was stoked in 1990 in the pre-Babri Masjid phase, appears to have not quite died down all these years.

Riyasat Ali clutched the bloodstained clothes of his niece and stared at the skies. His 10-year-old niece was in his wife's lap when their house in Shamli's Baori village, was attacked on Sunday. "Around noon, a large crowd gathered in our village. They barged into our houses and abused us. They hit my niece with a sword," Riyasat said. His teenage daughter Shabana is missing.

Riyasat and his wife are among hundreds who have fled their homes in about a dozen villages of Shamli and found refuge at Imdadiya Rashidiya Madrasa.

Many have been evacuated by the Army, others have been rescued from their riot-torn villages and brought to the madrasa by their relatives and acquaintances, said Mufti Mohammed Zahir, in charge of the madrasa.

As dusk fell, another group of women walked into the madrasa. The youngest mother among them was still trembling from the trauma. When asked what had happened, she clutched her child. Raisa was from Lisar village, she said hesitantly. "We could escape with just our lives and the clothes we were wearing," she said. Her father Karimuddin was burnt alive, she alleged.

In the grounds of the madrasa, food was being cooked in large vessels for the riot survivors. Dozens of women and children sat cramped in the rooms while the men crowded outside, some despondent, some seething with anger.

Another bitter seed has been sown in this blood-soaked land.