Syed Khalique Ahmed | India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI, MARCH 13—Mohammed Ahmed, secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind’s (JIH) social service department visited the entire riot affected area of northeast Delhi and held interactions with victims and others for carrying out relief. Here are excerpts of an interview with him.
Question: You have begun relief work for the riot victims in northeast Delhi. You have visited the entire riot-affect area. What is your observation?
Answer: I have seen several communal riots in my life. But is totally different from all others. In previous riots, there was some provocation like quarrel or small clashes between persons of two different communities which subsequently took the shape of communal violence, with people of one community siding with their own community and attacking the other. But there was no clash or fight between two groups that could have been immediate provocation for the riot. The people of two communities did not clash anywhere. Two communities did come face to face with each other. This was not a reaction to any incident.
It was a one-sided attack by rioters who, according to locals, were outsiders. The rioters came directly with all weapons including blast materials, tools to open shutters, shops and then burnt them down. It appears they wanted to view to generate fear so that Muslims don’t protest against the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and government policies.
In this riot, Muslims were attacked directly as claimed by the local people. The rioters, according to victims, were wearing helmets and many of them wearing protective jackets also. This indicates that rioters were well-prepared for the job in advance and given training for it. It appears it was a planned attack on Muslims to generate awe and fear among them. An impartial police investigation can bring out the truth.
I have not seen such a brutality in any other riot. The riot took place in eight kilometres of area under 10 different police stations, most of them falling under Khajuri Khas, Bhajanpura, Dayalpur and Jyoti Nagar police stations. In all, 54 people are reported to have died, 14 of them Hindus and the rest Muslims. A large number of injured are still under treatment in different hospitals.
It shows rioters had come with a different mindset, to kill Muslims and obliterate their existence from the area. This is a very serious threat to India’s plural society. It indicates the depth to which hatred has grown. This is not good any multicultural and plural society.
In no other riots, religious places were target and vandalized on such a large scale and in such a fashion. People respected religious place and did not touch. But as many as 19 mosques have been completely burnt and destroyed by rioters. They used LPG cylinders to blast mosques. They also attacked Imams and muezzins in mosques.
From the destruction, it appears that rioters were interested in causing economic losses as much as possible. That is why they burnt houses and shops after looting them so that Muslim victims don’t have anything to restart their life after they return to their houses. Kabir Nagar old tyre market has been completely reduced to ashes. Loss of about Rs. 25000 crore are estimated to have happened in the riots.
Today, there is a feeling of insecurity among Muslims. They are living in fear. People are in trauma due to sudden attack on them without any provocation. Children having seen their family members being killed with their own eyes, are not in a position to study.
Question: You say that rioters were outsiders. How did they identify only Muslim houses and shops?
Answer: Yes. Muslim houses were targeted selectively. Hindu houses in between were not touched. It indicates the involvement of some locals to identify Muslim properties. This shows that rioters were guided by some local people to identify Muslim properties. It shows it was a well-planned, organized conspiracy for massacre of Muslims on a large scale.
In Shiv Vihar, the worst hit area, Muslims were told by local Hindus that an attack may take place on them. In fear, Muslims locked their houses and left at 4 pm on February 23. After this, their houses were looted and burnt. A question arises: how did the local Hindus come to know that Muslims were going to be attacked? This is a matter of investigation to bring out the truth behind attack on Muslims on such a large scale and well-planned manner.
Question: Many people say that there was almost no police presence for three days during the riot in the area. What is your observation after talking to the local people?
Answer: People are complaining that riots continued for three days but police did not come to their help. Curfew was also not imposed for three days, giving free hand to armed rioters to indulge into violence.
Question: Does this mean that the government was hand-in-glove with the rioters?
Answer: Local people feel and allege that it was government-sponsored violence. But there is no way to verify it. It is for the government to reply.
Question: What about people who lost their houses? Where are they living now?
Answer: More than a thousand people, including women and children, have shifted to relief camps. Many Hindu landlords have forced their tenants to vacate their houses. Such people have also shifted to relief camps. This has complicated problems and broken Hindu-Muslim relationship.
Question: Why did Muslims not challenge the rioters who were destroying their property?
Answer: At places like Shiv Vihar where Muslims are in a very small minority and scattered among Hindus population, they could not defend and fled from their houses. But at other places like Mustafabad, Muslims put up strong defence and preventers the marauders from entering localities. Had Muslims not put up defence, loss of life and property would have been many times more. So, Muslims are finding security in their own area only and this is the reason for growth of Muslim ‘ghettoes’. It gives a feeling that Muslims are not safe in other areas where they are very small in number.
Question: There are reports of people being arrested when they return to their looted and burnt houses.
Answer: Many people told me that the police was arresting those who are returning back to their houses on charges of attempt to murder under Section 307 IPC. We have taken up the matter with Police Commissioner S N Srivastava to ensure that people were not doubly victimized, first by rioters and now by police. There are also reports that police are booking those who had challenged the rioters in defence of their life and properties. We have taken up all these issues with the Delhi police chief.
There is a feeling among Muslims that those who raised provocative slogans are not being arrested.
Question: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal did not visit the riot hit areas.
Answer: Delhi CM is not playing the role he should have played. He ran a movement against corruption but he did not visit riot-hit people. I am not able to understand his silence on the issue. He should have put a balm on the wounds of the victims but he is maintaining total silence. Had he visited the victims, it would have given them a feeling that there is some to take care of them.
Question: What about relief work?
Answer: Initially, we provided food and other materials that was immediately needed. Now, we have almost completely survey of some of the areas. We are going repair and rebuild the burnt houses and religious places, incoordination with Delhi wakf and NGOs working in the field. We are doing this irrespective of faith of the victims.
