Ayodhya aftermath: Defying violence
Down To Earth, 28 February 1993
This was a combined reportage by a team of Down To Earth reporters for its cover story “People in control: The India that did not burn“, for the issue dated 28 February 1993. The coverage constituted a number of reports from different parts of India and a few analysis pieces, which are listed below. Besides my contribution to the main reports, I wrote a few side stories based on my visits to Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Bhagalpur. I have listed my side reports separately at the end.
Introduction
The horror, the cruelty and the waste wrought by communal violence have been the focus of media attention during the last two months. But, not all of India was beset by communal carnage…
Staying together
All too predictably, the demolition of the mosque at Ayodhya had violent repercussions throughout the country. More than 2,300 people were killed and at least 5,500 people injured in the aftermath…
Divisive trends
The scale of violence in the country that followed the demolition at Ayodhya makes it hard to imagine that any volatile area would escape communal frenzy. Numerous economic, political and social factors are leading to a decline in social cohesion…
Against all odds
Despite the multiplicity of powerful factors responsible for communalism, there are enough initiatives to show how strong leadership and communication can prevent incidents from taking an ugly turn…
Bhiwandi: In a spirit of give and take
In Bhiwandi in Maharashtra, local public bodies defuse potentially troublesome matters – from communal issues to civic problems, through open discussion. Their rate of success considerable…
Okhla: Putting rumours to rest
The residents of Okhla in south Delhi have always helped each other and averted communal violence. In the wake of the Ayodhya incident, bloodshed was prevented only because the communities were in constant touch with each other and stern warnings were issued of the consequences of taking law into one’s own hands…
Inflammatory whispers
The localities not driven to violence were those that succeeded in exposing rumours, the communalist’s most effetive tool…
Short-lived initiatives
Community initiatives do not always succeed when taken on the spur of the moment…
Must friends turn into foes?
Communalism promotes suspicion and corrodes the foundation of trust within a neighbourhood, even when there has been a long history of friendship and cooperation…
MY REPORTS
Bhagalpur: Patrolling for peace
Bhagalpur learnt its lessons well from the 1989 riots. A night vigil system, devised by the residents, kept peace in this city even as the rest of the country burned…
The birth of the pahra
On June 12, 1992, gangsters looted a house in Maulanachak in Bhagalpur and raped the women living there. Shocked by the brutal crime, local residents formed the Maulanachak Welfare Society with the aim of keeping anti-social elements out of their locality….
Casualty of land grab
A resettlement camp in Calcutta was attacked during the riots in an attempt to take over prized real estage…
