Bhagalpur: Patrolling for peace
by Kanti Kumar
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.
In 1989, when a Ram shila procession in Bhagalpur was attacked by a mob in the predominantly Muslim locality of Tatarpur, more than 1,000 people were killed in the ensuing rioting. In 1992, when the Babri Masjid was demolished in Ayodhya, there was every reason to expect a repeat of the rioting. But, Bhagalpur stayed peaceful, mainly because of determination, hard work and a system devised by local communities of night pahra (vigil).
The process of inter-community communication in Bhagalpur began – and still continues – through welfare socieities that have been set up in each of the localities. These societies are run by elected office-bearers from both communities. The local welfare socieities are, in turn, guided by a central welfare society.
Building on the success of the pahra system, many of these socieities are expanding to other development work in their locality. Under the pahra system, a group of six persons, armed with sticks, spears and even hockey sticks and equipped with whistles and torches, patrol their locality through the night with a control group of eight elders supervising the operation. Pahra cuts across religion, caste and occupation.
Soon after December 6, some miscreants in the Parbatti locality removed a Hanuman idol from a secluded plot and tried to blame it on the Tatarpur Muslims. But the Parbatti pahrawalas maintained there was no way and outsider could have sneaked past them and their vehemence prevented tensions reaching flash-point.
Historically, the two communities have co-existed without antagonism through the years. But, in 1989, rioting broke out, sparked by selfish business interests in the local silk industry, vested political interests and increasingly powerful criminal elements enjoying political patronage.
Silk-weaving is a Rs. 40-crore industry in Bhagalpur. The weavers are mainly Muslim, and their product has traditionally been bought by Marwari traders. Efforts by the weavers to form their business links, bypassing the Marwari traders, are a source of underlying and continuing friction between the two communities.
The 1989 riot resulted in the creation of separate ghettos of Hindus and Muslims in Bhagalpur, but the pahra system, which has been in operation since 1992, has encouraged cooperation and exchange of information between them. Secure “space” has been geographically extended and this has increased the sense of security among Muslims and Hindus.
On January 27, Tatarpur residents noticed some persons loitering suspiciously in their locality. Whistles shrilled, and at least 50 people from the Hussainpur, Shahbaznagar and Maulanachak areas answered the call, though it was not time yet for the pahra to start. This incident displays clearly the imprtance that welfare societies give to keeping away pernicious outside influences. They realise their strength lies in preserving the homogenous character of their localities.
In recognition of the significant contribution of local residents in keeping the peace, the district administration distributed blankets to the pahrawalas to keep them warm in the mid-December chill. Local authorities have also issed identity cards and letters of appreciation to various pahrawalas.
District magistrate Arun Kumar Singh acknowledges the vital role played by the pahrawalas in containing communal tensions in Bhagalpur. Local officials are convinced that pahra has bound the people of Bhagalpur together and given shape to their community feelings so that they are no longer limited to being merely a Hindu or a Muslim. However, despite their praise, the officials have made no effort to extend the pahra system to rural areas such as Chandheri village, 18 km from Bhagalpur, where more than 100 people were killed in the 1989 riots.
