Anatomy of “I love Muhammad” Communal Riots in India

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By Syed Ali Mujtaba, Edited By Adam Rizvi, The India Observer, TIO: “I love Muhammad,” a new brand of communal violence against the Muslims is reported from several north Indian cities. This is yet another form of violence against Muslims invented under the Modi rule. The others being, violence for the sake of protection of the cows (Gau-raksha),  interfaith marriage violence (love Jihad), violence for not chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’, violence on the occasion of Ramnavami, Bakrid, etc.

These are all Modi-era invented violence against the Muslims in India. The new addition is: ‘I love Muhammad.’ This has occurred during the ‘Miladun-Nabi’, procession to celebrate the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him).

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Since time immemorial, Muslims have taken out a procession on the Milad-un-Nabi day, and it has always remained peaceful throughout the history of Muslims’ presence in India. Muslims have no ill-will or hatred against anyone while taking out such a procession as a mark of obeisance to their holy Prophet. The procession normally starts from a mosque and, after taking a round of the Muslim locality, ends up at the same place. Normally, the faithful during the procession hold green flags and wear green turbans or caps and walk together with the chanting of the verses of the holy Quran that are in praise of the founder of the Islamic faith.

The civil administration is well aware of the activities of the Muslim procession, and they make elaborate arrangements so that this event passes off peacefully.

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The exception was September 5, 2005, when, for the first time, a peaceful procession was attacked in Kanpur and the Muslims were brutalized for taking out the procession in love of their Prophet.  The Kanpur incident saw a repeat in Bareli, Barabanki, and  Mau district in UP, and in Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttarakhand, and other places.

True to the adage, “unless lions don’t have their own historians, the story of the hunt will always eulogize the hunters,” the media reportedly blamed the Muslims for the purported violence during the procession. The narrative was that Muslims had taken out the procession without administrative approval and went berserk and attacked the police during the procession. This led to the retaliation by the police, and they had to show the highhandedness to control the law and order situation.

This pulp fiction was easily gulped by those who believe that Muslims are the source of all the problems in India. However, the truth is that some Hindutva lumpens were planted by the administration to disturb the peaceful procession. They were tasked to desecrate the banners saying “I love Muhammad.”  This was evident as the Muslims in the procession found their banners being torn and trampled, local sources reported.

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Interestingly, some mischievous elements put up Hindu banners that said “I love Mahadev. ”All this incensed the Muslims, and they did what they could to assuage their anger and frustration against the signs of intolerance that they faced. This was enough for the police to swing into action and attack the Muslims with full force. They conducted a door-to-door search of the Muslims and arrested them with vengeance on several charges.

State terrorism was at its best display in the arrests of Muslims in the aftermath of the “I love Muhammad” procession.

Poor Muslims who have been victim of ‘Bulldozer Raj’ by the UP administration were now subjected to unlimited humiliation for loving their prophet and taking out a procession to celebrate his birthday.

It is a known fact that the state administration is aware of any anti-social activity taking place in such an event. They have CID and other informants to alert them well in advance to handle any such eventuality. The administration takes the community leaders into confidence and makes elaborate arrangements to maintain peace and tranquility during such an event.  However, all such administrative preparedness was found missing in handling the procession “I love Muhammad.”

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What is apparent in this event is a conspiracy being hatched to brutalize the Muslims and rob them of their joy to celebrate the birthday of their holy prophet. This conspiracy was hatched with the help of anti-social elements, and there are numerous such cases in the public domain.

Several studies have been done to show how anti-Muslim riots are engineered in India. Scholars like Paul Brass, Ashutosh Varshney, Steven Wilkinson, and others have come up with their studies that tell how riots are a political tool to maintain ethno-religious divisions in India. They have argued that political dynamics and electoral incentives are key factors in triggering communal riots in India.

However, hardly any study is being done on why Muslims are chosen to become victims of the communal riots. The state’s brutality against the Muslims is reported from the theater of communal riot in India. This reflects how deeply rooted anti- Muslim feelings have been injected into the minds of Indian society.

The plausible logic of the fresh communal riots could be the BJP government’s failure, which has led to engineering such a riot to divert the attention of the people. To escape the blame for their incompetence and shortcomings, such soft targets as Muslims are made scapegoats.

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Secondly, Indian Muslims’ anger against the BJP rule is at its zenith. The recent judgment of the Supreme Court on the Waqf Amendment Act has further incensed the Muslims. Indian Muslims are fed up with the BJP government’s highhandedness against them to save its skin. The brutalization of Muslims on the slightest pretext is a new normal in India.

Also Read more from this Author: ‘We are Living in a mediatized Society,’ says noted journalist Syed Ali Mujtaba

Curated by Humra Kidwai

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