“Studies on communal riots in independent India have repeatedly highlighted the collusion between the government, the rioting aggressors, the police and the activists of the ruling dispensations of the time. Even so, the record of the current regime at the Centre is exceptional. It is as though the collusion is steroid-driven. It is characterised by a sort of unparalleled blatancy in flouting democratic and administrative norms and systems as well as in pursuing devious stratagems. The case of the Delhi riots in the last week of February is no different.” This was how former senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and renowned Hindi author Vibhuti Narain Rai said in response to Frontline’s question in the first week of March, even as the Delhi Police claimed that things had returned to normal in the national capital.
Rai went on to add that the blatancy of the collusion and violation of norms during these days was such that the command and control of the Delhi Police was practically shifted to North Block, which houses the Union Home Ministry, marking a grave administrative fault line. “But that was being done without any qualms.” Rai’s observations are founded on his three-and-a-half-decade-long service in the IPS, during which he carried out relentless research on the communalisation of politics and administrative services, including the police and other security agencies. This research reflects in his works such as Shahar Mein Curfew (Curfew in the City), Combating Communal Conflict, and Communal Conflicts: Perception of Police Neutrality During Hindu-Muslim Riots in India.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
