ALMOST EVERY PART OF NORTH EAST DELHI that was ravaged by targeted violence reported its own Babri Masjid. Every other kilometre or so, at least one mosque was either completely burnt down to the accompaniment of “Jai Shri Ram” slogans or damaged by trishul- and iron rod-wielding attackers. Announcing the triumph of belligerent Hindutva, saffron flags were planted atop the main minarets of mosques. Copies of the Quran were desecrated; in some cases, entire shelves of the holy book were burnt. Often, the attackers reminded the faithful: “Har masjid Babri banegi [Every mosque will be reduced to Babri Masjid].”
At all places, the pleas of imams and muezzins went unheeded, as did their desperate calls to the police. The imams either fled or were badly mauled. In one case, acid was thrown at a cleric in Shiv Vihar. Delhi Police personnel stood accused of inaction or, worse, colluded with the attackers.
Take, for instance, the case of Fatima Masjid in Khajuri Khas Extension, the colony where the house of Mohammed Anees, a Border Security Force jawan, was gutted by the mob. The faithful had just completed their Fajr (dawn) prayers on February 25. Young men wearing saffron scarves and sporting tilak on their foreheads gathered in the lane early in the day and raised slogans of “Desh ke gaddaro ko, goli maaro saalo ko [shoot the traitors]”. Visibly shaken, Muslim families in the vicinity took refuge inside the mosque, confident that it would not be touched in case of violence. The young men dispersed but were back outside the mosque a few hours later. This time they were wearing helmets or had covered their faces with black cloth and were carrying gas cylinders and petrol bombs. Some had even worn shields in anticipation of retaliatory violence. This helped them because as soon as the men tried to break open the mosque’s front door, there was stone pelting by the Muslims inside.
Bu hikaye FRONTLINE dergisinin March 27, 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye FRONTLINE dergisinin March 27, 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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.
