"They came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;

And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;

And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;

And then... they came for me... And by that time there was no one left to speak up." --Martin Niemöller

RIOTS or RIGHTS ?RIOTS or RIGHTS ?Riot is a form of civil disorder characterized

by disorganized groups.Riots often occur in reaction to a perceived

grievance or out of dissent .Riots typically involve vandalism and the

destruction of private and public property.Rioters target shops, cars, restaurants, state-

owned institutions, and religious buildings.

Communal RiotsCommunal riots have become a distinct

feature of communalism in India.Whenever conflicting groups from two

different religions, which are self –conscious communities, clash, it results in a communal riot.

Communal Riots(contd.)An event is identified as a communal riot if (a) there is violence, and (b) two or more communally identified

groups confront each other or members of the other group at some point during the violence.

Communal Riots(contd.)The reason for such a clash could be

superficial and trivial, though underlying them are deeper considerations of political representation, control of and access to resources and power.

Major Riots in India• 1927 Nagpur riots• 1957 Ramnad riots• 1961 Jabalpur riots • 1984 anti-Sikh riots• 1991 Anti-Tamil Riots of Karnataka• 2002 Gujarat violence(Best Bakery case)• 2006 Aligarh Riots• 2007 West Bengal food riots• 2010 Deganga riots

Violation of Laws1) Violation of Constitution of India – Section 14, 15, 19,

20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 29, 32, 39A, and 50.2) Violation of Indian Penal Code of 1960 – Section 120 B

in conjunction with 302 Sections 153, 166, 171, 186, 187, 199, 203, 295, 295A, and 506

3) Violation of Principles of International Law – passed under U.N. Resolution 260(III)A – applicable sections under Articles 1 to 9.

4) Violation of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities

5) Violation of U.N. Declarations of Human Rights – Articles 1 to 30

6) Violation of U.N. Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women – Articles 1 to 30.

THE MAJOR CONTRIBUTORSRole of two most important players in

spreading of communal violence:1- POLITICIANS2-POLICE

Role of politiciansThe most important players in any communal

violence are politicians. No communal riot can take place without the direct or indirect role of politicians, much less Gujarat like carnage. According to an investigation there hasn’t been any communal riot in which politicians have not played direct or indirect role.

Role of politicians(contd.)There are very few riots in which politicians

have played even indirect role; in most cases they play direct role. Only politicians of the LEFT are an exception to this game.

The most obvious role among politicians is that of communal politicians i.e. Jan Sangh-BJP-Shiv Sena. These communal parties are not only motivated by their communal and fascistic ideologies by also by immediate political gains to be made in terms of increasing their vote base.

Role of politicians(contd.)It is only politicians who prepare atmosphere

for communal violence through provocative speeches and newspaper articles. The second stage is to spread rumour through a well planned manner and third stage is to start violence using some spark here and there.

Role of policeIn communal violence after politicians another important factor is

the police. If the police wants, it can curb communal violence in no time. There are two conditions:

(1) the police should be strictly professional and should handle communal disturbances strictly as per law and order situation and

(2) it should be allowed to function without political interference as long as they do their job professionally.

if the police is also communalised, which is often the case, it can turn into a disaster.

Role of police(contd.)If the police is also communalised, which is

often the case, it can turn into a disaster.The role of police has been increasingly

politicised and communalised as has been observing since the Jabalpur riots of 1961. In many riots lower level officers lead the mobs and take part in looting, burning and killing. The police is also becoming part of communal polarisation.

Role of police(contd.) Also, with communal parties coming to

power they tend to oblige their political bosses by adding and abetting.

The shocking thing is that all those police officers who were indicted by the judicial inquiry commissions were never penalised ; instead they were rewarded by promotions for their communal misdeeds.

CASE STUDY:11984 anti-Sikh riots

Location: DelhiCommunities/Organizations involved/Reasons

Anti-Sikh riots broke out in Delhi and most parts of North India after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards

Dead: 2733,mostly Sikhs

CASE STUDY:1 (contd.)Inquiry Commission

Justice Jaggannath Misra Commission of Inquiry formed in 1985. In 1999,the Justice Nanavati Commission began its investigations.

Result Jaggannath Misra Commission recommended that

the Delhi administration investigate the conduct of the delinquent police. The results of the Nanavati Inquiry Commission revealed that the police force played a vital role in instigating violence.

CASE STUDY:22002 Gujarat violence

Location : Ahmedabad, GujaratCommunities/Organizations involved/Reasons

The burning at Godhra, of a coach of the Sabarmati express which was coming from Ayodhya, carrying karsevaks.

Dead: 2000+

CASE STUDY:2 (contd.)Inquiry Commission

More than 30 reports have been prepared by various committees . On March 6,2002, inquiry committee under Justice( Rtd.) K G Shah and Justice Nanavati established.

Result Their common finding has been that it was a one-

sided carnage and not a riot in the usual sense.

CASE STUDY:3Mumbai Riots 1992-93

Location : BombayCommunities/Organizations involved/Reasons

The repeated showing of the debris of the Babri Masjid by BBC instigated more violence; a Muslim mob attacked a temple which added to the fury. In 1993 - the Shiv Sena seemed to have been preparing for these riots

Dead: 600+ Mostly due to Police firing and Mostly Muslims

CASE STUDY:3 (contd.)Inquiry Commission

Justice Srikrishna CommissionResult

It blamed the Shiv Sena chief, Bal Thakeray and Sena activists for the riots. On the role of the Congress government in the State, the Commission observed that inefficient political leadership, vacillation for political reasons and conflicting orders issued to the Commissioner of Police resulted in a dilemma to shoot or not to shoot.

CASE STUDY:4Case of communal riots in foreign countriesA 12 member medical team which came for

providing eye care treatment in a remote Afghan place Nuristan were returning to Kabul were  killed mercilessly  including women also. The Group included 6 Americans, German, Briton and two Afghan interpreters .The medical group was from International Christian charity workers.

CASE STUDY:4 (contd.)Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed

arrogated that they killed because they thought the members have come for Christian Mission. But for that the director of International Assistance Mission Dirk Frans denied and said that they have arrived only to help those in remote areas of Afghanistan and they had no other intentions.

The need to prevent RiotsLoss of livesLoss of public and private propertyLoss to economyLoss of good-will and faith among peopleUn-ending grievances for the aggrieved

family members of the victims.

Tackling communal violenceAs seen earlier the politicians are the most

important players of communal violence therefore first of all political will is needed to tackle communal violence. The law is there but it is never implemented sincerely. If section 153, 153(A), 295 and 505 of the Indian Penal Code which deal with promotion of religious animosity are used against any one making such provocative speeches, the whole trouble can be nipped in the bud.

Tackling communal violence(contd.) In case of the politicians being extra secular 

the Government would need strong political will to achieve this. It should ask the Election Commission to keep strict vigilance on communal campaign and disqualify candidates using communal or sectarian appeal.

Tackling communal violence(contd.)Any law to prevent communal violence has to

tackle police problem and see that it behaves strictly professionally, as pointed out above.

It is well known that a communally sensitive state like West Bengal until seventies became a totally riot-free model state after the Left Front Government took over.

Tackling communal violence(contd.)There are two reasons for this: (1) it did not mix religion with politics and did

not indulge in any form of communal rhetoric and

(2) it had warned the police force that any lack of action to stop communal violence within 24 hours will attract strong action.

ANHAD (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy)It is a Indian socio-cultural organization

(NGO) established in March 2003, as a response to 2002 Gujarat riots. Shabnam Hashmi, sister of the slain activist Safdar Hashmi and founder of SAHMAT, Marxian historian Prof. K N Panikkar and social activist Harsh Mander are the founding members of ANHAD.

ANHAD(contd.)• It works in the field of secularism, human rights

and communal harmony. • It’s activities include secular mobilization,

research and publishing books and reports, welfare programmes for marginalised sections of society, People’s tribunals.

• It also work as a pressure group among political circle to take action against communalism.

• It plays a major role in Gujarat to fight against human right violations , as well as in the Kashmir Valley.

CONCLUSIONSeeing the present situation of politicians,

corrupt police and ignorant public, there’s no stoping to communal violence in future also but if the laws are strictly obeyed its not impossible to curb it. The best example is Bihar. Bihar was also communal hotbed for long but since Laloo Prasad Yadav came to power the communal scenario changed. Bihar is also now almost riot-free state. It should not, therefore, be difficult to have riot-free India under the present govt.