The national media might have forgotten the wounds of Muzaffarnagar riots but there are intrepid filmmakers who continue to question the divisive agenda behind the development narrative. After late Shubhrodeep Chakraborty's timely documentary En Dino Muzaffarnagar , director Nakul Singh Sawhney has come up with a cogent and cohesive investigation to dissect anatomy of a riot in rural India that many say catapulted Bharatiya Janata Party to power in the last Lok Sabha elections and pushed the supposed Muslim vote bank away from Samajwadi Party.
Cut from the same cloth as Rakesh Sharma’s much feted Final Solution that delved into the truth of Gujarat riots, Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai rubbishes the Love-Jihad theory and makes cogent observations on how only economically weaker sections of Muslims were affected in the riots. How Dalits kept away from the conflict, the supposed role of mill owners in dividing the farmers on the basis of religion and above all how it helped one party to win a crucial Lok Sabha election.
Excerpts from an interview:
What was the catalyst?
My earlier film, Izzatnagari ki Asabhya Betiyaan was about crimes and killings in the name of ‘honour’ and Khap Panchayats and the resistance against this feudal patriarchy by young Jat women. Though the film was largely set in Haryana, I had also travelled to Muzaffarnagar in late 2010 as part of my research to get an idea of what was happening in the Jat belt outside Haryana. Jat identity politics, which, in its manifestation in the revival of Khap Panchayats, had acquired a strong anti-Dalit and anti-woman posturing. So, when we made this trip it was evident to us that in Western Uttar Pradesh, Jat identity politics will soon slip into Hindutva. These districts had a high Muslim population. Where on the one hand huge panchayats were being held against marriages violating the marital codes of gotra exogamy and caste endogamy, inter-religious marriages would obviously be considered sacrilege. It was this social conservatism of Jat identity politics that found a resonance in the politics of Love Jihad, etc. that the Sangh Parivaar was championing. When the massacre broke out, and specially when we heard that it was around a rumoured case of molestation of a Hindu girl by Muslim men, I could sense what had transpired. This was on the cards. In that sense, this film is a sequel to Izzatnagari Ki Asabhya Betiyaan. Soon after news of the massacre broke out we visited Muzaffarnagar and Shamli.
How did you arrive at the conclusion that BJP and its ideological allies were responsible for the riots and that SP had vested interest in not controlling them?
It required serious investigation. We discovered that there had been a series of riots in the districts five-six months preceding the big massacre in September, 2013. Coupled with that were several incidents of Muslim boys being beaten up in random acts of violence in trains passing through Western Uttar Pradesh. Remember, these are districts which didn’t see any major violence even after the demolition of Babri Masjid, specially the rural areas in these districts.
The smaller riots too were usually around cases of molestation. Even random incidents of violence between two individuals from different religions were being fuelled to give them a communal colour. . And when we began to investigate these riots, we realised that local RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal and BJP units would get involved . Finally, even around the Kawal incident, which is often considered to be the immediate cause, local Hindutva organisations immediately jumped the bandwagon. In fact, the first FIR filed by Gaurav and Sachin’s parents (the Jat boys who were killed, whose sister was allegedly molested) had no mention of molestation. Local politicians got that FIR changed to include molestation. And in the Panchayats that followed, BJP and other Hindutva leaders took over the Panchayats, including the maha Panchayat which was supposedly called by Bhartiya Kisan Union.
As for Samajwadi Party, well, there were reports of over 200 riots that had broken out in UP before Muzaffarnagar, since Akhilesh Yadav became CM. Big Panchayats were being organised by both communities between 30th August and 7th September, 2013. Was the government sleeping? In fact, the Panchayat on the 7th of September, 2013 (in which over one lakh people assembled and after which the violence erupted) took place when Section 144 had been announced. Clearly, the SP government had overseen several small riots, and they didn’t expect this one to become so big either. They evidently wanted the polarisation to build and were hoping to consolidate Muslim votes . This riot went out of their control.
Did you go into the shoot with full understanding of how the documentary will shape up?
No, the events were constantly unfolding before us. Though, I did have a sense of how the gender and caste politics had played out, but several other issues were revealed to us over the several months of staying there. We were often asked to switch off our cameras. There is a scene where Sangeet Som, BJP MLA, tells us to switch off our cameras while he’s addressing an election rally . However, what came to us as a complete surprise was when Amit Shah came to make a speech at Shamli during the election campaign. Till then, it was the local BJP leadership that was making the vitriolic speeches. It was distressing. And only our crew consisted of people who were clearly not from the area in that meeting. That made us very vulnerable at times.
Also, what struck me was the empathy with which economically backward Muslims and Dalits spoke of each others’ pain and suffering. How they were both at the receiving end of the oppressive caste structure.
Amidst the polarised atmosphere, Naujawan Bharat Sabha brings in the flicker of hope. Have you overemphasised their role?
Their organisation also has work in areas around Delhi. They had screened Izzatnagari Ki Asabhya Betiyaan in working class area a couple of years back . That’s how I met them and later discovered that they also had worked in areas in Western Uttar Pradesh. When I saw them working in these riot stricken areas, I was very impressed by their courage and the interventions, however small, that they were making. How could the film ignore them? Naujawan Bharat Sabha, in the film, represents more than just the organisation. It represents a progressive idealism that, however small, keeps the resistance against oppression alive. In fact, they were even able to stop the riots from spreading in some villages where they have influence.
Some might counter the film as one sided where editing skills have been used to support one particular argument.
Yes, the right wing is expected to do that. But I challenge them to disprove even one fact in the film. They talk about Love Jihad but when you ask them to give you examples, they’ll give you some vague names. When you follow up on some of the supposed Love Jihad cases you realise that these were all consensual relationships and the girls were not deceived . In fact, in the film it is young Hindu women who counter the claim. Young Dalit activists on the ground talk about how they feel BJP is essentially a Brahmanical, Manuwadi party which is anti-Dalit. Of course, I have a point of view. But that point of view is backed by hard evidence, empirical facts. Also, the film doesn’t really say that the mill owners played a role in dividing the farmers. That needs to be investigated. And I wouldn’t be surprised if that is the case. But they have certainly benefitted with BKU splitting (on religious lines), haven’t they?
Did you try to approach the local officials and the media for their point of view?
We did approach the local officials. However, they only gave us pat answers they had prepared for the media. Even after greater probing, they would either refuse to talk or continue giving us the ‘official’ line. I didn’t see the point of including that in my film.
As far as the role of the media is concerned, we weren’t targeting any one journalist in particular but the institution as a whole. If you look at the coverage of several reports, particularly those around sexual violence, from roughly six months before the massacre, you’ll be struck at how irresponsibly they were covered. The film even shows some of those headlines.
What were the challenges during the shoot? Did you have to hide your identity?
While there was the fear around our security, but it didn’t amount to hiding my identity as much as the camera person’s identity, who is a Muslim. In fact, his presence in the crew was a constant reminder for us about the degree of polarisation in society.
But, another big challenge was the politics of representation. We had to be careful to not show the affected Muslims as just victims. My big concern was finding a way to preserve the dignity of the survivors who had lost everything. I wanted to show them as more than just victims, as real people.
According to you what are the takeaways for the society from the riots?
These riots took place mainly in the rural areas. The violence may have lasted a couple of days but its impact and the polarisation it created is long term. However, there is no reason to believe that there is no space for moderate voices. People are already angry with BJP in the districts. They can see how the riots have ruined many of them economically. The farmers are not getting money for their produce. People are already beginning to see through the larger politics of the riots.
How will you take the film to the audience? Will you take the CBFC route or will you like to release it directly on the Internet?
The way the government functions is very unfortunate. People who make the most vitriolic speeches from Ramzaada-Haramzaada to speeches where people are instigated to ‘dig out Muslim women from their graves and rape them’ are roaming around scot-free.
Whereas people who offer critiques of this madness through films, plays, songs, paintings and forms of cultural expressions, are made criminals. We are taking the film to people through private screenings and also plan to release it on the Internet soon.
