Shiban Khaibri
Very often, for political expediency, lacking guts to call a spade a spade and as a face saving exercise, many politicians and even academicians have conventionally been blaming the British for adopting a policy of “divide and rule” and under that alibi, putting the entire blame on them for what happened right from 1757 to 1947 in the country. Even for incidents which we as responsible political leaders and citizens could have avoided occurring in our country, we very often still put the blame on the “British legacy” of divide and rule. Are we so much innately susceptible to happenings in our country that anybody could lead us astray so as to damage our own social, cultural and secular fabric? It is a historical and a proven fact that hardly any country in this world could match the highest levels of inborn secular and tolerant instincts of the countrymen in India from times immemorial as even Kings here turned hermits and monks but never thought to attack and subjugate other countries religiously, culturally, linguistically and socially. What happened in 1947 continues to haunt this country in one way or the other, a fact, which we cannot bury under the carpet. Instead of blaming one another, political Parties must work hard in their respective areas to bring home to people that “live and let live” and communal harmony, the traditions of Bharat cannot be compromised and there was no room for any scope for exclusiveness and separate areas for separate faiths and cults. The terror of majority(ism) in hounding out religious minorities cannot and should not hold water as that could extensively damage the strength and integrity of this country.
Kairana is a small city in Shamili district of Utter Pradesh and has distinction of being historically famous. It is just 124 Kms far from Delhi, as such not in some farthest corner of India. In 2011, under our brand of politics, Shamili district was christened as Prabudh Nagar by Ms. Mayawati when she was the Chief Minister but by the end of July 2012 it got its original name restored by CM Akhilesh Yadav, of Samajwadi Party. It has a prominent religious group named as Majlis Ahrar –e- Islam supporting the Samajwadi Party . This place is famous for another historical reason and that being the birth place of Karan, the legendary warrior of Mahabharta war who fought on the side of the Kourvas and was consumed in the battle. Kairana is famous for its rich classical Hindustani music “Gharana” known as Kirana Gharana started by Ustad Abdul Karim Khan followed by Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan, Tabassum Begum and kept going on by the legendary Pt. Suwai Gandharav and Bharat Ratna Pt. Bhim Sen Joshi etc. The complete absence of any traces of communal divide could be seen in Kirana Gharana ever since it was started in late 19th century. Kairana finds a mention of praise in respect of beautiful gardens and pools in “Tuzki Jehangiri” .With this rich background, it is shocking and stunning that as many as 346 Hindu families have found themselves compelled to face exodus, leave Kairana and take shelter in Delhi, Dehradun and other places. It is all the more shocking that the “secular” Samajwadi Party Government does not “appear” to know about this slur on both secularism and Samajwad going on here slowly over the years and quite fast during the last two years. It is all the more unbelievable and unexpected that BJP led NDA Government at the centre has not taken any notice of this blot on Indian society and nobody has just bothered for these troubled people having become victims of extortions, holding to ransom, selective killings and other forms of scare in their own place of origin . Can it still continue to happen in India ? Can still political Parties try to trade charges and counter charges and issue testimonials of who was more (pseudo and selective) secular and who was trying hard to prove (real) secular. It was shocking to observe that on 10th instant when the issue was being debated on a noted TV Channel, Congress spokesperson just laughed off this tragedy and as usual put “conventional” blame on the RSS and the BJP, the readymade stereo alibi. It was equally shocking to see the ruling SP spokesperson evading “why it happened and why the CM and the administration were still inactive”. It was also disappointing to see the BJP spokesperson not coming out with what rehabilitative plans the ruling BJP led NDA had for these hounded out people, the Hindu citizens of this country. A Kashmir of 1990 is repeated on a comparative small scale in Kairana and strangely almost all political Parties are mum, silent, evasive and are feigning ignorance. As objective journalism won’t take sides, let it be made clear that had it been the other way round, imagine what would have happened, self styled “secular” leaders from across the country would have converged there outpacing one another right from Kejriwal, Mamta Ji, D. Raja, Laloo Ji, Nitish Ji , Rahul Ji to other leaders and from many “intellectuals”, many “ writers”, thinkers to members of Award Wapsi Club and many Human Rights Activists but where are all these gone in the matter under reference , the sensitive case of these 346 hounded out Hindu families, is a pointed question. Kejriwal Ji can take time , spend energy and resources in seeing “Udta Punjab” projected in a way that he could make an electoral harvest in the Punjab assembly elections but a human tragedy that of a forced silent migration of 346 Hindu families from their hearths and homes does not bother him. About Congress and its allies, less said the better. If the Congress President can cry on Batla encounter as revealed by the senior UPA2 government Minister Salman Khursheed, why is she silent on the alleged forced migration of these Hindu families? Is it that the Congress Party still holds the view of Manmohan Singh right and enforceable that “minorities had the first right on the resources of this country”?
The MP of this area , Shri Hukum Singh of the BJP should have done much to prevent this migration and not behaved more or less like BJP MP Hema Malini who sent a video clip about being busy in shooting a film when her constituency Mathura was severely reeling under the terror of encroachment in a vast area of Jawar Bagh and there also the Samajwadi Party had reportedly extended patronage and facilities to the criminal elements till they, in stupidity but with foolish and evil plans, had piled up arms and ammunition which continued for two years . Ram Vraksh Yadav , the kingpin of the encroachers was dreaming to unseat the President, the Prime Minister and the MPs through the outdated, stale, ineffective and obsolete “Satyagrah” and sell 60 litres of petroleum products @Re 1. Had the state government acted swiftly and prevented siege of the vast area by “Satyagrihi” criminals, we could have saved the lives of two Police officers as also prevented 29 other casualties.
The reports gathered, as watched on the TV Channel, the interviews conducted with the people, most of whom were so scared so as not to face cameras, all revealed about cases of killings, threats, extortions, and the like over the period resulting in this human migration. The census of 2011 showed the population of Kairana as 32% Hindus and 68% Muslims while local administrative figures reveal the current figures as 8% Hindus and 92% Muslims, these figures though are not officially published but a leading TV News channel reporting about this human tragedy has arranged these figures from official channels and aired them much to the discomfiture of the Congress and the ruling Samajwadi Party and asked if these figures could be corrected leave alone contested. It is hoped that under ‘Samajwadi” set up in UP , there should absolutely be no scope for any “Samajghati” activities.
We have undergone the horrors of partition on communal lines in 1947. We have seen another mass migration of the entire Kashmiri Pandit community in Kashmir in 1990 in free, sovereign, democratic and “secular” India. We have seen Kaliachak Malda disturbances and some migration of minorities there. We know about Mallapurum Kerala where things have gone to such extent so as to ask for the DM and the SP to be from a particular community only. Now, we know about Kairana migration. All these pose a serious threat to the unity and integrity of this country. Agreed that the Union Home Minister may perhaps visit Kairana to belatedly “assess” the situation when damage has already taken place but whether intelligence sources had completely dried up that reports from the area neither reached the state Chief Minister nor to the central government? Separate areas and districts exclusively on religious grounds should not, under any circumstances, be allowed overtly or covertly or else there could be more Kashmir like situations in the country. We cannot afford that.
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