ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Srikrishna blames Thackeray's inflammatory writings for fanning riots

The Justice B N Srikrishna Commission has blamed the inflammatory writings in the Shiv Sena daily Saamna and another Marathi newspaper, Navakal and indicted Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and other party leaders for the January 1993 riots in Bombay, while describing the violent events of December 1992 as a spontaneous reaction of leaderless and incensed Muslim mobs against the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.

The report, submitted to the state legislature, today also blamed the city police force for inadequate measures in the period preceding the riots and for its biased attitude and harsh treatment against Muslims and its failure to register cognisable offences during the riots, stating that there was evidence for this.

With regard to the December 1992 riots, the report said there was no material to show that it was anything other than a spontaneous reaction of leaderless and incensed Muslim mobs, which commenced as peaceful protest, but soon degenerated into riots. The Hindus must share a part of the blame in provoking the Muslims by their celebration rallies, inciting slogans and rasta rokos which were all organised by Shiv Sainiks, and to a marginal extent by Bharatiya Janata Party activists.

As far as the January 1993 riots were concerned, the Commission observed that there is no material on record suggesting that even during this phase, any known Muslim individual or organisations were responsible for the riots, though it said that a number of individual Muslims and Muslim criminal elements appear to have indulged in violence, looting, arson and rioting.

The Commission was of the view that though several incidents of violence took place during the period from December 15, 1992, to January 5, 1993, large-scale rioting and violence commenced from January 6, 1993, by the Hindus brought to fever pitch by communally inciting propaganda unleashed by Hindu communal organisations and writings in newspapers like Saamna and Navakal. It was taken over by the Shiv Sena and its leaders who continued to whip up communal frenzy by their statements, acts, writings and directives issued by Sena chief Bal Thackeray, the Commission stated in its report.

The Commission further observed that the attitude of the Shiv Sena as reflected in Time magazine interview given by Thackeray and its doctrine of 'retaliation,' as expanded by Sena leaders Madhukar Sarpotdar and Manohar Joshi (now chief minister), together with the thinking of Shiv Sainiks that the Sena's terror was the true guarantee of the safety of citizens, were responsible for the vigilantism of Shiv Sainiks.

Because some criminal Muslims killed innocent Hindus in one corner of the city, the Shiv Sainiks 'retaliated' against several innocent Muslims in other parts of the city, the Commission observed. The communal violence and rioting triggered off by the Shiv Sena was hijacked by local criminal elements who saw it as an opportunity to make quick gains. By the time the Shiv Sena realised that enough had been done by way of retaliation, the violence and rioting were beyond the control of its leaders, who had to issue an appeal to put an end to it, the report further stated.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report