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Hyderabad violence was sparked off by anti-Muslim pamphlets

M S Shanker in Hyderabad

The 415-year-old historic city of Hyderabad, which had been spared the daunting spectre of communal tension for the last eight years, was once again the victim of mindless violence during the last four days.

At least eight people died in the clashes which left over a hundred people injured. It is said to be an off-shoot of a mischievous pamphlet in circulation, lampooning the religious beliefs of Muslims.

The tension, perhaps, could have been contained had the police arrived on time at the various sites in the Old City from where these incidents were reported. Undoubtedly, that the violence was well-organised and pre-planned was evident from the way people coming out of places of worship, went berserk and attacked public and private property, besides innocent passers-by.

That the warnings of central and intelligence officials fell on deaf ears in the city police was evident. The police deserve to be blamed for underestimating the magnitude of the situation arising out of the mischievous pamphlets. Neither did they try to find out where the pamphlets emanated from, nor did they take precautionary measures by posting additional forces in sensitive areas.

If the first day's violence was the result of anger on the part of the Muslims, the second day witnessed retaliation, resulting in disruption of peace in a city where people usually live in communal harmony, in spite of sporadic and isolated incidents. If the last riots in 1990 were organised to unseat the then chief minister Dr M Chenna Reddy, allegedly by his own Congressmen, this time round the violence is believed to have been sparked off by some hardcore fundamentalist outfits.

The state police would not like to rule out the involvement of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence in provoking the incident. That the ISI is very active in the city is no more a secret, testified by the killing of an SP rank officer a couple of years ago in the heart of the city by militants.

The suspicion over the ISI's involvement, aided by a city-based fundamentalist outfit, in the riots was revealed by Union Minister for Urban Development Bandaru Dattreya, quoting some senior officials.

But Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, who was quick to swing into action, was more cautious while dealing with the situation. He spared no effort to defuse tensions, and visited the affected areas and consoled the people in a bid to extend moral support to all communities. He was also quick to announce compensation to the victims of the violence.

Naidu's government also declared it would identify the culprits behind the violence and would soon publicise their photos in the newspapers, seeking the people's co-operation in apprehending them.

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