The recent eruption in Mau is symptomatic of the fact that eastern UP is sitting
on the mouth of a communal volcano

Mau, also called Maunath Bhanjan, previously a part of Azamgarh district in eastern UP, has had a long
communal history with violence breaking out frequently in the town in recent decades: 1969, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1990 and 2000. But in more ways than one, the fire that raged in the town this time has been the worst ever.

Ten persons lost their lives – five Hindus and five Muslims – while property worth crores was looted or consigned to flames between October 14 and 16, 2005. The seriousness of the situation could also be gauged from the fact that the town remained curfew-bound for over a fortnight.

"Feeling of insecurity grips Hindus in Mau", read a front-page headline in the regional edition of The Times of India of October 18, giving the impression that only Hindus were being targeted in the riot and they were all living in the shadow of fear. The Indian Express also published such news. In the Gorakhpur edition of the Hindi daily, Dainik Jagran, the situation in Mau was equated with that in Kashmir. One news report said "the days are not far when Mau city would become synonymous with Kashmir". Another news item in the same daily declared that "the condition of Mau was much more dangerous than even the civil war in Kashmir". Reports published by other dailies, Amar Ujala, Hindustan, Hindustan Times, etc. also painted a similar picture.

TV channels repeatedly showed images of independent MLA Mukhtar Ansari driving through the riot-ravaged town, reinforcing the viewer’s perception of him as the main villain of the piece. In short, reports put out by the national media, print and electronic, projected Ansari, an independent MLA, as the instigator and Hindus as virtually the sole victims of the violence.

A fact-finding team of three Saajhi Duniya (a Lucknow-based group) activists visited Mau on October 20 and again on October 30 and 31. Prof. Rooprekha Verma (social activist and secretary, Saajhi Duniya), Vibhuti Narain Rai (president, Saajhi Duniya, litterateur and activist on issues related to communalism) and Nasiruddin Haider Khan (journalist) were the team members. Jai Parkash Dhumketu (litterateur and activist) from Mau also joined the team. The team not only visited the riot-affected areas in Mau but also inquired into the causes of the violence. The team spoke to victims of the violence, social and political workers, ordinary public and officers of the district administration.

It is evident from the well documented and detailed report produced by the fact-finding team that the media reports were not a reflection but a complete distortion of the communal reality of Mau.

That Mukhtar Ansari is better described as a notorious law-breaker rather than a lawmaker, that the local administration and police continue to turn a blind eye to his numerous criminal deeds is beyond dispute. (The fact-finding report is quite unsparing of Ansari and questions the administration’s indulgence of the man.) But to project him as the mastermind and main villain behind the violence in Mau is poor journalism, to say the least. If anything, the explosion in Mau is symptomatic of a dangerous broth being brewed in eastern UP by a particularly vicious brand of Hindutva in recent years. This is obvious from the trajectory of violence in Mau this time.

For the inhabitants of Mau, the most important of all programmes held during Dussehra each year is the Bharat Milap. The venue for the Bharat Milap programme is adjacent to the Shahi Katra Masjid in a Muslim majority area. Ensuring a peaceful Bharat Milap is a big challenge for the local administration year after year.

This year Bharat Milap coincided with Ramzan. On the night of October 13, Muslims saying the special taravih prayers inside the mosque objected to the birha singing during the Bharat Milap blaring out of loudspeakers. After requests by an elderly person, the loudspeakers did fall silent but started blaring again after a short while. Following some altercations and intervention by the local administration, the Ram Lila Committee and local BJP leaders decided to postpone the Bharat Milap function to October 29.

The controversy seemed to have ended at this point but the conflict had not really been resolved. In next to no time, followers of Yogi Adityanath, proponent of a particularly virulent brand of Hindutva who for some years now has been trying to upstage the BJP and position himself as the undisputed messiah of Hindus in the entire Gorakhpur division, went on the warpath.

The next morning (October 14), activists of Adityanath’s major launch pads, the Hindu Yuva Vahini and the Hindu Mahasabha, blocked the road near Sanskrit Pathshala, which is close to the Shahi Katra Masjid and the site of the Bharat Milap. Office bearers of the Ram Lila Committee and BJP leaders were accused of cowardice and extremely provocative slogans were raised producing the desired result: sparking a riot. From slogan raising to stone pelting, to private firing by two of the Yuva Vahini leaders in which some Muslim boys were seriously injured.

The bleeding Muslim youth were carried to hospital in an open rickshaw trolley passing through Muslim inhabited areas. Thus aroused, Muslims came out on the streets, targeting Hindus and looting/burning Hindu-owned shops in Sadar Chowk and Rauza area. Next, rumours of the "massacre of Hindus" spread through the town like wildfire. It was also rumoured that Hindu property had been destroyed on a massive scale and Hindu girls had been kidnapped. Though baseless, the rumours were sufficient to ignite a "reaction" to the "reaction". The violence, loot, arson and destruction triggered by rumours continued for several days in the eastern parts of the city and in some other Hindu dominated areas.

Rampaging mobs from both communities engaged in loot and arson of property. But contrary to the impression created by reports in the national media, the loss for Hindus could be added up in lakhs while Muslims suffered a cumulative loss running into crores.

The ugliest face of the riot was to be seen in two new colonies inhabited by Muslim weavers. The systematic manner in which the power looms were looted or destroyed over several days clearly points to a diabolical plan to economically ruin a community.

According to inhabitants of Mau, it was for the first time that during a riot schools and hospitals belonging to the minority community were vandalised; worse still, it was also for the first time that large-scale attacks were made on several mosques. This is a great cause of worry.

Members of the fact-finding team can be contacted at:

Prof. Rooprekha Verma, [email protected]
Vibhuti Narain Rai,
[email protected]
Nasiruddin Haider Khan,
[email protected]