No Country for Hindus – Chapter 1: The Moradabad Riots

In this series, we will be discussing some of the deadliest vriots and decode the psyche of the Indian media and so called intellectuals who though keep on raking up riots aimed at a particular community like 2002 for an indefinite period but blatantly ignore any riots against the so called powerful majority community of the Nation. As a result of which the deadliest of riots against Hindus like the one in Dulagarh fail to remain in media spotlight even for a fortnight. In this Article, we are going to discuss about the Moradabad riots of 1980 which remain a blot on the history of a constitutionally secular and democratic State till date.

In a massive 1980 Moradabad riots where not only Dalits but several policemen were also attacked and some of them brutally killed even as the members of a particular community felt hurt as a profane animal allegedly entered their sacred place of worship. It exposed how the political outfits and mainstream media houses of India are ready to compromise with law and order issues in order to appease a particular community.

Genesis of the 1980 Moradabad Riots:

There were tensions and riots between the Dalit community of Hindus and Muslims in the Moradabad region since the March month of 1980 when a Dalit girl was allegedly kidnapped by some Muslim men. But the tensions took shape of a full blown out Moradabad riots two days before the Independence Day of 1980 when some pigs, which is considered Haram in Islam were allegedly spotted in an Idgah during the Id Prayer where around 75,000 Muslims had gathered.

This led to altercations between the Muslims and the on-duty policemen. The altercations led to massive violence as some of the Muslims started pelting stones at the policemen. SSP Moradabad collapsed as a stone hit his forehead and the Moradabad Assistant District Magistrate DP Singh was dragged away by some people and was found dead later.

The Police resorted to prompt action and firing on the violent crowd which led to more than 50 casualties. Later, the Justice Saxena Committee which had been set up to probe the riots observed that the story of pigs entering the Idgah was a farce ruling out any provocations due to religious disturbances.

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A trail of brutal violence:

The altercation between the Muslims and the on-duty policemen soon took the shape of religious riots even as Muslim politicians like Syed Shahabuddin started to heat up things and incite religious hatred. The crowd which had earlier pelted stones at the on-duty policemen suddenly became an angry and religious indoctrinated mob hell bent on inflicting heavy casualties on the innocent Dalit community in their neighbourhood and thus started one of the most brutal Moradabad riots India has seen in its independent history in last months of 1980.

The mobs then indulged in mass killings and arson of Dalit slums. The riots intensified with every passing day and spread to the rural areas of the Moradabad District. The riots were also characterized by continuous attacks on Police Officers and Police Stations even as a Constable was burnt to death and the Galshaheed Police Station set on firing resulting in the death of two officers.

Read More : Moplah massacre was not a one-off event. Many riots in the region had taken place before it

Aftermath of 1980 Moradabad riots:

The affected region (Moradabad) was brought under control by September end 1980 through massive Army deployment but violence and riots continued a small scale till the end of November. The Moradabad riots happened under the Chief Ministership of the Congress Leader V.P. Singh and the political reactions were typical even as the Congress leaders placed the blame on the RSS, the Jan Sangh and the like even though these organizations had no relations with the riots. Interestingly, there were no Dalit sympathizers as the politicians did not have what it takes to disappoint the community to which the preparators belonged as contrasted to any other incident of violence be it of any nature against Dalits which leads to extensive death tourism.

The Government appointed the Justice Saxena Committee to probe into the riots. In the last months of 1980 The Committee indicted Muslim leaders and the Chief Minister for the Moradabad riots even as the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi promised quick justice to those who were wronged in any way during the riots. The Committee also advised the political parties to stop considering the Muslims as a vote bank and to ensure that strict action was taken against any organisation found guilty of inciting communal passions.

But it seems political considerations prevailed over determination to set things riot and not a single conviction has been made and even the Justice Saxena report has not been tabled before the State legislature till date even as several parties came into power in the State post the Moradabad riots.

Read More : No Country for Hindus – Chapter 3: The Canning riots