Gujarat riots of 2002 has to be the most publicized riot in the country. And why not because the man, every accusing finger found the common target in has been the bete noire of the NGO-Media-Opposition nexus. The then CM of Gujarat Shri Narendra Modi, despite being cleared by courts and SITs was projected as the face of communal politics and hardcore Hindutva in the country. Today the CM of Gujarat is the PM of the country and the opposition has realized that attacking him or accusing him for the 2002 riots is pointless. The biggest indicator of it was Congress’ calm campaigning in Gujarat where they didn’t invoke the 2002 riots at all. But Gujarat remains the bed rock of PM Modi’s foundation and any communal incidence in his home state can be used to attack him. Something similar happened in Valsad district, but Gujarat police’s timely intervention averted it.
Gujarat Police is considered as one of the most alert, active, strongest and pro-active police forces in India. In Valsad district of Gujarat once again it showed why people are not wrong about their perception about the Gujarat police. In Valsad, Gujarat police foiled an attempt to foment Hindu-Muslim communal riot. Valsad was on the verge of communal violence when people belonging to Muslim community took to streets over a facebook post. All this happened in the middle of the night, but Gujarat police which already had suspicion about outbreak of riot acted swiftly and adroitly managed to disperse and pacify the massive mob of people gathered in Dharmapur area of Valsad.
It all started on the occasion of Eid. Eid coincided with Maharana Pratap Jayanti. Karni Sena carried out a procession on the occasion of Maharana Pratap Jayanti, when the procession was passing through the area of muslim community, muslims allegedly threw stones at the procession. Following this a scuffle broke out. The police again acted swiftly and managed to bring situation under control. But, since this incident, the area had become a boiling point. To add fuel to the fire, a controversial post surfaced on facebook which made the matter worse. Allegedly, contents of the facebook post were derogatory in nature to a particular religion. FB post had hurt the sentiments of a particular religion and the members of that community had hit the streets demanding the arrest of the person who posted derogatory post hurting the sentiments of a particular religion. The post was such distasteful that it brought members of two religious communities against each other.
Dharampur police of Valsad area was well prepared to handle such a situation. Special police force was called from the Valsad to the Dharampur area. Police force in large was deployed in the area. Influential members of both the communities were given the task to pacify the members of their communities. Police adopted strict approach in dealing with rowdy elements. Those who were doing damage to public property were immediately arrested. Many people tried to provoke the police by attacking them but the police maintained calm and didn’t retaliate. By the late afternoon, police had managed to disperse the massive mob and successfully persuaded them to go back to their homes. Conditions in Valsad are now peaceful. The Police force is still alert and doing recce in the area. Police had arrested the person who authored controversial post and he is now behind the bars. Gujarat police once again proved that they are amongst one of the most alert and proactive police forces of the country.
Since, the 2002 Gujarat riots there is a remarkable improvement in law and order condition of Gujarat. Law and order condition was never as good as under the BJP’s rule. Radical elements have been shown their right place, and the police have always made sure that things never run out of control.
In a country where the religious sentiments of some religious communities are so weak that they get hurt by a cartoon and a mere facebook post, controlling such a tense situation adroitly is not a small achievement. Police has done its task diligently.