Rioters go Berserk after Hearing Rumor

Smiley · July 13, 2009

The press in India reports on mayhem in a rather peculiar way. They often use words like "communal clashes broke out" without any elucidation as to why the clashes broke out. On occasion of such obfuscation you must wonder if there really were 'clashes' in the straightforward sense of the word or have perhaps members of one religious community actually gone into a homicidal rage and targeted easily identifiable members of another community. Of course playing fast and loose with the facts may be the way the press tries to keep simmering communal tensions in check ... but it seems that unless the underlying cause of all this tension (between Hindus and Muslims) is actually addressed it may eventually serve as a catalyst for another horrific partition of India.

Here is one 'complete' press report:

Ahead of Pranab visit, clashes in Murshidabad claim 4, curfew clamped

Four persons were killed, including two in police firing, as communal clashes broke out on Friday at a village in Beldanga in Murshidabad district.

The death toll is likely to go up as several people were missing after the clash and about 15 houses and 20 shops were set on fire by rampaging mobs. Curfew has been imposed in the area.

A deputy superintendent of police was also seriously injured in the incident.

Murshidabad District Magistrate Perwez Ahmed Siddiqui on Saturday said the situation, though tense, was under control.

The incident has put the police in a spot as Murshidabad district includes Jangipur, the home constituency of Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee who is scheduled to visit his constituency on Sunday.

According to district administration sources, the clashes erupted on Friday evening and continued till the early hours of Saturday in at least three adjoining villages under Nowda police station. Police had to resort to firing and lob teargas shells to quell the disturbance. Two companies of BSF have been called to enforce law and order. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/ahead-of-pranab-visit-clashes-in-murshidabad-claim-4-curfew-clamped/488211/

By contrast, Hindu Samhati seems to shed

more light on what may actually have happened:

MAJOR COMMUNAL RIOT IN MURSHIDABAD, 12 HINDU DEAD, HUNDREDS INJURED INCLUDING ONE DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE

Today, 10th July, a major communal riot broke in Murshidabad district. Till now 12 persons dead, most of them Hindus, hundreds injured including 10 policemen and one D.S.P. rank police officer. Two village markets and hundreds of Hindu houses were looted and burnt. Firing between police and Muslim rioters still going on at 11.30 night. Curfew imposed in the whole area. BSF and CRPF deployed to help police and RAF.

Perhaps the whole incident planned to welcome the proposed Aligarh Muslim University Campus in this district.

Jhaubona High School is a big higher secondary school in Jhaubona village under Nawda polie station in Beldanga sub division in Murshidabad district. Among total 1000 students of this school, about 50% are Muslim students. For long they were demanding to offer Friday Namaz inside the school. But school management and the Hindu students resisted it apprehending that it will create a virtual mosque inside the school. So, the furious Muslim students made objection against Saraswati Puja in the school and the school management has been compelled to stop Saraswati puja last year in the school. In spite of that, the Muslim students were not satisfied. So they planned to offer Friday Namaz today (10 July) by force inside the school without any permission from Head Master or School Management. Hindu students protested and altercation started at 12 noon between two groups of students. Muslims were prepared. Through cell phone they spread the false message that Hindu students attacked Muslim students in the school. Within 10-15 minutes, thousands of Muslims led by the students of nearby Trimohini Madrasa rushed to the school. They attacked the school students, the big village market of Trimohini, and two Hindu villages Jhaubona and Trimohini. Many Hindu shops in the Trimohini market were burnt and looted. Many Hindu houses were burnt and looted in the villages Jhaubona and Garapara. In one house 4 Hindus died in the fire including one father and his daughter were burnt alive.

Till now, according to our sources, 12 Hindus are dead, more than one hundred injured, though the district administration will surely give a lesser number.

Many are missing. Nobody knows how many of the missing persons are already dead.

Police and RAF could not control the situation. So, BSF and CRPF are called in. Till evening, police fired 250 rounds. 10 policemen were injured, among them condition of 4 are very serious. One D.S.P. is seriously injured. He has been admitted in a private nursing home to avoid media scrutiny. On the road at Begunbari village, Muslims burnt 2 buses and one matador. One Tata Sumo car and its passengers were attacked. The broken car and its passengers have been brought to Beldanga Bharat Sevashram Sangha for their safety.

The injured persons have been admitted to Baharampur and Amtala hospitals. Till mid night, firing was going on between Muslim rioters and security forces at Trimohini bazaar.

As usual, the electronic media/ TV channels are silent and totally blacked out this major incident.

Murshidabad district is a Muslim majority distrct. All the 3 police stations in Beldanga sub division – Beldanga, Nawda and Hariharpara – are Muslim majority. This is a border sub division. All the Hindu villages under Nawda and Hariharpara p.s. are awake tonight. They are scared of possible Muslim attack upon their villages.

In sub divisional town Beldanga, in evening Muslims gathered in front of Congress office. Hindus are fearing that the famous Bharat Sevashram Sangha, whose President highly revered Swami Pradiptanandaji (Kartik Maharaj) may be attacked by communal Muslims. Swamiji is now away from Ashram. He went pilgrimage to Mansarovar-Kailas. He is expected to return in 5-6 days.

India’s Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee has been elected from this Murshidabad district. As a gratitude to the Muslims of this district, he announced in his finance Budget in parliament that he would allocate a huge sum of money to establish a campus of Aligarh Muslim University in this district. This Aligarh Muslim University spearheaded the separatist movement for creation of Pakistan in pre 1947 years. http://www.hindusamhati.org/