Crumbling and Rumbling of Hyderabad

Hindu-Muslim grievances and atrocities, by now, is a regular affair in villages as well as the developed urban areas. The only question which never gets answered is, "When will it stop?" Not knowing when the peace will be established, here's an insight into the violence overshadowing Hyderabad in 1984-90.

The ugly face of violence; Image Source: Sabrang India

If one has to describe India’s political arena, the essay might start with great political leaders, fortuitous turnovers, game-changing strategies and a pledge to work for humanity and the betterment of the citizens. But, it can never end without the spectre of violence. Violence, mass killing, riots and revolutions have been the subtle cause of effect of every political sphere. A perfect leader doesn’t exist; a world without violence too. When we are talking about India, the most ancient mainspring of riots has been the age-old unhealed crevice between the Hindus and the Muslims.

Hindus and Muslims are the two branches of the same tree- if you cut down one, the balance is bound to get disrupted. The tree will fall; the roots wouldn’t be able to help in saving it from the devastation. A similar condition will be approaching our nation if the riots prevail. Whenever I read about the era of nationalist movements, when the brotherhood of the Hindus and Muslims scared the British superpower, the only yearning which knocked on my mind was, if adversity tied these two religions together, why isn’t it enough to cure the wounds of past? The country is falling into a pit of afflictions, yet what the British did before- the political leaders are experimenting with the same formula today, and the end result? A wider schism; dereliction of the unity our poets, authors, freedom fighter and martyrs have envisioned during the struggle for independence.

Perhaps the chapter of the Ayodhya dispute is the most familiar of all the Hindu-Muslim riots. Though the tug of war regarding Babri Masjid was taking place at Uttar Pradesh, the tremors could be felt at Andhra Pradesh. The point of conflict was, Hindu activists raised the question, actually with a full-stop, that Babri Masjid was constructed on the ruins of a Hindu temple. A horde of Hindu activists took the matter into their own hands and tried to knock the Masjid down. The police, in order to control the situation, fired and it turned out to be a massacre. This led to exploding of mercury- the hostility between the Hindus and Muslims of Hyderabad.

However, the underlying hostility came into light after two Hindus assassinated a Muslim auto rickshaw driver, Sardar. Though the incident has no connection with the Ayodhya dispute since it wasn’t based on a religious conflict, the dispute of land was brought into the same category. Determined to take revenge, four Hindus were murdered by the Muslims from various parts of the city. In the Sabzi Mandi Area, Majid Khan, a powerful Muslim leader was ambushed by Bharatiya Janata Party activists, and fake news of his death got spread like a wildfire. All the secrecy was wrapped up. The Hindus and the Muslims pounced onto each other publicly, igniting the lamp of violence.

In a digitized version of The New York Times, it was reported that the situation at Aligarh was worse. A gathering or better said a troop of 500 people attacked a train. Passengers were dragged out and six of them, including Hindus, were killed. A curfew has been reinstated there but it was getting extremely difficult for the police to handle the situation efficiently. “Police officials said it was difficult to enforce the curfew in the area because of the maze of lanes and crowded neighbourhoods that made it easy for the crowds to attack each other and the police in swift bursts before disappearing.”

Bhaskara Rao, the Police Commissioner, informed the media that even the police wasn’t spared the attacks. People from the rooftops were throwing whatever they could on the police for the enforcement of curfew.

When the Indian Army took the matter in their grip in December, more than 350 people were incarcerated due to their links with the riot. The attacks and violence continued for 2-3 weeks, concluding with the deaths of 200-300, leaving thousands of lives scarred and injured.

The digitized piece; Image Source: The New York Times