In 1997 most of the riots - except the one in Coimbatore in the first week of December - were on a small scale. All these years the south, particularly Tamil Nadu and Kerala, was free from communal violence. In fact communalism and communal violence were considered a north Indian phenomenon. But of late the virus has spread to the south too and is becoming more and more virulent. In Kerala, the BJP and the RSS are trying to get a toe-hold and in Tamil Nadu, the Hindu Munnani and Muslim ... al-Umma are spreading their tentacles. While Kerala has seen warfare between CPI(M) and RSS cadre, Tamil Nadu is witnessing it between the Hindu Munnani and al-Umma ... Coimbatore has been smouldering for quite some time. Mr. M. Karunanidhi, Chief Minister, said 50-60 persons had been murdered in the last 10 years. He held extremist elements in both the communities responsible for the violence.
Though the Shiv Sena-BJP Government boasts of a riot-free Maharashtra, Buldana district witnessed communal violence on January 26 ... The police resorted to firing ... One person was killed and another injured, both Muslims. Fourteen others were injured in the clashes.
Patna came under the spell of communal violence in late January. A Saraswati procession was attacked on a Friday afternoon by some anti-social elements and this led to clashes, in which an STD booth owner - a Muslim -was killed ... According to (Muslims) the processionists (had) looted Muslim shops near the Sabzi Mandi and also indulged in eve-teasing.
Jammu reported communal clashes and sporadic arson on March 26 ... following an altercation over the massacre of seven Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley a few days earlier and police firing on demonstrators in the city on March 25 ...
In Mathura ... on March 26, 1997, at least two persons were killed and 21 injured in clashes, which followed the stabbing of a youth by a Muslim criminal the previous day. Another youth ... died the next morning ... The VHP activists tried to instigate the Valmikis as it was not getting any response for its yatras and yagnas.
Shahidnagar near Delhi witnessed a communal flare-up on April 6. The police resorted to firing in which two persons were killed and about a dozen injured. It started with a dispute over a piece of land ..
On May 19, there were clashes between Hindus and Muslims in ... Laksar (Roorkee) ... in which a police constable and a teenager were killed ... Trouble started persons were hacked to death and 13 seriously injured when two communities clashes on June 22. The violence was sparked by an attack by miscreants on a convoy of leaders of a community, touring riot hit villages ..
On October 17, 1997, a Hindu mob attacked a Muslim religious procession injuring at least 20 persons, including two policemen, according to police. Eyewitnesses said the police accompanying the procession could not control the fighting between two groups and fled. The attackers, some of them armed with swords, threw bottles and stones at the procession. The attack was certainly unprovoked.
On November 15, the Osmania University campus in Hyderabad was the scene of communal strife and a scooterist lost his life ... The Vice-Chancellor ordered closure of the University to thwart the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyaarthi Parishad's bid to escalate violence.
In UP, 24 persons, including a Home Guard, were killed in clashes in Khanpurband village in Sambhal district on October 21 ... The clash erupted when members of a community objected to the opening of a ration shop in the village.
Uttar Pradesh witnessed communal clashes in five places in early November after the BJP Government headed by Kalyan Singh assumed office.
The Muslims began to feel insecure. Gonda, Kanpur, Barabanki, Bulandshahar and Saharanpur had disturbances ... Several houses and shops belonging to Muslims in Katra Bazar in Gonda district were looted and burnt on October 31. Curfew was imposed and the Muslim leaders alleged that the Kalyan Singh Government and the district administration sided with the miscreants.
In Maharashtra, 50 persons, including fire policemen, were injured when a Hindu religious procession was (attacked) near a mosque on November 15 at Nagar Deola in Pachora taluk of Jalgaon district sparking a riot. The agitators went on the rampage, setting fire to five shops.
A constable charged two Muslim fundamentalists belonging to the al-Umma with violating traffic rules and took them to the police station ... the police officer let them go. On their way back, they were again booked by a traffic constable for violation. They stabbed the constable and ran away. All this happened on November 29 ... The Hindu Munnani and others gathered in strength at the Government hospital where the body of the constable, Selvaraj, was kept. The Hindu activists attacked a ruling DMK MLA Dhandapani, and set his car on fire. business establishments of Muslims, killing six persons (including) one torched alive ... Violence continued sporadically for a few more days and the toll rose to 20 ...
In Jaipur, Rajasthan, six persons died in police firing on December 15 in Shastri Nagar thought it was not a communal riot ...
A look at all the riots which have occurred this year shows that they were mostly spontaneous outbursts of violence rather than planned incidents. Most of the clashes which took place before 1992-93 were planned with the backing of one or the other political party. But the post-Babari riots have largely been unplanned ones and thus could be controlled easily with the minimum loss of life and property. In a country of India's dimensions, it may be difficult to eliminate communal violence completely but it can be at least minimised if anti-communal campaigns are conducted regularly.
The political situation keeps on changing. In today's circumstances, the saffron family has been compelled to change its strategy and is promising a riot-free India to attack the Muslim vote. However, this should not make us complacent. The situation may change once again and religious aggressiveness which does not evoke much response from people today may become relevant again. It is, therefore, necessary that the anti-communal campaign should go on without any let-up. The secular forces should not slacken their vigil on communal forces whether they are aggressively active at a given time or noț. (Source: The Hindu, 29 and 30 December, 1997)
