The tension began with Advani's rath yatra. As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president's Ramrath made its way down the narrow lanes and by-lanes of the walled city of Delhi, feelings on both sides of the communal fence ran high.
Only a month later on 14 November, communal riots were raging in the Sadar Bazar area of old Delhi, with looting, arson and loss of lives.
The immediate provocation was a procession taken out jointly by a number of minority organisations. All three were relatively unknown outfits, the Sikh Muslim Dalit Panth, the All India Minority Front and the All India Muslim Unity Front. The organisers, apparently, assured the police and the administration that theirs would be a peaceful procession, with no raising of slogans. Permission was granted to this silent procession to go around the walled city.
The procession began from Sisganj Gurdwara, Chandni Chowk at 10 AM. The processionists reached Idgah, Sadar Bazar, at 2.30 pm.
Some of the prominent leaders, including Jasbir Singh Rode of the Akali Dal (Mann) and Sukhvinder Singh Khalsa of the All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) made provocative speeches at the venue, instigating the 15,000 odd people assembled. Some of the young people were sufficiently roused to rush off to the adjoining Dhobi Katra to pelt stones at members of the other community. Swift retaliation followed and soon a full-fledged battle was in progress on the street.
The small group of policemen on duty stood around waiting for reinforcements.
The police finally swung into action, using tear-gas shells and firing 22 rounds at the mob. Shopkeepers quickly downed shutters, while the smoke rising from burning vehicles gave an ominous look to the entire scene. Around 14 vehicles were set on fire and so was the fodder at the Idgah slaughter house.By evening, however the situation was under control, with the death count standing at five.
Curfew was imposed in the area for an indefinite period and cases registered against those who had made provocative speeches, for the police held that the violence had been pre-planned.
The Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi, Arjan Singh went around the affected area announcing the grant of Rs. 1 lakh to the next of kin of those killed.
The next day, 15 November, it was Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar's turn to conduct a tour of the affected areas.
Earlier in the day, despite the curfew and heavy police presence, violence had broken out again in the Qasabpura, Sarai Khalil Khan and Nawab Road areas, with members of both communities getting on rooftops to pelt stones on each other and the police. The security forces retrieved the situation by firing teargas shells and plastic bullets 250 miscreants were arrested, including those who had violated the curfew, and Nooruddin, the main organiser of the 14 November rally.
Fighting broke out again that same night. Around midnight, the Border Security Force (BSF) was roped into the task of instilling confidence in the local populace, and it staged a flag march in the riot affected localities.
On the 16th, the Shahi Imam, Syed Abdullah Bukhari, got in on the act, condemning the organisers of the march at his Friday sermon at the Jama Masjid, and distancing himself from the endeavour. "Kuch shararaton ne ye shararat ki aur doosri qaum ke logon ke khilaf nare lagane ki ijazat di." said Bukhari, adding that he was apologising on behalf of his errant brothers.
By then, law and order appeared to have been restored but beneath the veneer of normalcy, communal passions still raged.
(Source: The Sunday, 25 November, 1990)
