COMMUNAL RIOTS
Shariq Alavi on U.P. PAC
"It would be wrong and unfair to conclude that PAC as a whole is communalized force which always acts willfully against the Muslims when deployed for duty during communal riots" observed a high-powered Committee constituted in 1987 under the chairmanship of Mr. J.A. Kalyankrishnan, Chief Secretary, UP, with Director General of Central Reserve Police and Inspector General of UP PAC as members. The Committee viewed that any striking force which is required to act in crisis situations invariably gets labelled as partisan or communal. Such allegations have been made against other para-military forces and sometimes even against the army. In contrast to this acquittal was Maulana Asad Madani's observation. Madani, a Congress Member of Parliament and staunch nationalist, after his tour of the riot riven Meerut in 1987 remarked that role of PAC in Meerut reminded him of Nazi atrocities on unsuspecting Jews. He attributed the reign of terror unleashed by these "khaki' killers to the encouragement it received from the state. A distraught Madani advocated the winding up of the force.
The PAC has in 1995 expanded to 34 battalions with about 33,000 jawans. Because of its effectiveness many states like Andhra, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland and Tripura asked for its services and appreciated PAC's role in helping the local administration in containing the demon of insurgency. Delhi administration is even today withholding 20 Companies of UP PAC for law-and-order duties in Delhi,
It is unfortunate that a force establishment of which was conceived by a known nationalist and secularist, Rafi Ahmad Kidwai, nursed and brought up by veteran Muslim Police Officers like Mr. Islam Ahmad IP; Mr. Sirajuddin Ahmad IP; Mr. Qamrul Hasan IPS; Shah Aziz Alam IPS; Syed Akhtar Abbass IPS (all are now dead) and others is being branded as an anti-Muslim and a communal outfit. Muslims dread its name and avoid any interaction with it. They have reason for their skepticism. The PAC had let them down miserably in many a riot situation. In 1978 for the first time PAC was stigmatized as communal during the riots that had broken out in Aligarh... After the riots the investigation of 13 cases of alleged brutality and accesses registered against the PAC was entrusted to the Crime Branch of the C.I.D., UP. Even on the face of definite and direct evidence the CID is said to have handled the matter in a rough-shot manner and exonerated the PAC of all the charges. This inept handling of the first incident of PAC's biased behavior by the power that be estranged Muslims who lost faith both in PAC and CID... (This) encouraged the PAC and resulted in their getting embroiled in 1980 riots on I'd day in Moradabad. Here too PAC was accused of losing all sense of balance in dealing with situation. The Meerut riots in 1987 culminated in the brutal killings of men of a particular community by PAC in Hashimpura and Maliana. However, this time Crime Branch of CID could not come to their rescue, may be because of changed political scenario and also the deposition of the eye witnesses of the massacre and charged them of committing the heinous crime. Infact it is after the indictment of the force by CID that efforts of introspection to rejuvenate the PAC have begun. (No PAC personnel has yet been prosecuted for Hashimpura and Maliana killings - Editor).
During the agitation launched by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Ram Janambhumi issue in 1990 and again in 1992. their soft peddling with Hindu agitators added fuel. to the fire. If the PAC was perceived as a Muslim killer by the minorities during riots its caste and communal composition was more alarming. The statistical analysis of the composition of the PAC shows... lately the reservation for backward classes has started showing telling effect on its heterogeneous image. Muslims representation had been negligible so far but now it is said that about 5% Muslims have found place in this force.
Why Muslims are annoyed and afraid of PAC? Is this stereotype of the force justified? Bureau of Police Research and Development in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India conducted a study in 1980 on communal riots in UP between 1975 and 1979 in which PAC was deployed. In the period under review it was found that 124 persons lost their lives in 1966 communal riots in which 55 were Hindus and 69 Muslims. Out of 504 injured 273 were Hindus and 231 Muslims. The number of persons arrested was also revealing. Out of 4181 number of Hindus was 2456 and of Muslims 1725.
What can be done to restore the good name to PAC. The PAC like Army should remain confined to barracks and come out only when it is required to 'strike. Frequent exposure of the Force to public loses its fear. Moreover, the personnel of the Force to get 'polluted' by their interaction with unscrupulous elements. The heavy deployment of the PAC deprives its personnel of their regular exercises and also training... The reorientation courses of behavior are must for such a force. Emphasis on avoiding cruelty, over zealousness and instilling in them awareness of Human Rights are some important points which they must imbibe.
The stress management in PAC is a vital issue. Often tired, overworked and agitated PAC men lose their calm and act brazenly. Playing on the psyche of the people is an art which PAC must learn. In the eventuality of confrontation... those injured... must be provided First- Aid by PAC and seriously injured persons be rushed to Hospitals. Donation of blood, if necessary by PAC jawans, should also be encouraged.
(Source: The Azad Academy Journal,1-31 August ,1995)
