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<div class="itg-mosimage"><amp-img src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Fsites%2Fmedia2%2Findiatoday%2Fimages%2Fstories%2F1998November%2Fwake-up_080812090017.gif" alt="" height="425" width="650" class="" layout="responsive"></amp-img><b>Case:</b><p>The 45-day-long communal orgy that began on September 6, 1982, and left 50 dead in Meerut town.<br><b>Place:</b><b> </b>The bustling Shahagasha locality in Meerut.<br><b>Cause:</b>A dispute over 200 sq ft of land in a temple.<br><b>Status:</b>A commission of inquiry headed by Justice (retd) C.D. Parikh submits its 969-page report on November 15, 1988. It has been since gathering dust. The Supreme Court has now directed the Uttar Pradesh Government to submit an action taken report within two months.</p><p>There was a time when Meerut epitomised Hindu-Muslim unity. In 1857, roused by the rebellious Mangal Pandey, Hindu and Muslim soldiers had unitedly raised the banner of revolt against the British. </p><p>And though the bustling Uttar Pradesh town became a hotbed of communal discord in post-Independence India (21 major Hindu-Muslim riots between 1950 and 1990), the 50,000 residents of Shahagasha <i>mohalla</i> in the old city continued to live in peace with each other.</p><p>A 200 sq ft piece of land was all it took to shatter this peace forever. On September 6, 1982, a dispute over this land gradually acquired communal overtones and then snowballed into an orgy of violence that claimed 50 lives and planted the germs of mistrust in the minds of the two communities. </p><p>The state government promptly set up a commission of inquiry headed by retired Justice C.D. Parikh to probe who was responsible for the riots. And then forgot about it.</p><div class="itemcenter"><amp-iframe height="62" title="" width="320" sandbox="allow-forms allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-top-navigation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" allowfullscreen src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Fsites%2Findiatoday%2Fbanner%2Fpreferred-source-new.html%3Fv%3D1.014%5Cu0026native%3D1" class="mrBt15 preferred-source-banner"> </amp-iframe></div></p><p>Last week, the Supreme Court tersely reminded the Uttar Pradesh Government that it was almost 10 years since the Parikh Commission had submitted its report. The apex court directed the state Government to submit a summary of the report along with an action taken report (ATR) within two months.<br></p><p>A three-member bench presided over by Chief Justice of India A.S. Anand observed: "The report of the Parikh Commission appears to have gathered dust for almost 10 years. We are at a loss to understand why the state has been taking this matter so casually and why we were not informed over all these years (about) the correct position."</p><p>The order places Chief Minister Kalyan Singh's Government between the devil and the deep sea. The Parikh Commission has questioned the role played by the local units of the BJP, the Congress and some religious leaders in fanning the riots. </p><p>It also blames the district administration for its failure to contain the violence. Kalyan cannot afford to offend the apex court by ignoring its diktat. But the commission's findings are a political tinderbox. Taking action on its recommendations is likely to ignite passions and reopen 16-year-old wounds. </p><p>The way out, as shown in a confidential note from the state's Home Department, is simple: Place the report in the next session of the state legislature and let the House dilute it on the pretext of maintaining communal harmony.</p><p>Kalyan's dilemma may be understandable. What is inexplicable is that the state has also had non-BJP and non-Congress governments since the report was submitted 10 years ago.</p><p> Says state Minority Affairs Minister Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan: "Leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati must now explain to the people why they ignored the report when they were chief ministers."</p><table><tbody><tr><td><b>Kalyan cannot ignore the court order to act on the report. But it is a tinder-box and any action is bound to ignite passions. </b><br></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p> All India Muslim Forum President Nehaluddin Ahmad is more scathing. 
"This has confirmed that like the Congress, 'Maulana' Mulayam Singh 
Yadav's love for Muslims was only skin-deep," he says acidly.</p><p>The 
trigger of the Meerut riots was a minor property dispute between an 
advocate Qazi Zahiruddin Ahmed and a trust that managed a local Shiv 
temple in the Shahagasha locality. </p><p>When the trust began 
construction work to extend the temple in February 1982, Ahmed - who 
owned the plot behind the temple - protested saying that there was a <i>mazar</i>
 on the land. The trust refuted the claim and enlisted the support of 
the local BJP unit. The dispute soon acquired a communal twist.</p><p>While
 Justice Parikh lists Ahmed's claim and the reaction of the temple trust
 as the factors for the violence, he also questions the role played by 
local political and religious leaders in containing the riots.</p><p>Even
 as communal tension was building up, the Shahi Imam of Delhi Abdullah 
Bukhari reached Meerut on September 5 and led a procession to the 
disputed site. The marchers shouted inflammatory slogans causing Hindus 
to close their shops in panic. </p><p>The next day violence erupted. The pujari of the Peepalashwar temple was fatally stabbed, followed by more killings elsewhere.</p><p>On
 September 14, the district administration confiscated the disputed 
property. But angry Hindus moved the court and the confiscation was 
struck down leading to a second round of rioting.</p><p> The commission 
observes: "While the credit for the first round of communal violence 
goes to Shahi Imam Abdullah Bukhari, the second round of violence was 
ignited by the decision of Qazi Zainul Abedin, who asked the Muslims to 
mourn the death of (the) Muslims and condemn police and Provincial Armed
 Constabulary (PAC) excesses." </p><p>The Muslims were also urged to fly black flags atop their houses and wear black badges in protest against the police action.</p><p>The report also castigates political parties including the Congress and the BJP for whipping up communal passions. While the BJP championed the cause of the Hindus, the Congress sided with the Muslims in general and with a section of Hindus.</p><p> The commission also found that two rival Muslim leaders of the Congress - then Union minister Mohsina Kidwai and local MLA Manzoor Ahmad - vied with each other to emerge as a champion of the community.</p><p>Three other Muslim ministers, Jaffer Sharief and Khurshid Alam Khan (both Union ministers) and Abdul Rahman Nashtar (minister of state), instead of contributing to the restoration of peace, fanned communal feelings to widen their political base. </p><p>On the other hand, two Hindu leaders, the then Chief Minister Sripati Mishra and minister Ram Singh Khanna toured Meerut for formality sake.</p><p>But the commission sees the biggest culprit in the lawkeepers. It found that the administration had used excessive force without justification and confirmed that the PAC and the police resorted to indiscriminate firing on Muslims in places like Firoz Building in Harinagar, East Ilahi Baksh and Sainiwali Gali. </p><p>The administration has also been accused of fudging the death figures. For instance, in Firoz Building alone 13 people were killed in police firing though the administration put the toll at only five. Also, no postmortem was conducted on the dead.</p><p>The commission squarely blames the then district magistrate Shambhu Nath (he is now the principal secretary, social welfare) for his failure to control the situation. </p><p>"He remained busy presiding over meetings in the Collectorate, Kotwali and other places instead of going to the spot and guiding the officials," observes the commission. Earlier, independent reports had blamed some senior police officials including the then SP Pyarelal for showing an anti-Muslim bias while dealing with the rioters.</p><p>Though the Parikh Commission findings have not been made public, local Muslim leaders have no doubts about its contents. Yusuf Qureshi, who had filed a writ petition after the riots calling for an inquiry, says it is a well known fact that Congress leaders had played a role in the riots.</p><p> But he laments that the government sets up inquiry commissions after each riot and then forgets about them. "The reports of all such inquiries should be published and the guilty persons and officials punished," he says.</p><p>He is not cynical without reason. Five years after the 1982 riots, Maliana village in Meerut district witnessed more bloodshed when the trigger-happy PAC gunned down 80 Muslims and dumped their bodies in a river.<br></p><p> The "state-orchestrated" killings shocked the nation prompting the Congress government to set up two commissions of inquiry. Nobody knows the fate of the reports of these two commissions.<br></p><div id="tab-link-wrapper-plugin"><div class="authors__container"><div class="authors__by"><div class="authlable">Published By: </div><div class="authdetaisl">AtMigration </div></div><div class="published__on"><div class="authlable">Published On: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Nov 9, 1998</div></div></div><div class="sendros">--- ENDS ---</div></div></div>

states

States

<div class="itg-mosimage"><div class="itgimage"><img  title=""  class="" alt="" src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Fsites%2Fmedia2%2Findiatoday%2Fimages%2Fstories%2F1998November%2Fwake-up_080812090017.gif" loading="lazy" /></div><b style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Case:</b><p>The 45-day-long communal orgy that began on September 6, 1982, and left 50 dead in Meerut town.<br><b style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Place:</b><b> </b>The bustling Shahagasha locality in Meerut.<br><b style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Cause:</b>A dispute over 200 sq ft of land in a temple.<br><b style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Status:</b>A commission of inquiry headed by Justice (retd) C.D. Parikh submits its 969-page report on November 15, 1988. It has been since gathering dust. The Supreme Court has now directed the Uttar Pradesh Government to submit an action taken report within two months.</p><p>There was a time when Meerut epitomised Hindu-Muslim unity. In 1857, roused by the rebellious Mangal Pandey, Hindu and Muslim soldiers had unitedly raised the banner of revolt against the British. </p><p>And though the bustling Uttar Pradesh town became a hotbed of communal discord in post-Independence India (21 major Hindu-Muslim riots between 1950 and 1990), the 50,000 residents of Shahagasha <i>mohalla</i> in the old city continued to live in peace with each other.</p><p>A 200 sq ft piece of land was all it took to shatter this peace forever. On September 6, 1982, a dispute over this land gradually acquired communal overtones and then snowballed into an orgy of violence that claimed 50 lives and planted the germs of mistrust in the minds of the two communities. </p><p>The state government promptly set up a commission of inquiry headed by retired Justice C.D. Parikh to probe who was responsible for the riots. And then forgot about it.</p><div class="itemcenter"><iframe scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="62" awidth="320" aheight="62" amplayout="fixed" src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Fsites%2Findiatoday%2Fbanner%2Fpreferred-source-new.html%3Fv%3D1.014" class="preferred-source-banner" loading="lazy"></iframe></div><style>.preferred-source-banner{  margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}</style></p><p>Last week, the Supreme Court tersely reminded the Uttar Pradesh Government that it was almost 10 years since the Parikh Commission had submitted its report. The apex court directed the state Government to submit a summary of the report along with an action taken report (ATR) within two months.<br></p><p>A three-member bench presided over by Chief Justice of India A.S. Anand observed: "The report of the Parikh Commission appears to have gathered dust for almost 10 years. We are at a loss to understand why the state has been taking this matter so casually and why we were not informed over all these years (about) the correct position."</p><p>The order places Chief Minister Kalyan Singh's Government between the devil and the deep sea. The Parikh Commission has questioned the role played by the local units of the BJP, the Congress and some religious leaders in fanning the riots. </p><p>It also blames the district administration for its failure to contain the violence. Kalyan cannot afford to offend the apex court by ignoring its diktat. But the commission's findings are a political tinderbox. Taking action on its recommendations is likely to ignite passions and reopen 16-year-old wounds. </p><p>The way out, as shown in a confidential note from the state's Home Department, is simple: Place the report in the next session of the state legislature and let the House dilute it on the pretext of maintaining communal harmony.</p><p>Kalyan's dilemma may be understandable. What is inexplicable is that the state has also had non-BJP and non-Congress governments since the report was submitted 10 years ago.</p><p> Says state Minority Affairs Minister Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan: "Leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati must now explain to the people why they ignored the report when they were chief ministers."</p><table style="margin-left: 5px; background-color: rgb(229, 229, 229); height: 1px;" align="right" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="3" width="277"><tbody><tr><td><b style="">Kalyan cannot ignore the court order to act on the report. But it is a tinder-box and any action is bound to ignite passions. </b><br></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p> All India Muslim Forum President Nehaluddin Ahmad is more scathing. 
"This has confirmed that like the Congress, 'Maulana' Mulayam Singh 
Yadav's love for Muslims was only skin-deep," he says acidly.</p><p>The 
trigger of the Meerut riots was a minor property dispute between an 
advocate Qazi Zahiruddin Ahmed and a trust that managed a local Shiv 
temple in the Shahagasha locality. </p><p>When the trust began 
construction work to extend the temple in February 1982, Ahmed - who 
owned the plot behind the temple - protested saying that there was a <i>mazar</i>
 on the land. The trust refuted the claim and enlisted the support of 
the local BJP unit. The dispute soon acquired a communal twist.</p><p>While
 Justice Parikh lists Ahmed's claim and the reaction of the temple trust
 as the factors for the violence, he also questions the role played by 
local political and religious leaders in containing the riots.</p><p>Even
 as communal tension was building up, the Shahi Imam of Delhi Abdullah 
Bukhari reached Meerut on September 5 and led a procession to the 
disputed site. The marchers shouted inflammatory slogans causing Hindus 
to close their shops in panic. </p><p>The next day violence erupted. The pujari of the Peepalashwar temple was fatally stabbed, followed by more killings elsewhere.</p><p>On
 September 14, the district administration confiscated the disputed 
property. But angry Hindus moved the court and the confiscation was 
struck down leading to a second round of rioting.</p><p> The commission 
observes: "While the credit for the first round of communal violence 
goes to Shahi Imam Abdullah Bukhari, the second round of violence was 
ignited by the decision of Qazi Zainul Abedin, who asked the Muslims to 
mourn the death of (the) Muslims and condemn police and Provincial Armed
 Constabulary (PAC) excesses." </p><p>The Muslims were also urged to fly black flags atop their houses and wear black badges in protest against the police action.</p><p>The report also castigates political parties including the Congress and the BJP for whipping up communal passions. While the BJP championed the cause of the Hindus, the Congress sided with the Muslims in general and with a section of Hindus.</p><p> The commission also found that two rival Muslim leaders of the Congress - then Union minister Mohsina Kidwai and local MLA Manzoor Ahmad - vied with each other to emerge as a champion of the community.</p><p>Three other Muslim ministers, Jaffer Sharief and Khurshid Alam Khan (both Union ministers) and Abdul Rahman Nashtar (minister of state), instead of contributing to the restoration of peace, fanned communal feelings to widen their political base. </p><p>On the other hand, two Hindu leaders, the then Chief Minister Sripati Mishra and minister Ram Singh Khanna toured Meerut for formality sake.</p><p>But the commission sees the biggest culprit in the lawkeepers. It found that the administration had used excessive force without justification and confirmed that the PAC and the police resorted to indiscriminate firing on Muslims in places like Firoz Building in Harinagar, East Ilahi Baksh and Sainiwali Gali. </p><p>The administration has also been accused of fudging the death figures. For instance, in Firoz Building alone 13 people were killed in police firing though the administration put the toll at only five. Also, no postmortem was conducted on the dead.</p><p>The commission squarely blames the then district magistrate Shambhu Nath (he is now the principal secretary, social welfare) for his failure to control the situation. </p><p>"He remained busy presiding over meetings in the Collectorate, Kotwali and other places instead of going to the spot and guiding the officials," observes the commission. Earlier, independent reports had blamed some senior police officials including the then SP Pyarelal for showing an anti-Muslim bias while dealing with the rioters.</p><p>Though the Parikh Commission findings have not been made public, local Muslim leaders have no doubts about its contents. Yusuf Qureshi, who had filed a writ petition after the riots calling for an inquiry, says it is a well known fact that Congress leaders had played a role in the riots.</p><p> But he laments that the government sets up inquiry commissions after each riot and then forgets about them. "The reports of all such inquiries should be published and the guilty persons and officials punished," he says.</p><p>He is not cynical without reason. Five years after the 1982 riots, Maliana village in Meerut district witnessed more bloodshed when the trigger-happy PAC gunned down 80 Muslims and dumped their bodies in a river.<br></p><p> The "state-orchestrated" killings shocked the nation prompting the Congress government to set up two commissions of inquiry. Nobody knows the fate of the reports of these two commissions.<br></p><div id="tab-link-wrapper-plugin"><div class="authors__container"><div class="authors__by"><div class="authlable">Published By: </div><div class="authdetaisl">AtMigration </div></div><div class="published__on"><div class="authlable">Published On: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Nov 9, 1998</div></div></div><div class="sendros">--- ENDS ---</div></div></div>

While  local politicians and religious leaders fanned communal passions, the  police and the trigger-happy PAC displayed an anti-Muslim bias.

India Today

While local politicians and religious leaders fanned communal passions, the police and the trigger-happy PAC displayed an anti-Muslim bias.

Wake-up orders - India Today

Meerut: As politicians fan communal passions, trigger-happy PAC display anti-Muslim bias

Wake-up orders

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A Hindu man went to speak to his neighbour’s wife at his friend’s request to help resolve a domestic dispute. However, he was allegedly beaten up by a group of Muslim youths.

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In this Special Report, India Today’s Mir Fareed provides exclusive details on a major counter-terror operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur. Security forces, including the Army, Jammu Kashmir Police, and CRPF, successfully eliminated two Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists who were hiding in a natural cave within a dense forested terrain. Mir Fareed noted, ‘Finally, their luck ran out as security forces used IEDs to blow up the entrance. And with that, they were eliminated.’ One of the deceased has been identified as a top commander, Abu Mavia. The operation involved sophisticated drone surveillance and sharpshooters to pin down the terrorists who had previously evaded capture. The report highlights the evolving tactics of security agencies in tackling infiltrators using the treacherous forest reaches of Jammu. The area is currently being sanitised as per standard operating procedures following the recovery of weapons.

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This news report covers the intense political confrontation in Parliament where Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi reportedly called BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu a 'traitor'. The incident occurred near the Makar Dwar as suspended MPs were protesting. The transcript highlights that Bittu, once a close associate of Gandhi, was heckled by Congress members following the remark. Additionally, the bulletin features a statement regarding the suspension of eight Congress MPs for the remainder of the session due to 'unruly behaviour'. Dilip Saikia, who was in the chair during the ruckus, stated that the members violated parliamentary decorum and rules. The report notes that the Congress party views those who defect to the other side through a specific 'prism', leading to the sharp exchange. The drama unfolded as Priyanka Gandhi also met with the suspended legislators to discuss the adjournment of the House.

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Meerut: As politicians fan communal passions, trigger-happy PAC display anti-Muslim bias

While local politicians and religious leaders fanned communal passions, the police and the trigger-happy PAC displayed an anti-Muslim bias.

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