Is Rajasthan’s Heritage of Communal Harmony Under Threat?

Have horrific incidents of lynching and other instances of communal violence marred the image of Raje government?

(The Quint/Rhythum Seth)

With shocking incidents like a dairy farmer being allegedly lynched on suspicion of cow smugglingin Alwar, is the political culture of communal harmony in Rajasthan under threat?

The reins are currently in BJP leader and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s hands whose administration will continue to be haunted by the events that have unfolded in the last few months.

1. The Unfortunate “Demise” of Zafar Khan

Zafar Khan, a local CPI-ML worker and an activist, was allegedly lynched by Pratapgarh civic municipality employees on 16 June after he tried to stop them from photographing women defecating in the open due to lack of domestic or public toilets.

The incident was condoled by Rajasthan’s Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Twitter who called Khan’s “demise” extremely unfortunate. She also tagged a tweet of Udaipur’s IGP which states that “scientific evidence doesn’t suggest murder”.

Raje’s choice of words caused much furore as it hinted that the death was not murder. She was bombarded with questions as to why she did not acknowledge that the 55-year-old was lynched.

A Hindustan Times report quoted M Iqbal Siddiqui, media secretary of Muslim advocacy group, Jamat-e-Islam-e-Hind, saying, “The administration is trying to hush it up but the Pratapgarh incident is a communal lynching.”

An Indian Express editorial went on to say that Raje’s remarks had added “insult to the injury”.

Intolerance in Rajasthan has been hardening apace.... In April, dairy farmer Pehlu Khan was lynched by cow vigilantes in Alwar in a clearly communal attack. In all such outrages, the state has either looked away, or blamed the victim. Raje, who tried projecting a modern, pro-growth image, may be warring with the RSS wing of the state BJP. But her silence – and her platitudes that lay the shroud of inanity over crime –  only compound the crisis.

<i>IE</i> editorial

What raises more questions is that the fact that Khan’s post-mortem report does not indicate any injury marks on his body and the reason for his death is being cited as “cardio respiratory failure”.

Also Read: Fake Handles With Muslim Names Defend Raj CM on Zafar Khan’s Death

2. Woman Beaten, Forced to Say ‘Allah’, ‘Jai Shri Ram’

Another shocking incident came into light after a video clip showed a group of men mercilessly thrashing a mentally-challenged woman in Rajasthan’s Nagaur on 13 June.

The woman was forced to say “Allah”, “Jai Shri Ram” and “Jai Hanuman” while she was repeatedly kicked and hit with a rubber pipe as she screamed in pain and called for help.

Puranmal Meena, SHO, Balaji police station, said the suspects beat the woman on the suspicion that she was entering their fields with some ill-intention.

After the video spread on social media, police arrested two people, identified as Prakash Meghwal and Shrawan Meghwal in relation to the case.

3. Dairy Farmer Pehlu Khan Lynched on Suspicion of Cattle Smuggling

The harrowing attack on 55-year-old Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer who later died, and four others in Alwar district by cow vigilantes was described as “manhandling” by Rajasthan's Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria during an interview to NDTV early in April.

The vigilantes reportedly accused the men of illegally smuggling cows for slaughter, but they had travelled to Jaipur to purchase milch buffaloes in the hope of increasing milk production during the month of Ramazan.

Appu Esthose Suresh, in his article for the Hindustan Times, points out how “vigilantism has gained legitimacy” as it has been encouraged by “public rhetoric”, and “attitude of political leaders”. He adds that it is the preferred system which is considered swift instead of the “legal recourse based on Constitutionalism (which) is long-winded and time-consuming”.

4. ‘Maharana Pratap Won the Battle of Haldighati’

So, who wunnit? Earlier this year, three ministers of Raje's government endorsed a proposal to rewrite history taught at the university level according to which the 1576 Battle of Haldighati was won by Rajput leader Maharana Pratap Singh and not Mughal emperor Akbar.

The plan was sent to the Board of Studies of the University of Rajasthan for critical examination.

Former higher education minister Kalicharan Saraf had told Indian Express:

Yes, it has been established. A distorted version of history has been taught to generations of students. But the fact is that Akbar was a foreign invader and Maharana Pratap was a brave, patriotic ruler. And if there is a proposal to correct this mistake and tell students that Maharana Pratap actually won the battle, then what is wrong with it?

6. Four Sikh Men Thrashed by Mob in Ajmer Village

Four Sikh men were beaten by a mob in Rajgarh village of Ajmer district in April this year. The chilling video emerged on 24 April showing the four men, who were volunteers or sevadars at a gurudwara in Alwar, being dragged out of a car and brutally thrashed.

Reports suggested that the four reached the area to seek money for the gurudwara's langar or free kitchen.

An NDTV report said that a woman felt “she has been hypnotised by them” following which the enraged mob attacked the men and dragged them to the police.

A Past That Embraced Camaraderie & Peace

Rajasthan had a unique history of harmony, according to a Hindustan Times report which also laid out past instances.

During the 1947 carnage, for example, the former Maharaja of Jaipur, Man Singh-II and the then Prime Minister, Mirza Ismail, moved around the city urging people to maintain peace. Similarly, during the Babri incident in 1992, Hindus, as well as Muslims, jointly appealed for peace. The state even remained unaffected by the 2002 riots in its neighbouring state Gujarat.

The current scenario, on the other hand, reflects the opposite.

Under Congress leader and former chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s reign, from 2008 to 2013, 10 Muslims from the Meo community were killed in police firing in Bharatpur’s Gopalgarh in September 2011, said a Hindustan Times report.

The Qalandari mosque in Bhilwara district, that dated back to the 16th century, was demolished in 2012, according to India Today and a Muslim SHO was burnt alive by an irate mob in Sawai Madhopur in March 2011.