By Arjumand Shaheen
Clashes erupted yesterday in four states of India— Gujrat, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The clashes reportedly erupted as rallies were taken out to mark the Hindu festival, Ram Navami- the festival celebrating the birth of Hindu God Ram.
Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone city which is about 300 km from the state capital Bhopal has been placed under curfew after the violence during the Ram Navami procession. According to reports, more Police have been deployed in the area to prevent further flare-ups and violence.
“Several people, including three police personnel, were reported to be injured after the violence. “No casualty has been reported and ten people were injured in the incident. A curfew has been imposed in the district after the violence. The situation is now under control,” district collector Anugrha P said on Sunday.
Violence during the Ram Navami processions erupted in Bengal’s Howrah too, where police have been deployed in large numbers. Police have said they are taking steps to maintain peace in the area.
“All to note that Howrah City Police is taking all sorts of action to maintain peace and tranquillity in Shibpur PS area. All are requested to show utmost restraint & discretion while posting anything on social media, spreading any fake news on today’s Rama Navami rally related issues,” the city police wrote on Twitter.
In Gujrat, clashes were reported in Sabarkantha district’s Himmatnagar Anand district’s Khambhat. As per the officials, stone-pelting and arson were reported at both places and police had to fire tear gas shells to control the situation.
Gatherings have been banned in the village of Jharkhand too in the aftermath of violence.
Several social media users on Facebook and Twitter alleged that the Hindu devotees attacked the homes of Muslims, set their properties on fire at different places in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and vandalised the religious properties and shops.
“Attacks on Mosques, police standing by watching, Muslim houses being stone pelted and attacked, saffron clad men brandishing swords in air. Only replace the district and states, the pattern remains the same. This is how #Ramnavami was celebrated in India yesterday,” tweeted a lawyer, Kawalpreet Kaur.
Social Activist Sharjeel Usmani tweeted, “Admin & media in MP are accusing Muslims for the violence. Accusing them of pelting stones. Nothing could be far from the truth. Muslims had done everything in precaution – even cancelled the Taraveeh prayers in mosques a day before in advance. This was a deliberate, planned attack.”
“There have been Communal attacks in Himmatnagar and Khambat of Gujrat. Masjid Dargah and Muslim shops have been attacked in Himmatnagar,” Nadeem, a facebook user posted.
Another social media user posted a video in which a shrine can bee seen burning in Himmatnagar Gujrat with the caption “Our Ram Navami will be there and your shrine will be burnt.”
Another video that surfaced on Social media shows the Hindu devotees attacking a mosque in Khargone Madhya Pradesh. In the frame, the police personnel can be seen present at the incident too.
However, some visuals from Bengal’s Siliguri surfaced on social media, where Muslims were seen distributing water among Hindu devotees during a rally amid Ramnavami celebrations.