Communal violence, a blot on Hubli

By M.Madan Mohan

HUBLI, SEPT. 22. Hubli went through another period of communal tension following the visit of Mr. Ashok Singhal, Working Chairman, Vishwa Hindu Parishat International, last Saturday. Normality is returning to the city, which saw 15 incidents of communal violence in 30 years.

According to Mr. Madan Desai, Vice-President, Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the violence led to a loss of about Rs. 12 crores a day. The nearly 50,000 daily-wage earners were the most affected.

The threat of communal violence looms large again as the Supreme Court's judgment on the Idgah Maidan case is expected in just over a month.

Hubli has become vulnerable to communal tension. Earlier, this stemmed from the distrust between the Somavamsha Sahasrajuna Kshatriya community, the members of which are known as the Pattegars, and the Muslims. The situation has changed now.

Seconds liquor flows in the city, which is a haven for anti- social elements. The Police Department, which has become weak after the special commissionerate was formed, is unable to control the situation. The political leadership have failed to take hard decisions. The Idgah Maidan issue, which made the city come to be identified as a communally-sensitive place in the country, and last week's violence followed the failure of the police in handling the situation. The State Government also faltered in the Idgah issue.

The hoisting of the National Flag on the Idgah Maidan by the BJP in 1992 would have gone unnoticed if police stayed away from lowering the flag. They continued the folly during every national festival that followed, and told the Government that hoisting the National Flag on the maidan would lead to communal riots. The BJP politicised the issue and raked up the controversy during five national festivals in a row. The standoff resulted in opening of fire by police, killing six persons, on Independence Day in 1994.

The then Congress Government erred in backing the police in preventing the hoisting of the flag on the ground. The issue was sorted out in 1995 by the Deve Gowda Government, which made the President of the Anjuman Islam hoist the flag.

Violence erupted following Mr. Singhal's visit because the police failed to manage the procession taken out by the Vishwa Hindu Parishat and the Bajrang Dal activists. However, the Government acted decisively, and sent the Additional Director General of Police, Mr. M.D.Singh, to oversee the restoration of law and order.

The State Government has not decided to act on the recommendations made by the commissions of inquiry, headed by Mr. Muralidhar Rao and Mr. Rajasekhara Murthy, respectively, which went into the Idgah police firing.

The issue went to court following the building of a commercial complex on an acre of land by the Anjuman Islam. The trial court ruled against the construction. The verdict was upheld by the district court and the Karnataka High Court. The latter ordered that the complex should be demolished. The Supreme Court stayed the order. Four weeks ago, when the matter came up for hearing, the court suggested that a compromise be reached and gave eight weeks' time for the purpose.

Surprisingly, the Government has not taken the initiative in bringing about a compromise, which will remove a major irritant in relations between the two communities.

What is puzzling is the silence of the Minister for Labour and Wakf, Mr. A.H.Hindasgeri, on the issue. He was the Chairman of the Anjuman Islam earlier, and had been a party to the legal dispute.

When presspersons asked about the stand of the State Government on the suggestion made by the Supreme Court, the Home Minister, Mr. Mallikarjun Kharge, said: ``Now that it has been brought to his attention,'' the Government would examine the matter. Mr. Hindasgeri said he had apprised the Chief Minister, Mr. S.M.Krishna, of the issue.

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