In 1984 riots 350 sikhs were reportedly killed in Trilokpuri and it is still considered an unsafe area. On Diwali night, trilokpuri erupted once again. While there is no definitive answer to what led to the flare-up between the hindus and muslims, There are many versions of what transpired on Diwali night but what everybody seems to agree on is that there was a clash between two groups, the Muslims objected to loudspeakers being played at Mata ki Chowki which is next to a mosque, Within minutes, the incident had assumed a communal colour and battlelines had been drawn – the Jagran organisers and some Muslim residents faced each other and the fighting escalated.
No one can say for sure if there had been an immediate provocation actually it seems that the riots were a “pre-planned” act; it is prejudices or genuine nuisance, whatever may be the reason but the Delhi police’s inaction allowed a minor incident to take such ugly proportions because the situation which had been building up since Dussehra, could have been defused if the administration and police had been more alert. instead of diffusing police helped for instigating riots in Trilokpuri, many parents claimed that they took part in the violence to save their sons form police brutality.
While it is always easy to blame a party or individuals for instigating riots, but we must go beyond these easy explanations and look for the deeper causes that make places like Trilokpuri a battlefield. I think it’s time we should stop seeing riots as a simple law and order problem. Instead authorities should go beyond a specific event and try to identify the deeper causes that lead to such conflagrations.
Riots are always easier to explain in general terms than to pin down in particular ones. Parhapsthe only three things that can be said with total confidence about the riots are: one that they are not over yet;two that they will nevertheless end eventually; and three that in spite of all the progress made by indian govrnment, these riots will always remain the great enduring national wound.
AMIT KUMAR RANA
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