NEW DELHI: There were clashes between Hindus on the one hand and Muslims, Sikhs and Dalits on the other in Sadar Bazar and other adjoining areas of Delhi last week leading to several days of curfew restrictions, firings and arson in which seven persons died and more than 30 were injured.
The trouble started when participants of a peace march were pelted with stones at Idgah Road. This led to retaliation. Suddenly violence spread to Dhobi Katra and other adjoining areas. There was hardly any police force to control the situation. The clashes continued for about an hour. The police intervened only when reinforcements came.
The peace march by Sikh, Muslim and Dalit Front, the All India Minority Front and the All India Muslim Unity Front started from Sisganj Gurdwara at about 10 AM on the November 14. It reached Idgah at 3:30 P.M. The participants were mostly youths belonging to three communities whose number is estimated to be 15,000. It was there that they were pelted with stones.
The Hindu media alleged that the participants had raised “provocative, slogans” at the place where they were stoned. No Hindu newspaper, however, mentioned any specific slogan that could have led to any provocation. In any case never before has mere provocative slogans become a cause of intercommunal clashes.
Lt Governor Arjan Singh and Police commissioner Vijay Kain visited the affected areas and Singh announced compensation of one lakh to the kin of those killed and Rs 10000 to those seriously injured.
It is for the first time in the history of Delhi that three minority communities joined hands to take out a procession and to confront the attackers. The incident will have political implications. The spontaneous united front at the mass level will make some of the power brokers of all the three communities irrelevant. No wonder, Shahi Imam, Abdullah Bukhari, condemned the participants of the peace march because they had not asked him to provide leadership.
Shekhar too visited the affected areas and enhanced the relief to those killed to Rs 5 lakh. He said the guilty would be punished.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 23, 1990
