Issue 11 | 27 Jan. 2007

Why the Riots Happened

For the better part of last week, the eastern part of Bangalore was bitterly caught between two schools of thought and what emerged out of the chaos was the by now familiar vandalism and rioting - seemingly unchecked. Why did it happen? The surprising answer: Many of us know about it. But the story needs to be told. And what better than to hear it from some of those closely associated with the two opposite schools of thought. Here then is the inside story of why and how Bangalore got badly bruised and why and how it can happen again
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Saddam Hussain was hanged on Dec 30, 2006. When "leaders" die, any which way, other "leaders" make speeches, take out rallies, and strut their tear jerking stuff for public consumption. A lot of tears - human and crocodile - were shed in our country too. 

By the way, did we see any rally being taken out anywhere? Few if any, actually. But nearly 3 weeks later on Friday, Feb 19, a rally was held under the banner of a People's Front attended by veteran Congress leaders such as CK Jaffer Sharief, Mallikarjuna Kharge, Dharam Singh and so on. 

Those opposed to the rally and the Congress ask what was the need for the rally to be held so many days after Saddam Hussain was hanged. And did India or the Indian government have anything to do with it? And could we have done anything to prevent it? And was Saddam hanged on any issue that had even a remote connection with India? 

If these questions go abegging, there's more coming. The organizers and the participants took out a long rally and burnt the effigies of US President George Bush all along the route march. If they had restricted to that, perhaps things wouldn't have taken a turn for the worse. The rallyists pulled down the banners of the Hindu Samavesha planned for the following Sunday along the route. 

Now, the rally was supposed to be about Saddam and America, why did they turn their attention to the Hindu Samavesha rally? This was followed by some incidents of violence in east Bangalore, notably in Seppings Road where some miscreants attacked the residents entering their homes. Soon, there were rumours of a few temples being targeted by vandalized crowds. 

In this background, the Hindu Samavesha rally was held on Sunday, Feb 21. After the fear over the city on Friday, Saturday was relatively calm. As a Sangh Parivar sympathizer put it, "we did not retaliate immediately, as our primary concern was to see that the Hindu Samavesha rally passed off peacefully". 

But come Sunday, and after the rally, Bangalore was back to Ground Zero. The battle resumed, only the battle ground shifted. If Friday saw street battles in Seppings Road and surroundings, Shivajinagar was the primary target on Sunday. 
Blaming the police comes easy to people used to an easy life, but there's more meat in this argument this time. If the Saddam Hussain rally was ill-timed and uncalled for, the police should have suspected that the rally would not end up as a mere tear jerker. And after the blood letting and vandalism that ensued, they should have been better prepared for the bigger battle on Sunday. Having been bitten once, they should have been twice shy. After the first warning, they should have been better prepared, strategically, mentally and visibly.
 
One side says the three-day mayhem was in part, a battle in a battle viz. the Congress trying to sully the record of the JD(S)-BJP combine. Adding to the juicy argument is the fact that the present Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy will be laying down his office in October, whose place will be taken by the BJP. 

All this adds up to interesting political formulas and tantalizing political formulations which however mean nothing for the carpenter's boy who died in the police firing, and for the families of other injured. Bangalore has seen too much of blood letting in the past and on present evidence our appetite for such incidents will only bring lasting damage to our beloved city. 

And in this endeavour, nobody can save us, but ourselves. For in a battle where the battle lines are blurred to the point where you do not know who is enemy and who friend, and where the protector turns predator, it is up to Citizen Ram and Citizen Rahim to come together and make their own peace.