Testimonies of victims of violence Shaikh Mujibur Rehman
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There are perhaps as many stories hidden in their lives as there are Muslims
in India — some 160 million. But the meaning of being a Muslim could also
vary dramatically, depending on the political situation and the types of
myths and stereotypes that are manufactured and spread in an attempt to
project the community as the “other”.
In this era of ‘war on terror', Muslims both nationally and globally are
perceived to be the not-so-normal people, who are out of step with modern
civilisation. The book sheds some light on a similar perception within the
community and the danger it poses for inter-community relations.
The publication is an outcome of two events that ‘Act Now for Harmony and
Democracy' (ANHAD), a prominent civil society organisation fighting Hindu
fundamentalist elements, held in the recent past — in Hyderabad (2008) and
New Delhi (2009). It presents the testimonies of several victims of communal
violence and state oppression as also commentaries by many well-known
scholars and activists, who served as juries in these tribunals. They
include: K.G. Kannabiran, Rama Malkote, Justice Sardar Ali Khan, Justice
S.N. Bhargava and Asghar Ali Engineer (Hyderabad); Zoya Hasan, Tarun Tejpal,
Hanif Lakdawala, Prashant Bhusan, Zahid Ali Khan, and Admiral Ramdas (New
Delhi).
Testimony
In an insightful foreword, the noted scholar and activist, Ram Puniyani,
records that the testimonies of victims “moistened the eyes of many jury
members.” He says what is sickening is not just the communal attacks but
also the reckless and indiscriminate manner in which the security forces
went about arresting Muslim youths in the aftermath of terror strikes, as
evidenced in the case of the Samjhota Express, Ajmer, and Mecca Masjid bomb
blasts. Among the testimonies of the victims of violence and their
relatives, the one by Mussarat Jahan is heart-rending. She gives a graphic
account of the circumstances under which her sister, Ishrat Jahan, was
killed. Her narrative of Ishrat's life brings out her (Ishrat's) innocence.
Some of the victims' accounts are pretty long.
Discussing the issues in a larger perspective, Rajiv Yadav analyses the
working of electoral politics and the “politics of terrorism” and shows how
Azamgarh is now projected as a “new Pakistan” in India. As for the cases
presented by activists in the field, Nihal Ahmed Ansari narrates the story
of Noorul Hooda, a powerloom worker who was arrested as a suspect in
Malegaon case.
Another interesting account has come from Nisaben, whose son-in-law Mohammed
Zahid has been accused in the Malegaon blast case. Then there is the case of
Shah Alam of Ahmedabad, worker in a junk shop, being picked by the
Anti-Terror Squad and accused of having planned to blow up a temple. How, in
the absence of Shah Alam, his family suffered for want of money to educate
his three children is told poignantly by his sister, Seema.
Without doubt, the attempt to weave together real life stories about the
hardship, agony, and misery the families of the victims of communal violence
have suffered is commendable. First and foremost, it helps the people at
large understand what such violence and the official agencies' knee-jerk,
and often partisan, response has meant to members of the minority community.
For the victims themselves, it provides an opportunity to share their
experiences and offer their viewpoints.
Above all, it serves as a morale booster and infuses in them a sense of
confidence that there are indeed people who really care for them. This in
itself is very uplifting, given that people's general attitude is marked
dominantly by apathy and indifference. Moreover, the value of a compilation
of this kind is enormous for any researcher on ethnic violence.
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