As many as two people have died and 150 people, including policemen have sustained injuries in Bengaluru violence, which erupted over a Facebook Post, which hurt the sentiments of Muslims.
The message was posted on Facebook by the nephew of Dalit Congress MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthy. Thereafter, a Muslim mob attacked his residence yesterday night. He and his family escaped unhurt, when the mob torched his house in DJ Halli police station limits.
The mob also pelted stones at police vehicles and torched vehicles. They also tried to set fire to police stations, which forced police to lob tear gas shells and resorted to lathicharge. In the ensuing clash, several policemen were injured.
Many eminent people and BJP are labelling it as an engineered riot to create disharmony between Hindus and Muslims to target BS Yediyurappa-led BJP government in Karnataka.
Some others are also talking about the same disturbing pattern of Delhi and Bengaluru violence.
Before we could unfold this link, it will be worth referring to the Delhi violence. As is known, it is a well-documented episode that Delhi riots were a consequences of hatred from December to February over the passage of CAA in Parliament.
Several hate speeches were delivered by eminent persons right after the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act. This led to JNU and Muslim Aligarh University students hurling petrol bombs, vandalising property, and engaging in acts of arson, with support of outsiders.
After this, hate-mongers occupied some important roads in areas like Shaheenbagh, where Muslims and Hindus are roughly equal in number. The main intention was to incite violence by chanting anti-Hindu and anti-India slogans using microphones after pitching up tents.
Thereafter, mobs started gathering in large numbers, who were treated with inciting speeches by few politicians including Mani Shankar Aiyar who portrayed the Narendra Modi government as anti-Muslims.
In the final stage, a road in Jafrabad was blocked by a mob of women where Safoora Zargar was present. Another road in Chand Bagh was also blocked.
These hateful speeches against CAA resulted in anti-Hindu riots in Delhi this February when US President Donald Trump was on India visit.
The riots saw dozens of people killed including Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma and Delhi Police Head Constable Ratan Lal. AAP leader Tahir Hussain emerged as one of the main conspirators of the riots.
Delhi Police investigations established the link between Zakir Naik, Umar Khaled, Khaled Saifi, Ishrat Jahan and Tahir Hussain, for inciting violence.
The probe revealed the meeting of Khalid Saifi and radical Islamist preacher Zakir Naik in Malaysia to put up anti-CAA protests on Shaheen Bagh model all over India.
The investigation showed Saifi met various individuals including Zakir Naik to raise funds for the riots.
The most unforgettable smartphone images of Delhi riots were Tahir Hussain supervising the riot on the terrace of his building. A mob which had gathered on the terrace hurled stones and acid bottles at innocent people.
Delhi riots was a sinister design of tukde tukde gang, intellectuals, corrupt politicians, who want to shatter religious amity, spread hate and engineer violence.
Filmmaker and producer Ashoke Pandit posted an interesting tweet in which he makes an attempt to link Bengaluru riots with Delhi riots. He states that Bengaluru riots are the consequences of hatred and hate speeches given by some celebrities and intellectuals in February.
“KG Halli in Bengaluru, which saw violent riots last night by the goons, was also the site of #BilalBaghprotests against the CAA and NRC. Like Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, the entire area was blocked off. Actor Naseeruddin Shah had given a speech there,” he wrote.
In his speech, Shah had instigated thousands of Muslim women protesting against CAA by saying that the legislation was against the interests of indian Muslims.
“When students in Jamia Millia Islamia are attacked, when a nine-year-old girl in Bidar is traumatised and is forced to live alone because her mother is taken into custody on no grounds and when in Delhi’s Gargi College, miscreants enter the premises and misbehave with our daughters, people who have spoken about ‘beti-padao beti-bachao’ seem to have still not found a voice to speak out,” Shah said, adding the incidents left his blood boiling,” Shah said as reported by OpIndia.
The most striking image of this speech was that Shah did not know anything about CAA and was spitting venom. In reply, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale had asked Shah to study CAA which had nothing to do with taking away the rights of Indian Muslims.
Not only Shah, even casteist Jignesh Mevani had addressed the people gathered at Bilal Bagh protest site assuring protesters to take their message across India including Shaheen Bagh.
“Mothers, the light and brightness of your faces….if Modi sees you all just once, he will resign. Although this protest belongs to all of us, it especially belongs to all you revolutionary sisters and mothers. That’s why I haven’t come here today to give a long lecture, I have come to just witness your illumined faces,” OpIndia reported quoting Mevani.
Self-acclaimed and Nehruvian Ramachandra Guha and activist Medha Patkar also participated in the protests.
Shah, Guha, Patkar, Mevani Must Be Probed
Since there is a striking resemblance of hate speeches at Bilal Bagh during anti-CAA protests and the ensuing riots in Delhi and Bengaluru months later, they should be investigated by CBI or NIA.
Yediyurappa government should investigate into the possible link between radical Islamists and tukde tukde gang, just as investigations in Delhi riots brought to the fore the link between Zakir Naik, Umar Khaled, Khaled Saifi, Ishrat Jahan and Tahir Hussain, for inciting violence.
Did Shah, Guha, Patkar, Mevani and others had a direct or indirect role in Bengaluru riots, should be investigated. Period.