This article is written by Kushang, from Himachal Pradesh National Law University (HPNLU). This article talks about the Delhi riots which happened in the month of February 2020. The article also discusses the role of the authorities during the riots and the present situation of the issue.

Introduction

The Delhi riots have emerged as the recent black chapter in the history of India. The riots which started on February 23, 2020, on the base of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protest soon turned into communal violence. Once again it was the conflict between the Hindus and Muslims. The incident which led to death and injuries to people has again brought the issue of India being an anti-Muslim country. The riot exposed the inefficiency of authorities in controlling such devastating situations in the country. People have been displaced and property worth crores have been destroyed. The differences between the two communities have again increased. The country has still not recovered from the impact of the Delhi riots. The investigations are still being conducted. People are divided on the cause of such an incident. Thus, it has become important to know about one of India’s darkest chapters which were written in February 2020 in the capital of the country.

Background overview of the whole situation

The introduction of the Citizenship Amendment Act led to widespread protests in the country. One of those protests was being conducted in the capital of India, New Delhi. The protestors had blocked roads around the city. One of the sit-in protests was scheduled to be held on 22 February 2020 near the Jaffrabad metro station. On 23 February, Kapil Mishra, a BJP leader, held a rally near Jaffrabad. He gave a warning to the police authorities to clear the area blocked by protesters within 3 days else he would take up the matter in his hand. This was seen as a major incitement for the riot. On the evening of February 23, there were incidents of the clash between the pro CAA and anti- CAA groups. Clashes broke out in areas of Maujpur chowk, Karawal Nagar, Babarpur, and Chandbagh. Vehicles and shops were destroyed. The riots started and became worse with time. People lost their lives and many were severely injured. Many incidents of stone-pelting, open firing, property vandalism, and the clash between Hindu- Muslims were reported. There were attacks on journalists. These incidents continued till 28 February. The incident had left the people in shock. Many were displaced. There was a sense of fear among the people. The clash had become a national as well as an international issue. The role of the authorities was questioned in controlling the situations. The investigations are still being conducted to know the real cause of the riot and the people responsible for such an act.

CAA and the protest

The base of the riots was the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The Act is aimed towards making it easier for non-muslims immigrants from neighbouring countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan to become the citizens of India. The Act entitles only the Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians facing religious problems in the 3 nations to seek Indian citizenship. The conflict arose due to the non-exclusion of Muslims in the above category. The Act amended the previous provision of obtaining citizenship after residing in India for 11 years to 5 years. The protest regarding the CAA is based on two different issues. In the northeast, the protest is against the implementation of the Act as they fear that the Act will cause harm to their culture and linguistic uniqueness due to the overflow of migrants. On the other hand, protest in the rest of India is due to the non-exclusion of Muslims in the category. This is seen as discrimination and anti-Muslim move by the protesters. The protests in Delhi were also based on this reasoning. The protestors claim that the Act is against the Constitution. However, the government defended its move by stating that it is not against any particular religion. The Act is against the infiltrators. The government also stated that the 3 countries have a majority of Muslims and hence, they cannot face religious problems in their country. The government did not give much attention to the protests. This led to long protests in cities like Delhi where the protest was active for days. The Shaheen Bagh area of Delhi had become the main center of protests. The anti-CAA protestors and pro-CAA supporters clashed which led to the Delhi riots.

Role of the authorities

The Delhi riots became a topic for debate on the incompetence of the authorities in handling the situation which existed for almost 5 days. The Delhi Police was criticized. They proved ineffective in not only preventing the riot but also were not able to control the riots. There were many videos circulated which showed how Police did not try to enter and control the violence. The violence was being done in their presence. The main reason for this inefficiency of the police has been attributed to factors such as inexperience in handling situations like riots and lack of faith in leadership. The police failed in assessing the situation. The police did not deploy more officers in the regions that were prone to such violence. The police reaction to the situation was very slow and it seemed as if they did not want to control the violence. There were instances where it was claimed that even the police joined in the riots and were involved in violence. A video went viral, which showed police brutally assaulting a 23-year-old Muslim man and forcing him to sing the national anthem. Later, it was claimed that the man died after being detained for more than 36 hours after being denied attention. Institutions like Amnesty International have accused the police stating that police had “committed serious human rights violations” during the Delhi riots. There were various allegations against the police that they provided stones to Hindus to throw at the Muslims.

To sum up, the police authorities were not efficient in controlling the riot. There have been casualties in the police as well. The police suffered a loss not only of their personnel but also of credibility. People have lost trust in the police’s ability to deal with situations like the Delhi riots.

The health services at the time of the riot were also criticized. The Jan Swasthya Abhiyaan (JSA), a public health advocacy group presented a report titled ‘The Role of Health Systems in Responding to Communal Violence in Delhi’ which alleged that the people injured in violence were harassed by the doctors. In some of the cases, victims were denied treatment. People feared using the ambulance to go to the hospitals. 

Thus, not only the police but also the health service providers were not efficient during the riots. This was a big shame for the country. The two main authorities were not able to perform their duty as desired from them. This was the reason the riot took so long to be under control.

Aftermath and casualties of the riots

The Delhi riot claimed the lives of 53 people and hundreds were injured. There was massive economic and social damage done by the violence. Schools, shops, houses, and shrines were set on fire and destroyed using inflammable materials. The riot-affected areas were mostly inhabited by the workers involved in the unorganized sector. Vehicles in the area were destroyed. Many people had left their homes during the riot leaving valuables at home. All these valuables which included money also were destroyed due to fire. People are now afraid to return to the affected areas. Many have still not returned to their homes. Even clinics were destroyed in the area. The riot has created huge economic losses for the shop owners. The damages were suffered not only by the large shopkeepers but also by small retailers. People took shelter in other areas. Temporary shelter homes were set up in temples, mosques, hospitals, and houses. The affected people were prone to various diseases and also the COVID-19 had started making its presence felt in the country. The riot had the biggest impact on the relation between Hindus and Muslims. People of different religions started blaming each other for the riot. Hindu and Muslims started avoiding each other. Many Hindu employers laid off their Muslim employees claiming that they were involved in the riots. The issue was again politicized by the government and various rallies were organized even after the riot promoting the disunity among the Hindu and Muslim communities. Members of both communities put up metal gates to slow down the passage of rioters in the future. The Delhi riots have led to deaths, injuries, displacement, economic and social losses to the people. The difference between the Hindus and Muslims have widened due to the riots. It will take a long time to restore the same condition in the area which existed before the riots.

Present situation of the issue

In the recent development of the Delhi riot issue, the police have come up with a new angle of “Planned Conspiracy” in the case. The investigation process which has been in process since March is still not over. About 751 cases were filed related to the Delhi riots out of which 340 have been solved as per the Commissioner of the Delhi Police. Out of these 751 cases, one of the cases is related to the conspiracy and this has been registered by the crime branch. The police believe that there is a common pattern related to the riots in Delhi which indicates conspiracy. They believe that there were traffic jams on the sites before violence and the people who were sitting on protest sites were led by those who came from outside. They were not locals. In connection to this case, recently Umar Khalid, a student of Ph.D. in JNU’s center of Historical Studies has been arrested by the police. It is alleged that he has played a vital role in inciting the Delhi riots. Umar Khalid has been arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for his alleged role in the Delhi riots. The arrest has become a debatable issue and has again brought the limelight on the Delhi riots issue after many months. The police are currently investigating the conspiracy angle of the issue.

The life in the major areas affected by the riot has still not returned to normalcy. People are still suffering and claiming compensation from the authorities. The economic condition of the area has still not improved. The destroyed property has still not recovered from the damage. People have a sense of fear and it will take more time for life to become normal in areas affected by the Delhi riots.

Future ahead

The Delhi riot has once again highlighted the religious disharmony in the country. The people will fear more in the name of religion. The conflict between Hindu and Muslims is going to increase if the conditions remain the same. People have lost their trust in the police which may enable them to take the law in their hands. Although normalcy might return in riot-affected areas, people are not going to forget the incident. Protests have become less active due to the COVID-19 restrictions, however, there are chances of protest once the situation improves. The investigation results would have a large impact on what might happen in the future. It can be said that such an incident has created a great impact on the relation between Hindus and Muslims.

Conclusion

The Delhi riots have been one of the largest riots in the decade for India. The incident has once again brought the limelight on the intolerance issue that people talk about. The Hindu- Muslims are once again divided. The inefficiency of the police was also visible in the manner in which they handled the situation. A lot needs to be done to prevent such incidents in the future. The investigation process is still on and it would be important to find the real cause of the riots. Was it the hate speech of Kapil Mishra or conspiracy by Umar Khalid or any other reason, only the time will tell.

References

• https://www.indiatoday.in/news-analysis/story/delhi-violence-riots-police-nrc-npr-caa-1650291-2020-02-26
• https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/why-delhi-police-fails-in-assessing-violent-situations-lack-of-experience-distrust-in-leadership-and-depleting-human-intelligence/story-nPfI6FRzNspBep8uNeh5rL.html
• https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/article31149756.ece
• https://indianexpress.com/article/india/delhi-riots-case-jnus-umar-khalid-arrested-under-uapa-6594837/
• https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-53891354
• https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/A1967-37.pdf
• http://phmindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Final-Report-on-Delhi-violence_JSA.pdf

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