Howrah, Hooghly and Uttar Dinajpur in West Bengal and Sasaram and Bihar Sharif in Bihar – these cities located in two different states have only one similarity. And that is this year all these areas have been burning in the fire of communal violence on the issue of Ram Navami procession. Even in Vadodara of Gujarat and Sambhaji Nagar of Maharashtra, communal tension had arisen on this issue. But especially in Bengal and Bihar, this violence and the accompanying arson were horrifying.
The processions taken out on this occasion are now being accused of being colored by politics instead of religion. Questions are also being raised on the negligence of the administration for this violence. Mamta Banerjee herself has publicly criticized the role of the police in this matter and has spoken of action against the culprits.
After all, why are the festivals of Ram Navami becoming a weapon of politics in various states including West Bengal? Political analysts say that these riots on the issue of festivals in recent years have political implications. Riots only benefit one political party or the other. This is the reason why no one, from the ruling to the opposition party, remains behind in creating riots and adding fuel to its fire. Whoever's stick moves on the lines of his buffalo, wherever it moves, he moves his own. As soon as the riots start, the politics of accusation and counter-accusation starts, which continues for months even after the fire of the riots has cooled down. And if an election is round the corner, all the parties try to keep this issue alive till the election results.
Bihar riots
The last riots took place in the year 2018 on the issue of Ram Navami procession in Bihar. But this year, on the occasion of Ram Navami, violence broke out in two cities of Bihar – Bihar Sharif and Sasaram. A young man died in the violence in Bihar Sharif while many families in Sasaram left their homes and went to a safer place fearing violence. Property worth lakhs has been damaged in this violence. There is an atmosphere of panic in both the cities till now.
Now a change has come in the Shobha Yatra of Ram Navami that it is being organized on a large scale. Many religious events have been held in Bihar Sharif and Sasaram earlier also. But there has never been such violence in recent years. Earlier in the year 1989, there was last communal violence in Sasaram. On the other hand, the last time communal violence took place in Bihar Sharif was in the year 1981.
After these riots in Bihar, political rhetoric has started on a large scale, which continues even after the fire of riots has subsided.
violence in west bengal
Stone pelting, violence and arson took place in Shivpur, adjacent to Howrah, on the same day on the issue of Ram Navami procession in West Bengal. Two days later, the same incident was repeated in Risda in the adjoining Hooghly district. It is necessary to mention here that in the year 2018, a large-scale riot broke out in the Asansol-Raniganj area, known as Koyalanchal, due to the procession of Ram Navami. There was a lot of loss of life and property in them.
The Trinamool Congress has termed the violence and arson as a well-planned conspiracy by the BJP. Trinamool Congress spokesperson Jaiprakash Majumdar has questioned that what was the need to take out a procession after two days of Ram Navami? He alleges, "Actually, the BJP wants to create instability in the state by inciting riots for its political interests." Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also raised the same question. His question is, what is the point of taking out a procession after five days of Ram Navami?
State minister Arup Rai says, "We have seen Ram Navami processions since childhood. But we have never seen Ram Navami processions carried out with sticks, swords and pistols. Only those people want to do this, who are troubled by the division of Hindus and Muslims." Will be useful."
On the other hand, former state president Dilip Ghosh, who was involved in the Risda procession, has said that Hindus are scared in the state. They may be attacked again. BJP state president Sukant Majumdar has even accused Mamta of making false statements.
Political use of festivals
In West Bengal, the political use of festivals has been happening since a long time. But after the rise of the BJP in the state, especially on the issue of Ram Navami processions, the confrontation with the ruling party has intensified. Before the year 2014, the people of the state had never seen large-scale processions and weapon rallies organized on the occasion of Ram Navami. This tradition started after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and just before the 2018 Panchayat elections, communal violence broke out in many areas of Asansol after the alleged attack on the Ramnavami procession, which exposed the purpose of this event. But a new chapter of violence has also been added to the upcoming politics.
Political analysts say that in fact, on the pretext of Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti festivals, the VHP and the Sangh had started the exercise of establishing a foothold in the state from the year 2014 itself. With each passing year, with the increase in the nature of the events, the ground under the feet of these organizations also kept getting stronger. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, if the BJP won 18 out of 42 seats, defying the predictions of all political pundits, then these events played an important role in it.
Political analyst Professor Samiran Pal says, "It is clear from the result of the by-election in Murshidabad's Sagardighi seat that the minority voters are returning to the CPM and the Congress. In such a situation, perhaps the BJP, the Sangh and its allies are trying to unite the Hindu voters." The organizations had decided to celebrate Ram Navami and Ram Mahotsav on a large scale this year."
Professor Sabyasachi Basu Raychaudhuri, another political analyst, says, "Similar incidents happened on the issue of Ram Navami before the panchayat elections in the state in 2018. Now we are seeing violence on the same issue in 2023. Panchayats in the next few months Elections are due and Lok Sabha elections are due next year. All communal violence is happening on the same fixed pattern. Political polarization on the basis of religion is very important for both the sides. So these incidents of violence cannot be termed as mere coincidence. "
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