opinion | Yogi Formula: Avoid Violence, Otherwise Face Action
On Thursday, the Supreme Court gave the UP government three days to file its reply on a petition by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind seeking a stay on further demolition in the state. Posting the matter for further hearing on Tuesday, a vacation bench of Justice AS Bopanna and Justice Vikram Nath said, “Everything should look fair and ensure that nothing untoward happens in the meantime.”
Meanwhile, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed all district collectors and SSPs to hold a peace meeting with Maulana, Imam and Ulema and ensure that there is no violence in mosques after this week’s Friday prayers. Yogi has directed senior police officers to talk to top citizens of the civil society in their cities and seek the help of clerics to persuade people not to protest after Friday prayers.
On Wednesday, district collectors and SSPs in most districts along with local SHOs of police stations held peace meetings with civil society representatives and persuaded them to ensure that no further protests take place. At the same time, these officers told them that if the protesters pelted stones, they would have to bear the full brunt of the law. Stone pelters and their masters may also face demolition, they were told.
In Gonda district, District Collector Ujjwal Kumar and SP Santosh Kumar Mishra said in the meeting of all the clerics that this time there should be no violence. The representatives of the peace committee were categorically told not to send objectionable, hateful posts on their mobile phones to youth and other people, else they may face action.
Significantly, similar peace meetings were held in Kanpur after Friday’s violence on June 3, but a week later on June 10, after Friday prayers, there were fresh incidents of stone pelting in Prayagraj, Saharanpur and Moradabad.
Khurshid Alma Azhari, general secretary of Gonda Rehmania Mosque at a peace meeting in Gonda on Wednesday, said, “If a person has insulted the Prophet, he should be punished by law, but resorting to stone pelting and arson is inappropriate.” Azhari asked the Muslims to persuade their youth not to resort to violence, otherwise the family may have to bear the brunt.
Deepak Kumar, DIG of Aligarh range in Etah, said in the peace committee meeting that the police do not like to use sticks or put youths in jail. “We don’t get gold medals for this. We do this only when we find ourselves helpless. If the members of the peace committee explain to the members of their community, then such incidents will not happen”, Kumar said.
In Loni near Ghaziabad, local circle officer Rajnish Kumar Upadhyay told members of the peace committee that “when public properties are set on fire, or roads are broken, people should know that the property does not belong to a community. Is. They belong to the society. People should refrain from damaging public properties.”
Maulana Hanif Qadri said in the peace committee meeting that Muslims are facing trouble due to their tendency to take to the streets. “Some people indulge in violence and the entire community is blamed. Earlier also remarks were made against the Prophet, but such violence never happened.
After Friday’s violence in UP, more than 350 people have been arrested so far. In Prayagraj, which was the hotspot during Friday’s violence last week, over 92 people have been arrested. Many have gone underground, and their families now fear the destruction of their homes and shops.
On Wednesday, Prayagraj Police released photos of about 40 accused involved in the violence. It can be clearly seen in the pictures that the accused are pelting stones, setting vehicles on fire through CCTV video. These posters have been pasted all over the city. The police have asked them to surrender, otherwise their property will be confiscated.
I remember the remark of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath when he came on my show ‘Aap Ki Adalat’. Then he had said, ‘I am a sanyasi, my religion is to show the right path to the society. My duty is to differentiate between good and evil. Those who are enemies of the society need to be persuaded with love, but if they do not heed the advice, they have to face strict action. In our Sanatan tradition, a sannyasin carries a ‘mala’ (garland) in one hand and a ‘bhala’ (spear) in the other.
Yogi is now implementing this formula in UP. Whether it was removing loudspeakers from temples and mosques or offering prayers on public streets, his strategy was clear.
While other state governments were in alliance on these issues, Yogi spoke to various religious leaders and the results are in front of everyone. Most religious places removed their loudspeakers. Namaz was not offered on public roads not only on Friday, but also on Eid. The local administration opened school and college grounds adjoining mosques to offer prayers. Big pandals were built for the prayers at the Idgahs.
The bottom line was this: no more prayer prayers on public streets. Yogi tried to find his way through love, brotherhood and peace. Now that after Friday prayers there has been violence over the issue of blasphemy, Yogi is talking to all the clerics and asking them to persuade the Muslims. If violence occurs despite persuasion, another difficult option is open.
In a major fallout, radical Islamic cleric Maulana Tauqir Raza, who had planned a protest meeting in Bareilly on Friday (June 17), has canceled his meeting. Bareilly police had refused permission for the meeting. Maulvi says now, he will hold his meeting on Sunday.
There is no doubt that most Hindus and Muslims want peace, and respect each other’s religious sentiments. Most of the Islamic clerics and Hindu sadhus also want brotherhood. But there are some marginalized elements in both the communities who try to incite violence with the help of miscreants.
I have said many times before how some people try to misinterpret statements so that they gain importance, but when there is stone pelting and arson, such secondary elements disappear. Remember, poor people are harmed by stone pelting, lathi charge and arson. We should spread awareness among the people. The fringe elements took advantage of Nupur Sharma’s blasphemous remarks and instigated stone-pelting and arsonists. We should protect ourselves from such elements.
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