New Delhi: The first anniversary of the Delhi riots, which falls on 23 February, is set to witness a flurry of activity.
On the cards are a documentary on the riots and its aftermath and a book written by a Supreme Court advocate and a journalist.
The documentary titled Delhi Riots — A tale of Burn & Blame will be released on the over-the-top (OTT) platform Voot on 23 February. It has been directed by filmmaker Kamlesh Mishra.
The book titled Anatomy of a Planned Riot, published by Delhi-based Yash Publications, is to be released at Delhi’s Constitution Club on the same day. In addition, there will be a public hearing at the club where the victims’ families would make depositions sharing their first-hand experiences.
The book, written by Sandeep Mahapatra and Manoj Verma, claims to probe the larger conspiracy behind the riots. While Mahapatra is a practicing advocate in the Supreme Court, he is also a former president of the student union at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Manoj Verma is a senior journalist currently employed with Lok Sabha TV channel.
It may be recalled that following protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), riots had broken out in northeast Delhi last year on 23 February, the day former US president Donald Trump landed in the national capital on an official visit. One of the worst riots witnessed in recent times resulted in 53 deaths and left over 500 injured.
More than 700 FIRs have been registered and over 200 people have been arrested by the Delhi Police for their alleged role in the riots.
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‘Documentary has captured pain and loss’
Talking to ThePrint, filmmaker Mishra said his one-and-a-half hour documentary has captured the “pain and suffering of those who lost their kith and kin in the riots”.
“Riots erupted in the northeast district of Delhi in February 2020. There were claims and counterclaims as to what triggered these riots and who all were to be blamed for it,” he said. “But in this din the pain, suffering and loss of those who lost their kith and kin in these riots got ignored. This film is an attempt to capture this pain and suffering as well as an attempt to probe the root cause of these riots.”
In the run up to the first anniversary of the riots, a private screening of Mishra’s film was organised at Mahadev Auditorium in central Delhi on 20 February.
‘Book to probe larger conspiracy’
The Anatomy of a Planned Riot is the latest book on the Delhi riots. In it, the authors claim a link between the riots and the anti-CAA protests.
“From what we deduce from the stated facts…, the entire trajectory of the anti-CAA protest and the Delhi riots were extremely intertwined,” the book, a copy of which is with ThePrint, states. “The characters who took to the front in leading the riots and the protests were nothing more than just the numerous pawns in the game of chess who were made mere faces with some strong king or queen operating from behind without being visible with bare eyes.”
The book also alleges that the riots are the result of an “international Islamic conspiracy”.
“With careful analysis one can observe how gradually the international Islamic has been trying to make its way into mainland India,” it states.
“From the declarations brought out by the various Islamic extremist organisations, it is very evident that a dream of establishing a Wilayat-e-Hind or Ghazwa-e-Hind in the near future has been long cherished. Starting from the agitation in Kashmir to the radicalisation in Kerala and then the strong backing of the anti-CAA riots both financially and morally, leaves no room for doubt that an initiative of establishing a caliphate is on its way,” it adds. “Given that, do we, being responsible citizens of India, still not understand what the real motive of these anti-India forces are? Should we still remain ignorant about the upcoming dangers to our nation, our culture and our religion.”
Cyber security expert to weigh in on riots
Along with the book release and public hearing at the Constitution Club in Delhi, leading cyber forensic expert Neeraj Arora is scheduled to speak on the connection between the anti-CAA protests and the ongoing agitation against farm laws.
Arora is part of a non-governmental organisation, Call for Justice, which had last year handed over its fact-finding report on the Delhi riots to Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The report was put together by a fact-finding committee that was chaired by Justice Ambadas Joshi, a retired judge of the Bombay High Court and comprised retired IAS officer M.L. Meena, retired IPS officer Vivek Dubey, former AIIMS director Dr T.D. Dogra and social entrepreneur Neera Mishra. Arora was the member secretary of the committee.
(The writer is research director with Delhi based think tank Vichar Vinimay Kendra. He has authored two books on RSS. Views expressed are personal)
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