Lucknow: Indicating a major shift in the demographic profile of Sambhal Municipal Council area, a judicial inquiry found that the Hindu population there witnessed a sharp decline, from around 45 percent at the time of Independence to just 15–20 percent at present, whereas the area’s Muslim population swelled to nearly 80 percent.
The three-member panel’s report concluded that the last year’s clashes did not erupt spontaneously but were the result of “a pre-planned conspiracy”. It put Samajwadi Party’s local MP Ziaur Rahman Barq in the dock, identifying his speech outside the Shahi Jama Masjid as the trigger for the 24 November violence that claimed at least four lives.
The 450-page report not only probed the last year’s clashes, but also traced the district’s history of 15 communal clashes reported since 1947, including those in 1948, 1953, 1958, 1962, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1990, 1992, 1995, 2001 and 2019.
On 24 November last year, Sambhal saw local residents clash with the administration over a court-ordered survey of the Archaeological Survey of India-protected Shahi Jama Masjid in Kot Garvi area. Apart from the deaths, 29 police and administration personnel were injured in the violence.
The three-member panel headed by retired Allahabad High Court judge Justice Devendra Kumar Arora submitted its report Thursday to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Retired IPS officers A.K. Jain and Amit Prasad are the other two members.
Barq, according to the speech, allegedly gave a speech two days before the violence. “We are the owners of this country, not servants or slaves. The mosque was, is and will remain till doomsday. Our mosque was taken away in Ayodhya, we will not let this happen here,” the MP is said to have told a gathering, according to the report.
That statement, the report said, sparked tension between converted Hindu Pathans and members of the Turk community, which escalated into violent clashes two days later. The panel further held Barq, SP legislator Iqbal Mehmood’s son Nawab Suhail Iqbal, and members of the Jama Masjid Intezamia Committee responsible for orchestrating the conspiracy behind the clashes.
The report also said that religious places were deliberately targeted during the riots for which outsiders were brought in to spread violence, suggesting that the violence was executed in a planned and organized manner.
There was a plan to attack Hindu areas, but it was foiled because of heavy police deployment, it said. According to the report, four people were killed in cross-firing between Pathans and Turks, while the conspiracy to cause large-scale damage in Hindu localities failed. The report further points to the alleged presence of illegal arms and narcotics networks, while noting that recent enforcement action has restored order.
The report highlights that in a year-long anti-encroachment drive, the Yogi Adityanath government cleared over 1,000 illegal occupations in Sambhal, freeing more than 68 hectares of land. The recovered land includes barren plots, ponds and roads that had been under alleged unlawful possession. As part of the crackdown, authorities also demolished over 35 illegal religious structures, reclaiming more than 2 hectares of land.
“Hindus in Sambhal municipal area have reduced from 45 percent in 1947 to just 15 percent now. Demography is democracy’s destiny,” BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari posted on ‘X’.
BJP Rajya Sharma MP Dinesh Sharma said that Sambhal has witnessed multiple riots, leading to a rapid exodus. “It is the government’s priority that Hindus and Muslims live together peacefully. But what were the reasons that forced people to flee? Why were several religious places destroyed? Why were people killed and why were atrocities committed against women?” the former Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister told IANS.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Sambhal: A history of violence