From: jakhan@IASTATE.EDU (Javed Ahmed Khan)
Subject: Re: Bombay riots escalate
Reply-To: jakhan@IASTATE.EDU (Javed Ahmed Khan)
Organization: Iowa State University
Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1993 21:31:20 GMT

In article <1inbpcINNe8p@roundup.crhc.uiuc.edu>, sunder@grusin.crhc.uiuc.edu
(Srinivas Sunder) writes:
> 
> The death-toll is now well past a 100, and at about 140, is fast
> approaching 150. The police report that they are coming under fire 
> from rioters armed with (!!!!!!!) Kalashnikovs in one locality. The
> police said that they would conduct door-to-door searches on Mohammed
> Ali Road to flush out the weapons (one hopes that they will do it
> properaly, and that reports of the kind that came frm Kashmir will be
> avoided -- old men and kids being beaten up because they had pictures 
> of Pakistani cricket players in rooms).
> 
> I think we can safely say now that there is a foreign hand involved,
> and that the BM demolition was probably only an excuse for this latest
> violence. On the other hand, given that there were rival mobs going at 
> each other with "... knives, firebombs, iron bars and staves", it might 
> just be that Bombay's rival mobs are avenging past excesses by one on the 
> other. 



The violence seems to be a mixture of rival underworld gangs settling old
scores along with real communal violence involving common people. I know of
one muslim locality near Charni Rd. which was surrounded by a mob, presumably
comprised of hindus intent on breaking into the area. I know this because my
family (not living in that area) got frantic phone calls in the middle of the
night asking them to get police protection. Fortunately the police managed to
disperse the mob and no one was hurt, though many of their parked taxis (most of
them are taxi drivers) were vandalised and destroyed. 



BWT what happened to the much vaunted RAF trained to fight rioters? Its obvious
the police are not getting a handle on the situation.



> 
> The police claim that it began when a Muslim mob went into a Hindu slum
> and set it afire after dousing their huts with kerosene. 12 people were
> killed in their sleep, according to them. Most of the fighting has been
> in the slums ("shantytowns" the report called it), with the police battling
> Muslim mobs in many districts. The reports also said that most of the 
> violence was in Bombay's Muslim-dominated south-central districts.
> 
> Three parallels with LA: i) Report referred to Bom as India's Hollywood
> ii) Most violence in South-Central area of city    iii) Police reluctant
> to respond ruthlessly and early because of criticism f past actions.
> Now, let's wait for people to come out saying that the youths were rioting
> because of their pain and despair and the neglect by the Govt. of the poor,
> and an appeal for '... understanding," and the comparison will be complete.
> 
> Sharad Pawar and the Army have been rushed to Bombay and Ahmedabad, and
> Pawar has said that the Army (not Pawar, thank God) would ruthlessly put 
> down the rioters.



Rumours are that Sharad Pawar is involved in a tussle to bring down the Naik
govt. in Maharashtra. A lot of the disturbance is being blamed on the 
political battles being fought by these guys. 





> 
> The police were apparently slow to respond because they came under severe
> criticism the last time around for shooting 150 rioters dead. 
> 
> In my not-so-humble opinion, a comment made by esteemed netter and
IGF-watchdog
> Satya Prabhakar in the wake of the initial Dec. 6th riots stands out and
> bears repetition. "Liberals should be asked to take a vacation at times like
> this." Given that what probably caused the police to keep mum was the
criticism
> of "liberals", I think I concur heartily (though Satya probably meant it in a
> different context -- the banning of the RSS/VHP/BJP/BD etc.) Shoot the
rioters
> at sight and without mercy, I say. 




This should apply to any rioter: whether he/she is looting, killing, vandalising
or .... breaking down mosques and temples, right ?!!






> 
> -- 
> Srinivas Sunder                                         sunder@crhc.uiuc.edu
> 
> If my employer shares these views, I'd be most surprised.
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------




--Javed.
Newsgroups: alt.us.visa,soc.culture.indian