Since the last year, Maharashtra has witnessed a spurt in communal clashes between the Hindu and Muslim communities which has now engulfed historical figures like Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan into its mainspring. In April 2022, MP Navneet Kaur and MLA Ravi Rana, her husband, threatened to recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside the home of then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, triggered by the ultimatum given by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray to the Uddhav government to ban loudspeakers at mosques. In December, 2022, the decision of the Maharashtra government, led by Eknath Shinde and the BJP, to constitute a panel to track interfaith and inter caste couples outraged the public, with some alleging it was setting the ground for a future bid to introduce an anti-religious conversion Bill. Since then, the severity of communal clashes has snowballed.
Beginning in November 2022 till March this year, Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morcha rallies were being conducted in 36 districts across the state. A brief march through the heart of a city was led by people bearing saffron flags and caps, followed by a short rally where speakers on a makeshift dais attacked minorities and invoked “love jihad”, “land jihad”, “forced conversions”, and issued calls for the economic boycott of Muslims. The BJP, who is being blamed for the tensions, has distanced itself from any talk of the rallies, saying they were being organised by the Sakal Hindu Samaj, an umbrella body of Hindutva and Sangh organisations, although most of these events saw the presence of local BJP MLAs and MPs.
On 24 March and 7 June, 2023 things went out of hand when a dispute arose between communities in the Kolhapur district regarding a social media post which eulogized Mughal emperor Aurangzeb thereby criticising the name change of Aurangabad and 18th-century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan respectively. While the former has always been lambasted for his religious absolutism, the latter isn’t mentioned very often in communal discussions. The agitation around Tipu Sultan goes way back to November 2015 when the then Karnataka government led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of INC, decided to celebrate Tipu Sultan’s birth anniversary on November 20 as Tipu Jayanti – describing the ruler as one of the earliest freedom fighters. The decision wasn’t appreciated by parties like Shiv Sena and BJP who described the rulers as the one who tormented his Hindu subjects. The debate over Tipu Sultan has come back to haunt the streets of Maharashtra. Five minors were arrested on 7 June for sharing a picture of Tipu Sultan along with a song that went “Baap to Baap Hota Hai” on their Instagram status the previous day, coinciding with the 350th anniversary of Shivaji’s coronation. The police officials in the area state that a large number of people belonging to various right-wing organisations had gathered at Chhatrapati Shivaji Chowk in Kolhapur to protest but it turned violent when they started pelting stones and vandalised the shops and vehicles on the streets demanding arrest and quick action against the accused who had made the posts on social media.
Speaking to reporters in Navi Mumbai on 7 June , Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio, said “acts of glorifying Mughal emperor Aurangzeb or Tipu Sultan will not be tolerated in Maharashtra…we will have to find out how come the offspring of Aurangzeb was born in Maharashtra suddenly. Are they engaged to disturb the law and order of the State?” To take control of the situation, a curfew had been imposed and the internet had been shut down by the state government. State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) and cops from Satara were also deployed with ministers requesting the public to maintain peace. Inspired by the legacy of Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, people from all communities united for the Shiva-Shahu Sadbhavana Yatra organised by the Rajarshi Shahu Salokha Manch on 28 June 2023, appealing for peace.
Similar events were encountered in Beed, a city in Marathwada region of Maharashtra where a 14 year old boy had put up a post praising Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. The minor deleted the post soon after and posted a video apologising for it. However, vexed by the calls for bandh, shops downed their shutters in the Ashti market area in the city. The 14-year-old is now facing an FIR.
Maharashtra seems to have no dearth for reasons to ignite a communal war. Apart from historical figures, there have been clashes regarding loud music being played by either of the two communities. While the reasons for the discord between people can be said to be silly, it certainly has bothered the peace and order of day to day life. On March 30, during a Ram Navami procession in Malad, Mumbai, Hindu and Muslim communities came to blows over the playing of loud music. On March 28, in Jalgaon, loud music being played outside a mosque during the Namaz was cited as the cause.
On May 13, 2023, violence erupted at Harihar Peth in the Akola district of Maharashtra over a social media post concerning the controversial movie ‘The Kerala Story’ wherein people of a community asserted that it had insulted their Prophet. They gathered in large numbers outside the Ramdaspeth police station to file a complaint. Just then, another group rushed there pointing fingers at the police and alleging that they were filing the complaint. The tiff soon got violent and the crowd turned into a mob, destroying vehicles and causing destruction in a nearby shrine. The clash led to the death of Vilas Gaikwad, a 40-year-old electrician who was returning home from his workplace and simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“A shrine was burned down in the presence of police. A man was killed just because he was in an autorickshaw that had religious symbols of another community pasted on it,” said four-time corporator Sajid Khan Pathan, accusing the government and police of failing to stop riots in the city. The victim was a commoner and did not have ties with “any outfit, organisation or party”, said SP Sandeep Ghughe. Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis’ office has made a statement claiming the arrest of around 30 people after imposing Section 144 in the area and the atmosphere now being peaceful in the city.
On the same day, another communal brawl emerged in Trimbakeshwar in Nashik where non-Hindus are not permitted to enter the temple. According to the police authorities, a group of six people from the Muslim community allegedly tried to enter the temple from the north gate and offer a chadar over the shivling. They were stopped by the security guards and an FIR was filed by the police about the illegal gathering of a crowd at the main gate of the temple. This has led to social tensions in the area and has angered the Brahman samaj. Members of the Sakal Hindu Samaj, an umbrella group of various Hindutva organisations, sprinkled gomutra (cow urine) in the temple to supposedly purify it.
Deputy CM Fadnavis has ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter. On the other hand, Muslim community leaders are surprised over the government’s decision to set up an SIT because the ritual of showing frankincense to the deity from the steps on the entrance is an old tradition being followed by local Muslims for a decade. “There was no attempt to enter the temple or put any chadar inside the temple premises. Muslims in Trimbakeshwar have for generations been following the practice of sending the fumes of frankincense from the steps of the temple premises during an annual gathering at a nearby dargah. This practice has been going on for decades and the local Hindu community has never taken exception to it. We are surprised that this issue has now been raked up and it has taken a communal turn,” Avez Kokni, the former president of the Trimbakeshwar Nagar Parishad, told The Indian Express. Who is at fault here–the communities or the government?
Maharashtra has witnessed seven events of communal tensions in the past 3 months, which is extreme for a state that labels itself a “cosmopolitan”. What is the reason behind this continuous antagonism? Some blame the growth of right-wing leadership and their agenda of promoting Hindutva in the state. There are several other causes for the communal tiff, all of which are political in some way, for example, the campaign by Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena against loudspeakers in mosques in April and May last year; the turmoil over “love jihad” after the murder of Mumbai’s Shraddha Walkar, allegedly by her Muslim boyfriend; the numerous ‘Hindu Jan Akrosh’ rallies held by the Sakal Hindu Samaj across the state alerting people against supposed ‘love jihad’ and ‘land jihad’ by Muslims, the renaming of cities named after Islamic rulers like Aurangabad and Osmanabad to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv respectively, and also “a change in Maharashtra’s political landscape with a split in the Shiv Sena and there now being three parties jostling to claim their supremacy over the Hindutva agenda.”
Written by – Arzoo Kumari
Edited by – Aryaa Dubey
