The Moradabad Riots Report: Why Islamists Believed They Could Get Away With Anything

Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government tabled a report on the 1980 Moradabad riots in the state assembly on Tuesday (8 August).

The report asserts that the tragic communal outburst, which officially resulted in 83 fatalities, was the outcome of a conspiracy orchestrated by Dr. Shamim Ahmad and Dr. Hamid Hussain of the Muslim League, along with their supporters.

The severe violence erupted on 13 August 1980 during Eid prayers when a few pigs were seen on the Eidgah grounds. Pigs are considered forbidden (haram) in Islam and hence it angered local Muslims.

This subsequently resulted in stone-throwing and police firing, which escalated into communal riots. However, the report states that the district administration and the police acted with restraint.

It absolves the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the local administration of any misconduct. Instead, the report attributes the premeditated violence to local Muslim political leaders.

"They deliberately spread the rumour that pigs have been let loose at Eidgah on Eid day and a large number of Muslims have been killed in the firing at Eidgah. It enraged the community in Moradabad and they launched indiscriminate attacks on police stations and people of other communities. The retaliation from the other side turned the city into a communal cauldron," the report said.

The riots spread to other districts, including Aligarh, Bareilly, Prayagraj, and even reached as far as Delhi. A one-man inquiry commission, led by former Allahabad high court judge MP Saxena, was established by the then Congress government.

This commission submitted its report in 1983, but it remained undisclosed by subsequent governments. And after a span of 43 years, it was finally presented by state parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Kumar Khanna.

The 458-page report asserts that no government official, employee, or Hindu was responsible for instigating disturbances in the Eidgah or other locations. The judge behind the report characterizes the riots as pre-planned.

The violence spanned from August to November as mentioned in the report that the anguish persisted as the victims included children who perished in the stampede.

The commission's findings have been a source of contention. Opposition parties initially alleged that indiscriminate police firing caused the deaths, but the commission rejected these claims.

It concluded that the district magistrate and the senior superintendent of police had taken sufficient precautions. Police firing at the Eidgah was ordered only in response to threats to lives.

After the commission submitted its report in 1983, the state cabinet decided not to table it before the legislature under successive administrations, including those led by the Congress, the BJP, the Samajwadi Party, and the Janata Dal.

A quick recall

While we know the contents of the report now, it will be fruitful to recall what leaders had said about the riots at that time.

VP Singh, who had assumed the position of Chief Minister merely weeks prior, on 9 June 1980, articulated in the UP Assembly, that on 12 August, the Intelligence branch had conveyed information that "any stray animal might spark unrest the following day, when a significant gathering of Muslims was expected to convene at Eidgah."

As a precautionary measure, a number of individuals were apprehended under the National Security Act, and their release only transpired post Holi in March 1981. Justifying the prolonged detention, Singh reasoned that he was confronted with the decision of "either innocents losing their lives or innocents being incarcerated."

Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister that time after re-election in January of that same year subsequent to the downfall of the Janata experiment. She expeditiously asserted that a "foreign hand" aiming to undermine the nation's stability was implicated.

However, after personally inspecting the impacted regions, she retracted her claim of foreign involvement. This phase witnessed Indira frequently invoking the specter of the "foreign hand" across various matters.

During that time, Yogendra Makwana, the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, implicated the BJP (established in April 1980) and RSS in orchestrating the riots.

On 28 October 1980, Indira's government reaffirmed a previous circular from 30 November 1966, stipulating that government employees affiliating with the RSS or Jamaat-e-Islami would be subject to "disciplinary action."

"In light of the prevailing circumstances in the country, the imperative to ensure a secular perspective among government employees gains heightened significance. The urgency to eradicate communal sentiments and bias cannot be overstated," the circular of October 1980 declared.

During the Winter Session of Parliament in December, GM Banatwala from the Muslim League introduced a motion expressing the "grave concern" of the House regarding the "situation resulting from recent communal riots."

Chitta Basu from the Forward Bloc alleged that "Moradabad exemplifies the uncontrolled aggression of the State directed towards the Muslim community."

Similarly, in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, Rajendra Singh, a Janata Party MLA, drew parallels between the police's actions in Moradabad and the infamous Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

In response, VP Singh stated, "I haven't risen to provide an explanation. I've risen to seek punishment [for myself]."

Singh then wrote to Indira Gandhi and offered his resignation but it was rejected. He was made to return to the Assembly.

Dharamvir Mehta, the former Senior Superintendent of Police in Moradabad during the riots, shared in an interview with India Today in June 1997 that the approach of employing an "iron-hand" strategy by the police and PAC at the time was deemed justifiable. He stated, "I had to adopt the role of Mr. Poison to counteract cancer. Severe ailments require drastic treatments."