Communal Violence Incited in Himalayas

Agastyamuni, a quaint town in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district, witnessed communal violence for the first time in history. Shops owned by Muslim traders were burnt down by a group of persons reportedly affiliated to the Sangh Parivar after a fake video of rape went viral on social media. The video was circulated on social media with statements claiming that a Hindu girl was raped by a Muslim man in the town. Amidst speculations of increasing communal attacks, the Police and district administration clarified that the video being circulated by right wing organisations was "fake" and appealed for maintaining calm in the town.

In a video message posted on Facebook, Rudraprayag district magistrate Mangesh Ghildiyal said that they have not received any complaint of rape in town and the video being circulated is in question. “The faces of the people in the video are not clear. Neither the man nor the woman in the video has been identified. Also, we have not received any complaint of a rape in Agastyamuni. We are searching for the people who have been spreading fake news of rape over social media…strict action will be taken against them,” Ghildiyal said in the video.

Activists and the political observers told Newsclick that the recent incident appears to be an attempt to influence the voters ahead of municipal body elections. This apart, they allege that the right wing fringe groups have left no stone unturned to vitiate the atmosphere if the participants in a crime belong to two different religions.

"They are looking for every opportunity to give communal angle to any incident. We also saw this trend in Satpuli last year where a Muslim man's shop was set on fire," said Rajendra Singh Negi, Uttarakhand Secretary, Communist Party of India (Marxist).

On being asked if the incidents have any links to municipal elections, Negi said that apart from municipal elections, they are trying to instigate violence to polarise votes in general elections next year.

Other observers told Newsclick that state saw a crunch in the number of workers available due to mass migration of people in last decades. This resulted in rising demand for labour and poor Muslim workers from the neighbouring areas of Uttar Pradesh filled the void. After years of association, the workers have started settling in many parts of the state. Right wing organisations are inflaming sentiments of local people of Uttarakhand saying that Muslims should not be allowed to settle in Devbhoomi, the land of gods, as they will turn into a menace as in Assam.

A closer look at the turn of events in recent years in Uttarakhand reveals that social media has turned into an effective medium to instigate violence. The violence in Satpuli, Pauri Garhwal, was caused after posting of alleged offensive picture of Kedarnath Shrine on Facebook. The violence by Bajrang Dal kept administration on their toes for several days.

In another incident, the killing of a Hindu man was given communal colour in Murgi farm area near Hardwar after it was found that he was in an extramarital affair with a Muslim girl. The incident caused unease in the Muslim families and they fled the area to save their lives.

The trend became more clear when the Kashmiri traders in Musoorie were asked by the right wing organisations to shut their businesses by March 2018 after a group of unidentified persons allegedly raised pro-Pakistan slogans after an India-Pakistan Champions Trophy match.