lok-sabha-elections

Updated: Mar 26, 2019 12:36 IST

Abdul Malik, the Imam of a mosque in Banat town of Shamli district, was among the people who had participated in the funeral procession of CRPF jawan Pradeep Kumar, who had lost his life in a terror attack in Pulwama (J&K) on February 14.

Anger against Pakistan was at its peak when the body of the soldier arrived at his house in Banat. Almost all the residents of the town, cutting across religious and caste lines, participated in Pradeep’s funeral procession and paid rich tribute to him.

More than a month since the terror attack claimed the lives of 41 soldiers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), anger against terrorism and Pakistan is still palpable in the air.

However, with the election season setting in, Shamli is fast heading towards communal polarisation.

Shamli falls under the Kairana Lok Sabha constituency where the SP-BSP-RLD alliance has fielded sitting MP Tabassum Hasan. BJP has nominated Pradeep Chaudhary, a two-time MLA, from Kairana.

Banat town has a population of about 30,000 where Muslims and Jats are almost equal in number.

While both the communities vouch for communal harmony, Muslims are against the BJP while Jats, though critical of the saffron party, are averse to supporting the Muslim candidate put up by the alliance.

Slain CRPF jawan’s kin call for amity

Family members of slain CRPF jawan Pradeep Kumar insisted on maintaining communal harmony in the region.

Pradeep`s father Jagdish Kumar said, “We have lived together in harmony for decades and members of all sections of the society came to salute the supreme sacrifice of my son.”

Pradeep’s brother Amit Kumar, who also served the army for over 20 years, said: “We don’t support discrimination on the basis of religion. All people have equal rights in a democratic country.”

Hailing the BJP government, Amit claimed almost all the houses of the village got ‘pucca’ roofs under government schemes.

He also appreciated the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh for taking care of the families of soldiers.

“The CM has promised job to Pradeep’s elder son as soon as he clears his class 12 examination. We support airstrikes in Pakistan,” Amit said.

Notably, Pradeep’s mother had earlier questioned the outcome of the airstrike.

“Our family is with the decision of the government,” Amit said when asked about her mother’s statement.

‘BJP should go’

According to Muslim residents of the area, social harmony in the region was first disturbed during the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots and an attempt was again being made to create a division on the pretext of nationalism.

They said it was necessary to remove the BJP government from the Centre to revive communal harmony in the country. While discussing elections after offering ‘namaz’, a group of Muslims alleged that the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were spreading hatred in the society for political gains.

“How can you say we are not patriotic? We are equally pained at the death of Pradeep in Pulwama attack and saluted his sacrifice for the country,” said Munawwar Jama, the septuagenarian ‘muazzim’ of a mosque in the town.

“It is our country but they are not ready to accommodate us because we are Muslims. I have not seen an election in my life in which hatred has been so deeply-rooted,” he said.

Muslim residents of Banat expressing their views on election. ( Sushil Kumar / HT Photo )

Abdul Malik and Shadab Khan claimed that Muslims had made up their mind to vote for the alliance candidate as she was in a position to defeat the BJP.

They said the Muslims would try to stop Modi from forming the government at the Centre as they believed it was essential to restore communal harmony and keep the social fabric of the country intact.

They said the BJP was making Pulwama attack and air strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) an election issue to polarise Hindu voters in the name of patriotism and nationalism which was a clear attempt to use the armed forces for electoral gains.

Ji-ul-Islam, a farmer, said the government had no satisfactory reply on issues like black money, farmers problems and employment and was trying to befool the people by raising emotional issues.

“Where is their promise of ‘Sabka saath, sabka vikas’,” asked Dilnawaz, another resident of the town.

‘Can’t vote for a Muslim’

Despite being annoyed with the BJP, Jats are reluctant of voting for a Muslim candidate. Jat farmer Rishipal and his friends raised the issues of decreasing jobs, farmers’ distress, construction of Ram Temple and abolition of Article 370 and accused the BJP of diverting people’s attention by raising the emotional issue of nationalism.

“Patriotism doesn’t mean one can’t ask questions. J&K is under the President’s rule and the Centre should tell the people how the terrorists managed to attack the CRPF convoy with huge quantity of explosives,” he asked.

Jat farmer Rishipal and others discussing election scenario in the town. ( Sushil Kumar / HT Photo )

Rishipal’s friends Ashok Kumar and Anuj Kumar asked how could Pakistan release Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman within 60 hours of his captivity if 300 terrorists, as claimed by BJP leaders, were killed in airstrikes.

They said these were genuine questions and the government should allay the doubts of the people. However, they said they might still support the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections as they could not vote for a Muslim candidate. Vinod Kumar, a grocery shop owner, said: “Election depends on the mood of farmers(Jats) and Muslims. Here, nationalism is being seen through communal angle.”