No communal violence in Telangana, while violence erupted in 12 states during Ram Navami and Hanuman jayanthi processions

Telangana in stark contrast was the only state where peace prevailed during Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti processions

Hyderabad: While twelve BJP and non-BJP ruled states struggled with communal violence, targeted attacks on minorities and a general breakdown of rule of law during religious processions celebrating Sri Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti festivals in April 2022, Telangana in stark contrast was the only state where peace prevailed during such processions.

This fact was acknowledged in a report titled ‘Routes of Wrath-Weaponising Religious Processions’ released by ‘Citizens and Lawyers Initiative’ with a forward from Justice Rohinton Nariman, former Judge Supreme Court of India.

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The report meticulously recorded incidents of communal violence that took place while organizing these religious processions in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Goa, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Karnataka in 2022.

When it came to Telangana, the report said “the processions ended on a positive note in Telangana due to planning and firmness of the Telangana police and the High Court to prevent any violence….Takeaway from Telangana’s handling of these religious processions is that where the administration and courts wish to prevent communal clashes and riots even while allowing religious processions, they can”.

The report, which was released recently talks in depth about the large scale communal violence in twelve states where at least 100 persons from the minority community were injured and two persons were killed.

“In 2022 during Sri Rama Navami and Hanuman Jayanthi celebrations there were widespread acts of hooliganism and violence in twelve states. However, it ended on positive note in the State of Telangana where both the Police Chief and the High Court have taken the lead in ensuring that the constitutional right of Hindu community to take out their procession is exercised in peace and harmony without disturbing members of other communities,” said the report.

The report speaks in detail about how religious processions were weaponised and became a catalyst for violence. “A common modus operandi to start violence was to take the procession through an area dominated by another community. For instance, in Himmatnagar, the biggest taluka of Sabarkantha district in North-Gujarat, a procession of 500-600 people organized by Antarashtriya Hindu Parishad (AHP) entered Ashraf Nagar in Chhapariya area in a Muslim-dominated area between two Hindu localities – Shakti Nagar and Mahavir Nagar. The procession involved loud provocative songs, sword wielding and aggressive behaviour while marching with saffron flags they stopped in front of a mosque,” the report said.

However, in Telangana, the police officials granted procession permission with strict conditions to avoid communal clashes. “In cases where procession organizers insisted on choosing routes that passed through communally sensitive areas, their applications was simply ignored. Interestingly, in Hyderabad, the Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) delineated a single route to be followed by all processions and refused to allow Ram Navami Shobha Yatras in different localities or passing through communally sensitive areas,” it stated.

The report mentions about three organizations filing writ petitions in the Telangana High Court against the police department. “When these petitions were taken up for urgent hearing, the administration stood firm, and placed on record the conditions imposed by the Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Hyderabad. Justice Lalitha Kanneganti of the Telangana High Court was equally firm, and after hearing counsel for the parties, passed a common order specifying in meticulous detail the routes which would be permitted for Shobha Yatras in Hyderabad and in Bhainsa,” the report mentioned.

It further added, “Justice Lalitha balanced the constitutional right of Hindus to take out a religious procession, with the need to maintain peace and harmony in a secular nation, and allowed the procession while making it subject to stringent conditions.”