Mumbai: The demand by Hindutva groups to remove the tomb of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Sambhaji Nagar, located in the Marathwada region, has sparked communal tensions across Maharashtra. As an immediate consequence of the communal call made during Ramzan, a holy month for Muslims, violence broke out in parts of Nagpur, approximately 500 kilometres away in the Vidarbha region, on Monday, March 18. One of the affected areas is the Mahal area, where the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological fountainhead of the Bharatiya Janata Party, is located.
Tensions escalated in Nagpur after unverified reports spread across the state, claiming that during a protest organised by the radical Hindutva groups Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, a cloth inscribed with “Kalma”, holy text, was burned by Hindutva miscreants.
Incidents of violence were reported in different parts of Nagpur like Chitnis Park, Kotwali, Ganeshpeth, and Mahal area. The first round of violence broke out around 7.30 pm, and another round occurred around 10.30 pm.
Several vehicles were torched, shops were vandalised, and stones were pelted at the police. At least four policemen were injured in the stone-pelting incident, Nagpur Commissioner of Police Ravinder Singal said in a media briefing late on Monday.
Along with being the RSS headquarters, Nagpur is also a hometown of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Calling the stone-pelting incident “inappropriate,” Fadnavis made an appeal to the residents of Nagpur to “maintain peace.” “I have directed the Commissioner of Police to take strict action against those who resorted to violence,” he said in a video message following the violence.
The situation across the country, and particularly in Maharashtra, has remained tense over the past few weeks, with Hindutva groups demanding the removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb in the Khuldabad taluka of Sambhaji Nagar.
These demands are not new and become a contentious issue every year during Shivaji Jayanti or Ramzan, flaring communal tensions between the two communities.
Singal stated that violence broke out in Nagpur after a “photograph” was set on fire. “A case has been registered in this incident,” he said. Singal also added that prohibitory orders (under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita) were imposed across many areas of Nagpur.
According to several eyewitness accounts, “unidentified individuals” wearing masks entered the Hansapuri area, just a kilometre from the RSS headquarters. “They were armed with weapons, hockey sticks, and glass bottles. Their intention was to cause a ruckus,” one eyewitness told The Wire.
The miscreants, the eyewitness said, caused a disturbance and soon dispersed into the gathered crowd. –Agencies
