A Turn In Bisada
- A new forensic report has said that the meat found with Akhlaq바카라s family was beef, triggering raw emotions
- In Bisada, Dadri, villagers demand action against the family, release of men held for his murder last year
- Emboldened villagers equate Akhlaq바카라s murder with the rights of the cow, and warn of an agitation
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Everyone in Bisada village of Dadri speaks earnestly of Hindu-ÂMuslim unity. But they speak on their side of a hard line, beyond which violence seems a terrible but inevitable option. 바카라Akhlaq was like a brother. When I went out of town, he바카라d keep an eye on my house,바카라 says Akhlaq바카라s neighbour. His pink house shares a boundary with Akhlaq바카라s abandoned blue one. He says they knew each other for long. 바카라But if the forensic report says there was beef, and on WhatsApp I saw photos of a dead cow, then this had to happen....,바카라 he trails off, too uncomfortable to push his argument further.
Moolchand Sharma too says he knew Akhlaq. Sitting on a charpoy, he says nonÂchalantly, 바카라Yes, he died, but who will speak for the cow바카라s rights? The cow is defenceless and can바카라t stand up for itself.바카라
Moolchand바카라s view exemplifies the bouÂndÂary, and it바카라s the enshrined cow that delineates it. It has been nine months since AkhÂÂlaq was lynched in Bisada on the suspicion that he had kept beef in his house. Now that the court has released the October 2015 forensic report which said that the meat samples found were in fact beef, it has enraged and emboldened the village. ResÂidents organised a maha panchayat at the village temple, threatening to start an agitation if an FIR isn바카라t filed against Akhlaq바카라s family for possessing beef (it바카라s a criminal offence in UP to do so). Furthermore, they want the 18 people arrested for his murder to be released. They take the forensic repÂort as a vindication of the lynching.
That cattle is important for Bisada is evident바카라nearly every house has a shed attaÂched where a buffalo or two are snoozing. Mounds of dried cowdung lie neatly staÂcked. Children play around the shed and elderly women clean it. Cattle is vital for the village economy, and is entwined in its religious and cultural life. The sensitive issue of 바카라gau mata바카라 is one that lends itself to communal, and thus political, overtones.
A large group of men are milling around the temple바카라a roughly made blue shed with a pink domed structure in the middle of a square plot. Sitting under a painted sign that says 바카라Na gundaraaj, na brashtachar, ab ki baar, BJP sarkaar바카라, Om Mahesh too speaks of the decades of Hindu-Muslim friendship and their non-political nature. 바카라We don바카라t allow politicians here. Sanjay Rana is only a BJP supporter. Sangeet Som comes here because his relative lives here.바카라 His reference is to Rana, a BJP leader, whose son Vishal is among the 18 arrested for Akhlaq바카라s murder. Som has been infamous for his inflammatory comÂments during the Muzaffarnagar riots; soon after Akhlaq바카라s death he addressed a crowd, goading them to give a 바카라strong reply바카라. The temple is the socio-political nerve-centre of Bisada바카라it was from here that the call to lynch Akhlaq was given last year, besides hosting this week바카라s panchayat.
Om Mahesh and Om Prakash Singh, both elderly, lead the discussion. 바카라We will fight,바카라 says Singh. 바카라Marna or maarne ke liye tayyaar hai,바카라 he says. 바카라Depends on the time. We will fight whatever it takes바카라maybe by lathi or kushti.바카라 And Mahesh adds, 바카라When we start our andÂolan, why should it only be here in Bisada? It will span the whole country.바카라
By the end of the evening, they had calmed down. 바카라Our andolan wil be peaceful. We will fight constitÂutioÂnally and against the government,바카라 says Mahesh. However, not losing sight of their immediate demands, he thunders: 바카라Arrest the Muslim family. And relÂease the 18 innocent people arrested. If they are guilty, let CBI investigate.바카라
It might be a fruitful exercise to further interrogate the inherent contradictions in this collective wisdom. How did such avowed communal harmony in Bisada snap and take a terrible turn that September night? If, as most testify, Akhlaq lived peacefully, 바카라why would he one day get so bold as to do this,바카라 asks his brother Jaan Mohammed. How come the law-abiding, peace-loving villagers didn바카라t refer the alleged possession of beef to the police; why are they now spoiling for a struggle if their demands are not met?
In Bisada, it doesn바카라t matter whether the sample was taken from Akhlaq바카라s house or collected from the road. Nor whether it was actually beef at all. UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav too has tried to suggest that Akhlaq바카라s murder needs to be accounted for as a crime, but the killers are yet to be charged. All that doesn바카라t matter. What does matter is that the forÂensic report now supports the view that a cow was killed. All due process takes a back-seat for villagers once this sacrosanct line is perceived to be violated. Bisada leaders have little faith in the UP police; they have set their sights on the CBI. 바카라We have moved the court to let CBI investigate,바카라 says Mahesh. And any question on Akhlaq바카라s fate is countered with that of the cow.
The villagers have a sympathiser in BJP UP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya. 바카라UP law prohibits killing humÂans and cows. The law must be followed for the cow slaughter too. InnoÂcÂent people are jailed for killing Akhlaq. What happÂened in MuzaÂffarÂnagar is happening in Dadri,바카라 he says.
The villagers have their own versions of the murder itself. No one says they were present that night. Ingenious excuses are offÂered on behalf of the youth. 바카라Akhlaq saw the crowd of Hindus and had a heart attÂack,바카라 says Singh. 바카라He fell and hurt his head,바카라 says Mahesh. Shekhar Singh pipes in, 바카라Akhlaq바카라s family has relatives in Pakistan, did you know?바카라 He is surprised that this itself is not incriminatory. For most in Bisada, Moolchand Sharma sums it up when he parrots the familiar line, 바카라Akhlaq got justice바카라18 of our young men were arrested and he바카라s getting media attÂention. But the cow has had no justice.바카라
Jaan Mohammed is among voices droÂwÂÂned by those mouthing majority indÂÂÂignation. 바카라This report does not redÂuce the criminality of the murder. People are trying to get Hindus and Muslims to face each other in the street. Hindus seem to be mobilising but Muslims should not rise to this bait of politics,바카라 he says.
By Anoo Bhuyan in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh
