Amid the hate, DM commits himself to revive communal harmony

Even as politicians are busy locking horns over the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq here over rumours of consuming beef, the Noida district administration is busy soothing the frayed nerves in the tense village.

Gautam Buddha Nagar District Magistrate Nagendra Pratap Singh has been staying at the NTPC guesthouse, a few kilometres from the village where the tragedy had struck on the night of September 28, for the past 10 days, along with other senior officials to engage with the local residents to prevent a communal flare-up.

Singh, however, hasn’t used any hard strategy to improve the situation. Known for his knowledge of both Islamic and Hindu scriptures, the man is  reaching out to local villagers with an counselling approach to heighten the levels of patience and tolerance.

The DM has also cited historical facts to defuse the religious obsession. For example, at a peace meeting held on Wednesday, Singh picked examples from history to convince the local people that wars fought during the Mughal Era were concerned with supremacy and not religion. “Akbar’s general was a Kshatriya while Maharana Pratap’s general was a Pathan. The wars these rulers fought during their times were never for religion,” he said.
Singh also quoted extensively from the Bhagwad Gita, Upanishads and the Holy Quran, uttering the universal message of peace preached by all religious texts.

“We celebrate festivals but do not accept the basic teachings of these festivals —the victory of truth over untruth,” Singh said, urging community elders to come forward and guide the youths to the path of truth.

Singh has also referred to the epic Mahabharata during his bridge-building attempts.
“If you get into the habit of being mute spectators, then you cannot avert a Mahabharat,” he said referring to the incident of disrobing of Pandavas’ wife Draupadi in the presence of elders like King Dhritarashtra and patriarch Bhisma.

The subtle message was for the village elders: Do not shield the youths who are involved in the lynching incident.

A large section of Bisara villagers had accused the police of arresting innocent people in connection to the case.

“Have faith. We will never punish the innocent. A crime has been committed, so someone must be guilty. Only the society will tell us who is guilty. Punishment should be given to the wrongdoer so that it acts as a deterrent and such incidents do not take place again,” Singh said.

This is not the first time that Singh has committed himself to cooling tempers in a communally volatile environment.

In 2013, when riots broke out in Muzaffarnagar district of UP ahead of the Lok Sabha election, Singh was posted in Shamli. He told Deccan Herald that had held nearly 250 meetings with the villagers to stop the situation become worse.

The man, who can speak on Hindu and Islamic teachers at length, also participates in various religious conferences to debate the scriptures.

For the youths, Singh has a simple message: Empower yourself with skills and become entrepreneurs.

“Times have changed and jobs are scarce. Why be job-seekers when you can be job creators,” Singh said, urging the youths to benefit from several schemes the government has launched for skill and entrepreneurial development.
 
Victim’s family shifted to IAF base
The family of Md Sartaj, son of the Dadri lynching victim Md Akhlaq, has been shifted to the Indian Air Force IAF) base at Subroto Park in the national capital, DHNS reports from New Delhi. “He (Sartaj) has been provided with an accommodation as per his entitlement, but out of turn, which is within the IAF's power,” said Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.


Urdu writer to return award
After writer Nayantara Sahgal and poet Ashok Vajpeyi, Urdu novelist Rahman Abbas has announced that he would be returning the Maharashtra State Urdu Sahitya Academy Award as a mark of protest against the Dadri lynching incident, PTI reports from Mumbai. “ I have decided to return the award. There are some other Urdu writers who also want to join the protest,” he said.