Do not stress-test Mumbai’s communal fabric

Devendra Fadnavis from Nagpur may have no memory of the havoc communal hatred witnessed in Mumbai decades ago, but Eknath Shinde surely does

It didn’t take long, just nine months, for Maharashtra to start going the way of other BJP-ruled states. The characteristic rallies calling for boycott of Muslims, railing against ‘love jihad, land jihad’, started six months into the new regime.

This poison was spread not only in the interiors of Maharashtra, but even in its capital. Moving the Supreme Court didn’t help; the police claimed they were ‘monitoring’ the speeches, and would take action if they were found to be spreading hate. There’s been no sign yet of any action, though the hate is there for all to see. Not surprising, considering the presence of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders at these rallies.

The real turning point, however, was the demolition of a Muslim religious structure in Mumbai on March 23. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray asked for its demolition in his annual Gudi Padwa speech; the very next day, the day the month of Ramzan began, his orders were carried out. The trustees’ claim that it was a 600-year-old registered site made no difference.

Also Read: Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde meets Raj Thackeray

Several issues arise from this one demolition. It’s obvious that the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government wants to boost Raj Thackeray, a man who can boast of precisely one MLA and in Mumbai, just one corporator. That’s nothing new; every government has used the MNS rabble-rouser before elections to split the Marathi base of the Shiv Sena, and given him a long rope to indulge in his violent politics.

That rope was cut last year, after he threatened that his followers would recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside mosques if the police didn’t remove loudspeakers from them. This was viewed as yet another in the series of attempts made by the BJP to disturb communal harmony and discredit the then ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray.

The MVA government had thwarted those attempts; this time, there was an additional motive to do so — no way was then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray going to let his cousin get any mileage. Deft handling by the Mumbai Police and the Muslim community, and the dwindling number of Raj Thackeray supporters, defused a potentially explosive situation.

The contrast with today’s surrender to the MNS chief couldn’t be starker. Underlining it was Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s visit to Raj Thackeray’s residence on March 26.

But these political games hold a very real threat: that of fraying the communal atmosphere in Mumbai. The country’s financial capital saw the worst communal violence in its history after the Babri masjid demolition; over 900 died. It’s taken 30 years to recover from that. A new generation has grown up with no direct memory of that violence, a generation which is at ease with other communities.

Fadnavis from Nagpur may have no memory of the havoc of those days; Shinde surely does. But, from the way he threatened Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the Assembly last week: “If he continues to insult Savarkar, it will be difficult for him to walk on the road”, it’s obvious that he’s a Shiv Sainik of the old mould, one who, even as head of a state, cares naught about the potential fallout of his remarks. In that, Shinde has proven to be of the same calibre as the BJP’s chief ministers.

Interestingly, Fadnavis as Chief Minister from 2014-2019, didn’t fit into this framework. But today he must establish that the motive behind toppling the MVA government wasn’t power, but Hindutva. So, he objects to the presence of Urdu posters announcing Uddhav Thackeray’s rally in Muslim-dominated Malegaon. This is the same man who as Chief Minister, oversaw the building of an Urdu Ghar in Malegaon who ate at iftaar parties wearing the red and white kaffiyeh.

As Home Minister now, will Fadnavis accede to Raj Thackeray’s next demand that all illegal dargahs be demolished in the Muslim township of Mumbra, just outside Mumbai? The three-time NCP MLA there, Shinde’s opponent in the next Assembly elections, has long been an irritant to the BJP for his outspoken espousal of ‘secular’ causes.

Interestingly, it was in Mumbra that the ‘messiah of Muslims’ Asaduddin Owaisi chose to hold his party’s first ever two-day national convention last month. On the second day, Owaisi chose the Muslim ghetto of Malwani as the venue for his rally. The choice was significant: this ghetto has been chosen by BJP heavyweight builder and now minister Mangal Pratap Lodha to run a campaign against an alleged ‘change in demography and Hindu exodus’ from there. The BJP has won only once from here; the area is represented by a two-term Muslim Congress MLA.

Tense days ahead for Maharashtra and Mumbai as cynical moves are made on the political chessboard.

(Jyoti Punwani is a senior journalist)

(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH)