|
RECOMMENDATIONS ALTERNATE PLAN OF THOUGHT AND ACTION
India cannot escape
taking the responsibility of failure to manage the relationship between
Hindus and Muslims just by pleading that the problem was inherited from
the British rulers. Fifty-five years is a long enough period to resolve
the issue. Unfortunately, no serious effort has been made to bring
Hindus and Muslims closer. On the other hand, certain parties for
partisan considerations have exploited the hiatus between the two
communities. External agencies fuel the fire of hatred but they succeed
only because there are weaknesses within the country. International
designs find a ready response from within the civil society as there is
a fertile ground for separatist tendencies to grow.
Having been deceived
by the traditional methods of conflict resolution, new systems need to
be employed to convert communal mistrust into national affection and
brotherhood. New approaches are required to convert the weaknesses into
strength. A minority as large as the second largest Muslim country
should not feel alienated nor should the majority community is made to
feel that the minorities were appeased at its cost. The amount of time,
energy, effort and other resources that the country spends for managing
the communal conflicts and failing again and again, if gets diverted to
the process of growth and development, India can become a land of plenty
and prosperity. But the old problems must be seen from new angles and
unorthodox measures taken.
The intellectuals
have to propound new realistic principles and theories of social systems
that are based on ground realities. They must stop romanticizing the
miseries of the nation. The bureaucracy have to devise action plans that
show results within their lifetimes and cease to give extensions to the
problem solving systems. The politicians have to look for alternate
means of winning elections and stop treating citizens as mere voters to
be used only as pawns in the hands of politicians.
The nation must
accept that Hindus and Muslims have no options but to live together.
There are only two options. One, to live in amity and the other to live
in mutual hostility. Saner elements in the two communities would prefer
the first option. Every action and situation that carries the potential
of disturbing the mutual amity have to be identified and weeded out. The
problem is complex and multifaceted and solution is bound to be
difficult and elusive. But the country has a large storehouse of brains
that can find solutions to still harder problems. New faces have to be
entrusted this job. So a different set of persons who look at the
problems from new angles and propose a mix of curative and preventive
measures is the need of the hour.
In view of the
enormity of the cancerous problem of communal conflicts and the field
experience of recent happenings in Gujarat the Study Team proposes to
recommend
a.
long
term measures
b.
short
term measures and
c. immediate steps to
be taken
LONG TERM MEASURES
1. Following groups
be constituted to study the problems of communal conflicts in the
country:
c.
Diagnostic Team:
to investigate the genesis of the process of communal conflict and
identify key problem areas
d.
Curative Team:
to determine the solutions for the problems identified by the
diagnostic team
e.
Preemptive Action Team:
to prepare action plans so that existing tensions do not flare up and
also to ensure that no new conflict situations arise.
The teams should
comprise of social scientists, conflict managers, jurists and media
persons.
2. Participation in
the acts of communal violence should be treated as a crime of as serious
nature as an act of terrorism. In no case, communal violence should be
allowed to become a lucrative vocation.
3. Deployment of army
for internal law and order should be confined to the situation of
internal emergency. The enemies of the country should not be allowed to
use communal violence as a strategy for withdrawal of army from the
border.
4. In the states,
police forces on the lines of rapid action force be created for
deployment during riots and natural disasters.
5. Election laws need
to be amended so hat the politicians are not able to use caste or
religion for nurturing vote banks. Once the politicians are aware that
vote banks based on caste or religion would not serve their purpose, a
major portion of the communal problem will disappear.
6. A citizens
standing committee be constituted to keep a watch on the communal
situation so that if and when communal tension in any part of the
country tends to increase the administration is warned to take
preventive measures. Such committees need to be constituted at State,
District, Block and Village levels.
SHORT TERM MEASURES
7. Several laws and
orders passed by the successive governments have remained on paper only.
Two such laws are directly related with maintenance of communal peace:
a.
The order to
ban the use of loud speakers in religious places as well as in
processions etc.
b. The
law to regulate the sale of property by the members of one community to
the other in communally sensitive areas.
It is recommended
that the above orders should be implemented and indirect sale deeds such
as on power of attorney should also be taken care of. All encroachments
in important public places, busy markets, religious places, near railway
stations and bus stations as well as on highways especially at the entry
points to the cities should be cleared.
8. It is recommended
that the orders for the ban of loud speakers be put to practice in
cooperation with the leaders of various communities.
9. An inquiry
commission should be set up to inquire into:
a. Economic and social exploitation of adivasis in the state.
b.Recommend ways and means to stop their exploitation
10. Rehabilitation is
not merely a physical act of placement of families. Serious efforts need
to be done to restore the emotional state of mind. The village and
mohalla majorities should be intimately involved in the work of
rehabilitation.
11. Gujarat must
conduct a review of its police force, which appears to be ill equipped
to handle intense communal violence. Special training needs to be given
in ‘crowd control’ methods.
IMMEDEATE STEPS TO BE
TAKEN
12. The case of
issuance of disproportionate number of passports in Godhra be
investigated.
13. Punitive fines be
imposed on the residents of localities where communal violence erupts
after a declared date.
14. Media should use
itself as a platform for creating harmonious relationships between
different communities. Its crusade, if at all, should be for or against
the processes and not for or against individuals.
15.Persons living in
relief camps should be provided safe habitations, both the communities
should be actively involved in managing the rehabilitation.
16. Persons booked
for communal violence must be prosecuted quickly and given exemplary
punishment so that it acts as a deterrent in future.
17. An independent
commission should examine the role of media, both electronic and print,
during the communal violence in
Gujarat.
18. A code-of-conduct
should be developed for the media both for general news gathering and
news presentation and during the communal riots. Till the time new
code-of –conduct is adopted the guidelines as given by the Press Council
of India for covering communal tensions should be followed.
19. Television news
channels have very significant influence on the minds of the viewers. If
the channels so desire they can provide a healing touch to the wounded
population of Gujarat. Indian news channels also have the professional
talent required for the job. It is suggested that the television news
channels take the roles of crusaders for peace.
20. A situation of
continuous dialogue needs to be created in every habitation in Gujarat
by establishing citizens’ peace committees. It has been proved that
regular communication links reduces antagonism between warring groups
|
