New Delhi: Mohammad Rafique is a relieved man. Things could have turned ugly, like in Bahraich, but due to the restraint shown by local Muslims, a communal altercation was thwarted in his district, Barabanki, recently. The day was October 13, when communal tension gripped Bahraich in central Uttar Pradesh following violence during the annual Durga idol procession. Some 100 km south from there, authorities were faced with a similar situation when a Durga idol procession passing by Rafique’s village in Tikait Nagar, Barabanki, stopped outside Rauza Masjid.

Some miscreants in the procession allegedly threw slippers and shoes inside the mosque compound and splashed colours at its domes. The mobile DJ music system accompanying the procession allegedly blared vulgar songs targeted at Muslims. Unlike in Bahraich, where a similar episode led to an altercation, the Muslims in Barabanki did not react to the provocation. A Hindu youth was killed and large-scale arson and vandalism took place against the Muslims in Bahraich. “We kept quiet and maintained patience. We didn’t want things to escalate. Otherwise, it would have turned into another Bahraich,” Rafique, the caretaker of the mosque in Barabanki, told The Wire.

Rafique feels that had the Muslim side reacted to the provocation, things would have turned violent in no time. “If we had said a word in retaliation, there would have been a riot. They were in large numbers…in thousands perhaps. The administration too would have backed them if violence had erupted,” Rafique said.

He claimed that while the procession was allotted 45 minutes to cross the village, it took more than 2 hours, and spent more time than necessary playing music outside the mosque. “They stopped in the Muslim area and played three to four vulgar songs,” said Rafique. Eventually, the procession passed peacefully. Later Rafique complained to the police, and four persons, all Hindus, were arrested on charges of injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult religion and hurting religious sentiments. The police also said they would investigate the role of others in the incident.

The incidents in Bahraich and Barabanki are not the only ones that have led to communal tension in the state this month. In fact, in the last three weeks, communal flare-ups, including altercations and street demonstrations, have been reported in several districts, from Muzaffarnagar and Ghaziabad in the West to Kushinagar and Deoria in........

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