Violence that marred 2 October for Uttarakhand – Mulayam’s Khadi Kurta is Blood Stained

2 October is celebrated world over as a celebration of Non Violence. Along with Birthday of Sri Lal Bahadur Shastri it is the Birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, who showed to the world the power of non violence . Every year , this day, Non violence is celebrated and leaders vow to abide by the spirit of non violence .

Often these words and celebrations are just symbolic lip service to Gandhi and his belief in Non violence. Wearing a dhoti, khadi kurta and vowing by Lohia, Samajwad, Gandhi , Mulayam singh Yadav Government unleashed an orgy of state sponsored violence on a non violent protest by simple people of Uttarakhand ,demanding statehood . It is very important that on a day india celebrates  Non violence, it is pertinent  to underscore how fragile this spirit is in practise.

What happened on 2 October 1994? 

 

Protestors following Gandhinian  principal of satyagrah and peaceful protests were going to Delhi to protest peacefully and put up their demand for a separate state of Uttarakhand to the Government in  Delhi and put their grievances across on a national stage. 

The peaceful Unarmed protestors were passing through  Rampur Tiraha,Narsain, in Muzaffarnagar, when they were brutally attacked by UP police . The police was armed, the protestors were not. The protestors were shot at. Women protestors were raped . Official death figures were 15 , but unofficial news reports put the number at above 100. Dead bodies were thrown in canals ,buried in fields as per news reports of that time. Dead bodies kept on resurfacing downstream for few days following the incident . 

Protestors who survived by running into fields recount rapes of women and police pursuing fleeing protestors . The plan seemed to be to leave no survivors to recount the brutal crackdown. 

The local media reported the carnage initially, but at national level, the gory details were suppressed. Mulayam singh was  Hailed as a strong administrator who cracked down on Karsevaks 

In Ayodhya in February 1992 and now was cracking down on people who wanted to break UP.

The events were not benefitting anyone politically ,thus the martyrs never got their due. Rampur Tiraha, Narsain, now lies on National Highway, where numerous Dhabas cover the plaque put up. 

Residents of Uttarakhand, esp the present Generation, by and large have forgotten this Gory incident .

However, the idea of Uttarakhand gained strength post this carnage. The people of Uttarakhand knew they had no value as a part of Uttar Pradesh. The movement refused to die down. Sometimes, people become stronger after their Death. This is what the carnage of 2 Oct 1994 did .

To add insult to injury , cases were lodged against the Agitators . 

 (Photo credit Bhaskar Joshi @BHASKAR2024  twitter handle )

A brief review of the Uttarakhand statehood agitation and history  of successful peaceful protests

 

People of Uttarakhand were always strong but simple honest people. The women were very hard working , Strong and Devout . Males often migrated for work, and joined the defence forces. 

Traditionally Garhwal was a prosperous state, not rich but prosperous. The villagers grew enough food in six months not only for themselves to last through snow clad winters , but for residents of Tibet for the whole year. They tended and nurtured forests, and used to trade in trading centres of Tibet, bartering barley and grains for Salt and  wool . 

With the advent of British and division of Garhwal into British Kumaon , Garhwal and princely state of Tehri Garwal, forest policies of British began causing hardships and bought in very tough times. 1927 forest policy adopted by the British and leasing out of forests by Tehri raja caused impoverishment .

There was a tax to be levied in case a villager kept more than ten head of sheep and one cow/ Buffalo.

The people of Garhwal always protested peacefully . In this case too, the people of Rawain announced a Dhandak ( a traditional non violent protest ) against the Maharaja of Tehri, who was revered as a Bolanda Badrinath ( speaking Badrinath) . On 30 May, 1930 at Tilari, the forces of Maharaja under the prime minister ,who was not educated in this traditional right of Uttarakhand residents,  shot and killed protestors . The Maharaja was abroad at that time. However he rushed back and apologised and took back this policy. So the people of Uttarakhand were traditionally brave people who protested peacefully at usurpation of their rights.

Sri Suman Dev, the great Gandhinian Freedom fighter was Martyred while on a satyagrah in jail . His dead body was thrown in the river and the family came to know about it later. The state rose up in peaceful protests, the memory of a dead Dev Suman kept the fires of independence burning , inspiring further leaders like Sunderlal Bahuguna.

Post 1962 war, liquor vends were opened by contractors from UP who were given contracts for building roads on Borders. That time, women of Uttarakhand picketed shops peacefully and resulted in getting liquor shops prohibited in the border districts . This was the traditional strength of Uttarakhand women. 

Post 1971, the decade long Chipko movement started by local Uttarakhand villagers against the exploitation of their forests by UP government . Led by Gandhinian Sunderlal Bahuguna , and supported by and large by women , the peaceful protest where women would stick to trees , resulted in a Indira Gandhi nudging the Uttar Pradesh Government to bring in a forest law that banned Felling of green trees above 1000 meters. Scores of other states followed suit.

The Chipko movement led to peaceful protests against limestone quarrying .

The people of a Uttarakhand realised that their natural resources were being exploited by Uttar Pradesh and they were getting no development in return. The demand of statehood took root. The heavy handed treatment meted out to peaceful protests added steely resolve . 

The strong, honest peaceful people of Uttarakhand never went on a revenge rampage . However ,they succeeded in getting their own state. 

2 October 1994 should never be forgotten. It was a day , when wearing a Khadi kurta and paying lip service to non violence ,  Mulayam Singh Yadav let loose an orgy on violence on peaceful ,unarmed protestors .