Another December, another Sixth

By Sutirtho Patranobis

NEW DELHI, DEC. 5. It was exactly eight years ago, on a Sunday, that a frenzied mob brought down the historic Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. Eight years later, and into a new millennium, the echoes of the falling bricks might have become fainter but are still definitely audible. And like every year after 1992, as Delhi cautiously approaches the ``black anniversary'', the city police have been busy making arrangements to ensure that memory does not translate into violence.

A senior police officer in charge of a local district with a sizable Muslim population said necessary precautions have been taken to ensure a peaceful December 6. Every police station in the district has been sanctioned extra force to tackle any emergency. A number of pickets, manned by a large number of policemen, have been set up to nip all violence in the bud. Officers have been equipped with wireless sets to call for help whenever necessary.

Similarly, mobile patrolling has been intensified in the Okhla area of South Delhi where Jamia Millia Islamia University is located. ``Extra vigil and care are being taken to prevent any violence,'' said an officer. ``A number of platoons have been deployed. Riot vehicles have been kept on the alert, ready to be pressed into service.''

In Central Delhi, considered a communally-sensitive area, police arrangements were initiated a week ago. Extra police platoons were deployed from the beginning of the month. Several police pickets have been set up as a precaution. On Tuesday evening, policemen were also seen controlling the flow of traffic into the lanes around Jama Masjid.

The officer, however, was unaware that pamphlets which could well be called inflammatory had been pasted on walls within 500 metres of the Darya Ganj police station. The pamphlets in Hindi, distributed by a fringe group called ``Janata Sangharsh Samiti'', called for ``celebrating'' December 6 as ``Shaurya Diwas'' (``Bravery Day'') and invited all and sundry to a ``Sri Ram Jyoti Pujan'' at a Chandni Chowk temple to mark the occasion.

A police spokesman claimed he was not aware of the handbills. He added that anyone caught distributing such handbills could be arrested under Section 153 of Indian Penal Code dealing with those provoking or inciting riots.

Both Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena have called for celebrating December 6 as ``Shaurya Diwas'' and ``Vijay Diwas'', respectively. Bajrang Dal's Delhi unit said scooter rallies, public meetings, street plays and devotional recitations would be organised to the accompaniment of firecrackers.

To add to the public anxiety, at least two Muslim organisations -- the Babri Masjid Reconstruction Front and the All-India Babri Masjid Re-Building Committee -- will hold demonstrations on Parliament Street.

Policemen, however, held that a few rallies would not vitiate the atmosphere. But considering the kind of emotion fanaticism can whip up, no one was willing to take a chance.

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