Kolhapur, Maharashtra — In a narrow lane of Sadarbazaar in Kolhapur stays a 14-year-old Muslim boy who posted an Instagram story with photos of Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan.
The post read, "Baap (the father) of all homes". It was posted with a viral song 'Baap toh Baap rahega'. He had seen the post on Instagram accounts of his friends, all of them minors.
Two days after he posted the Instagram story, which disappeared from his account after 24 hours, the police landed at his door and took the 14-year-old into custody. Four of his friends had been taken into custody too.
Their crime? The Instagram story about Aurangzeb and Tipul Sultan hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu community.
"My son is so young. Even the policeman who came to pick him up remarked about his age. He used my phone to post that photo. And now they have jailed him for that," the 14-year-old's mother told Decode. One of the juvenile accused's brother, himself just 19, said, "I follow my brother on Instagram. But I didn't even think it could get him arrested. Aurangzeb was mentioned in our history books, was he not? Then what is wrong about sharing his photo," he asked. The same sentiment was echoed by the uncle of an accused who said, "I heard that some of those who complained against them are our neighbours. Children who used to play with my nephew, who we would wish for Diwali and Ganpati festivals."
The Instagram story by the five teenagers went viral on local WhatsApp groups after those who knew them took screenshots. In retaliation, members of Hindutva groups namely, Bajrang Dal and Shiv Prathisthan Hindustan, made a new social media post which had a screenshot of the said Instagram post, names of the five minors, and a call to join forces and protest.
The post which was shared widely on WhatsApp asked the residents of Kolhapur to "stop pretending to be progressive". "We will enter the houses of those who side with these dogs and shoot them dead," it read.
On June 5, the Hindutva groups filed a police complaint against three of the five minors, alleging that they had posted the status on the day of the 350th anniversary of Shivaji Maharaj's coronation to insult him. The FIR against the three booked them under sections 298 and 505 of the Indian Penal Code. Meanwhile, the above WhatsApp status was used to rally forces and organise a protest on June 8, led by the Bajrang Dal and Shiv Prathisthan Hindustan under the banner of Hindu Sakal Manch.
The protest saw a crowd of nearly 5000-6000 people as Bajrang Dal leader Bandya Salokhe shouted Hindutva slogans followed by a loud applause from the crowd.
This protest soon turned violent with stone pelting and vandalising by members of Hindutva groups. The Kolhapur police booked nearly 300 unidentified persons for damaging public property. The administration also issued curfew orders and shutdown internet in Kolhapur for over 48 hours.
BOOM visited the area where the clashes took place and found that most of the shops vandalised belonged to Muslims. "Once we heard about the protest, we shut down our shops but they still managed to pelt stones on our displays and tear the shop name board. Whoever was involved should be made to pay for our financial damage. We are not big businessmen, how are we to manage?" said Shafi who runs a garments shop in the area.
The Kolhapur police detained the five Muslim minors and sent them to Juvenile Correction homes and arrested 39 people including three minors from the Hindutva groups for the violence and sharing the WhatsApp post calling for action.
It did not end there. The call for more violence and ousting of Muslims from Kolhapur continued on social media platforms like Facebook and on WhatsApp. BOOM accessed several posts shared as WhatsApp statuses and on Facebook with communal text and visuals.
One such status was posted by a 36-year-old homemaker, the text of which in Marathi read, "पुरोगामी न्हवं तर हिंदुत्ववादी कोल्हापूर....बाप एकच छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराज" (Not progressive or liberal but Hindutva Kolhapur....there is only one leader Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj). This WhatsApp status had the same song that was added by the Muslim minors in their Instagram post - "Baap Toh Baap rahega".
Speaking to BOOM, the woman who did not wish to be named said, "Kolhapur is the land of Shivaji and Shahu Maharaj. We are where the Marathas became one. It is a land for us - Hindus. Not those who have come from Pakistan." When asked what she thought of the Instagram post shared by the Muslim minors, she said, "I did not see that. But I heard that it insulted our Shivaji Maharaj and said Aurangzeb was the true raja. How can they stay here and say such things. If that's what they believe, then they should go to their own country."
Another video WhatsApp story posted by a 65-year-old retired school teacher reads, "सुरुवात कोल्हापूर मधूनच होणार आणि सगळं महाराष्ट्र पेटून उठणार" (The fire will start in Kolhapur and then spread across Maharashtra) and shows a video from the protest with audio of "Ram Ram Jai Siya Ram".
The woman who wished only to be identified as Mrs Jadhav said she got the video on her family WhatsApp group. "Our population (Hindus) has been steadily decreasing. When I was a teacher, my class used to be filled with Hindu children but as years went past, they (Muslims) started becoming more and more in attendance. They have 4-5 children in each family and we Hindus are just 1 or 2. This is their conspiracy to take over our state - the land of the Marathas. They call themselves sons of Aurangzeb - the man who looted our temples and raped our Hindu women. We will not tolerate this in Kolhapur," she said. Mrs Jadhav added that she also organises regular meeting in her house where she tells Hindu women to protect their girl children from Muslim men. "I saw it in Kerala story. They want to sell our Hindu women as slaves. Our Hindu women need to be taught to protect themselves."
Forty-two-year-old Shiv Gargunde, a private bus conductor, proudly showed BOOM his WhatsApp display picture - an orange background with text reading "हिंदुत्ववादीकोल्हापूर" (Hindutva Kolhapur). Ruing that he could not attend the protest, he said, "I support the cause. They take away our jobs and get free land and benefits from their people and the government. What do we get? Just insults from them." A few hours after the protest, Gargunde received a post on a group that said Hindus had to regain control of Kolhapur by not listening to those who say it is a liberal district.
"Look at what happened in Aurangabad. They had the guts to say the city's name should not be changed. We will not let that happen to Kolhapur. For years, Kolhapur has been considered progressive. Shahu Maharaj did so much but only for the lower castes and not Muslims, he himself realised their danger. But everyone has been lying saying Kolhapur is progressive and liberal. It is time to make our colour clear : it the colour of Bhagwa, of Shivaji Maharasj, of Hindutva."
Three days after the violence, as Kolhapur jumps back to normalcy, the area where the detained Muslim teengaers stay remains eerily silent. Shop shutters are half open, anticipating violence. Groups of youngsters stand talking in hushed tones, staring warily at anyone entering the lane; refusing to identify themselves. A Muslim auto driver standing in a corner says sarcastically, "Yahan rehte hai sab Aurangzeb ke bacche (Here stay all the children of Aurangzeb)."
He is refering to comment by state Deputy Chief Minsiter, Devendra Fadnavis who after the communal violence said, "Maharashtra me achanak kuch zhilon me Aurangzeb ki auladein paida hogaye hai (In some districts of Maharashtra, some children of Aurangzeb have suddenly appeared).
"When the government itself speaks so vocally against us, what can we expect from our neighbours?" asks the auto driver. "This is not my Kolhapur. Not the one I grew up in."