Hindus in Sambhal scared, Centre and state should take steps to protect them: Pramod Krishnam

Sambhal (UP), Aug 31 (PTI) Acharya Pramod Krishnam, former Congress leader and head of the Kalki Dham, has expressed concern over the recent judicial commission report on the Sambhal violence and said that the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh Government should take steps for the security of Hindus in the district as the community is scared.

"It is very important to protect the Kalki Dham, the residents of Sambhal and particularly the Hindus of Sambhal. Otherwise, a day will come when Hindus will migrate from Sambhal just as they did from Kashmir," he told reporters on Saturday evening.

While referring to the judicial report, he claimed that only 15 per cent of the population in Sambhal is Hindu. He voiced fears that this number could drop further if the government changes in 2027.

"The Hindus in Sambhal are scared," he said. "This is a place of grave unrighteousness and oppression. The population has fallen from 45 per cent to 15 per cent." He accused the political leadership of Sambhal, specifically mentioning former MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq, of fostering this environment.

"For 40 years, Dr. Shafiqur Rahman Barq ruled here," he said. "Hindus and Muslims have been pitted against each other, and the local politics is responsible for all the communal riots in Sambhal." Krishnam said that since the Yogi Adityanath government came to power, and particularly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit for the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Kalki Dham, things have improved. However, he warned of a deep-seated fear among the community.

"I appeal to the governments of India and Uttar Pradesh to ensure strong security for Hindus in Sambhal," he said.

"Sambhal is currently a target for international agencies. Since Prime Minister Modi came, Kalki Dham has been a target. It is very important to protect the Kalki Dham, the residents of Sambhal, and particularly the Hindus of Sambhal. Otherwise, a day will come when Hindus will migrate from Sambhal just as they did from Kashmir." According to government sources, the judicial panel's report on the November 2024 Sambhal violence claims Hindus have "consistently been made the primary target in every riot since 1947" and were again the focus of a plot during the flare-up.

The report, submitted to the CM's office on Thursday, credits Uttar Pradesh Police with preventing a "massacre". It alleges that rioters were brought in from outside and links internal clashes to longstanding Turk-Pathan tensions.

It says controversy over the Harihar temple, which was allegedly replaced by a mosque, was stoked by references to Babur's legacy, worsening the atmosphere.

The report highlights major demographic shifts, noting Hindus have fallen from 45 per cent of Sambhal's municipal population at Independence to 15 per cent, while Muslims now make up 85 per cent. It alleges radical organisations and illegal arms and drug networks were activated to destabilise the region, while praising swift state action.

The panel traces Sambhal's history of communal strife to a 1953 Shia-Sunni clash, with major riots in 1956, 1959, 1962 (when Jan Sangh MLA Mahesh Gupta was stabbed), 1966, and 1976, when a mosque committee dispute and a maulvi's murder triggered temple attacks and curfew. It also notes Mulayam Singh Yadav's 2006 move to recognise some 1976 riot accused as "democracy fighters." Authorities cleared over 1,000 illegal encroachments, reclaimed 68 hectares, and demolished 35 unauthorised religious structures in the past year, the report adds.

The commission was set up on November 28, 2024, in the aftermath of the violence that erupted near the Shahi Jama Masjid on November 24 during an ASI-monitored survey of the mosque, leaving four people dead and several others injured. PTI COR CDN MAN RT RT