Now, cops host run for amity in Muzaffarnagar

SHAHPUR VILLAGE (MUZAFFARNAGAR): On Tuesday, Raj Singh, 22, was all set to run a race organised by local policemen. Two years ago, he might have recoiled from being on the same team with Muslim men in his village. In August-September 2013, Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts were rocked by communal riots. On Tuesday, Hindu-Muslim teams from 37 villages in Muzaffarnagar participated in the “Sadbhavana Daur” – a race for communal amity.Each team comprised four Hindu and four Muslim men, drawn from villages that bore the brunt of the 2013 riots. As the race progressed, it was hard to image that just two years ago, riots in these villages claimed 60 lives and left 50,000 displaced.
As he emerged from the race, Raj Singh asserted that close coordination with teammates was key. Meerut zone Inspector General of Police Alok Sharma, the brain behind this unique competition, said, “I am an alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University. I was the only Hindu in the university athletic team. It was there that I understood the meaning of team spirit. A team has only one mission. Every member of the team has to work in coordination with the other and strive to attain victory. In a team, it does not matter which religion you belong to. It was from there that I took inspiration to heal the wounds of communal violence here.”
UP police has consistently attempted to bridge the gap between the two communities in these villages, and Tuesday’s race showed the efforts were bearing fruit.
The six-km race was held between Shahpur and Budhana. Mohd Arif, an athlete from Budhana, said, “Muzaffarnagar was thrown 10 years back because of the riots. Every community has suffered. Businesses have collapsed. There has to be an end to this. Ever since the race was announced, I was enthusiastic about it. I have been coordinating with Hindu participants in my team. There was certainly an element of stiffness at first, but it all melted away with time as our sole aim was winning the race. I can proudly say that I have now made four Hindu friends.”
IG Alok Sharma, however, rued that the government did not have a special budget for “community policing”. “With adequate budget, we could work in a better way for communal harmony,” he said.
SP (rural) Alok Priyadarshi said, “We took special care to select a team. Each team was named after a village. The village Pradhan was its mentor. The captain of the team also belonged to the same village but rest of the team had a mix of youths from among rest of the 36 villages. The aim was to encourage maximum interaction between youths of different villages.”
As the race began, 296 participants sped off from Shahpur. The crowd cheered, and there were even members of different teams cheering each other along. The bitterness of two years ago seemed to melt away.
For his individual performance, Ankur Soram was declared winner. The team from Rasulpur Jatan village won the trophy and a cash prize of Rs 12,000.
Sohanvir Singh, a former athletic coach with the Sports Authority of India, was assigned the task of shortlisting deserving candidates who would be trained for national events. Alok Sharma said these outstanding athletes would be “adopted” by the Meerut-based Vidya Global Group of Institutions for further sports training.
Village elders too appeared enthusiastic about the whole affair. Pradhan Ravinder Singh of Kakra village said, “Just two years ago, the communities lived in mutual suspicion and distrust. I can’t say that has gone entirely, but this effort from the police has certainly played a constructive role in bridging the gap. It was thanks to the police that village communities were formed for the purpose of grooming youth for the race and members of both communities began to engage with each other.”
“Bringing the two communities together for this was challenging at first, but things fell into place. There is still a long way to go,” Alok Sharma said.
Maulana Nazar Mohammad, district president of Jamiyat Ulemai and resident of Bhopa village, said, “It is indeed an impressive beginning. Unless those displaced return to their villages, the work won’t be complete.”
The IG said efforts are on to rehabilitate those who left their villages in fear after the riots. Mohammad, however, was not optimistic of the prospects of people returning: “Cases have been filed and 1,481 people have been sent to jail. If Muslims return to their villages, they will face pressure to withdraw the cases.”