What became of Delhi's riot-affected in the pandemic and ensuing lockdown?

India was in the midst of its largest and longest nationwide protest, in recent memory, against the controversial CAA and NRC when the pandemic broke out.

Before the pandemic ruled the news, India was in the midst of its largest and longest nationwide protest, in recent memory, against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens (NRC). Somewhere between the protests and the pandemic, terrible communal riots took place in Northeast Delhi, where reportedly 53 people lost their lives. And between the February riots and India’s worsening coronavirus situation ensued multiple phases of the world’s most stringent lockdown. The riot-affected people of Northeast Delhi were left doubly vulnerable.

This chronology is imperative, as several people protesting against the CAA/NRC have found themselves charged with actually instigating the Delhi riots. Social activist Harsh Mander’s speech at the Jamia Millia Islamia on December 16, 2019 is being scrutinised as possible provocation for the riots. Activist Safoora Zargar, a PhD student at Jamia, was only recently granted bail, after being arrested in April for obstructing a road near the Jaffrabad Metro station during the protests. She has also been charged under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act. D S Bindra, an advocate who set up a langar (Sikh community meal) at Shaheen Bagh, which became a globally famous protest site, has been named in the case probing the death of constable Ratan Lal during the riots. 

The arrests of activists and filing of charges against protesters — with, notably, little or no action against voices on the “other side” — have been taking place all the while that our eyeballs have obsessed with the coronavirus and China. But what of the community that was hit hardest, the people of the affected pockets of Northeast Delhi, who lost their homes, livelihoods, loved ones, and then the chance to stand on their own two feet?

After the riots broke out between February 23 and 29 this year, NGOs, individual volunteers, student-led associations and some political parties began the process of rescuing people from the areas affected. Next, providing relief became priority. For about a month, affected communities in the neighbourhoods of Shiv Vihar, Chand Bagh, Ashok Nagar and Jaffrabad were given shelter, food, and medical, psycho-social and legal aid, at the Eidgah relief camp in Mustafabad. However, the nationwide lockdown, announced suddenly on the night of March 24, rendered these people homeless and helpless again — without money or food — as the camp too had to be shut down.

The relief work didn’t end with the lockdown. Karwan-e-Mohabbat, a civil society initiative set up by Mander in 2017 with the aim of providing aid to the affected and spreading solidarity, continued working to deliver relief to the riot victims. Other than immediate relief in the form of food, clothes, medical aid and shelter, Karwan-e-Mohabbat offered psycho-social help to the traumatised victims. “Many people suffered panic attacks due to the violence. Along with relief packages, the affected communities had to be calmed and given hope,” says Meera Viswanathan, who works with the Aman Biradari Trust, another Mander outfit that works towards a peaceful and just world. Viswanathan continues to work with the displaced community over the phone, counselling those dealing with Islamophobia, trauma and anxiety. Members of the community, who want to help others deal with this trauma, are being trained by The Trust. “These saathis (companions) have the drive and determination to make a difference at home, which is more than we can ever do,” says Viswanathan. 

The lockdown made transportation of relief material difficult. “Accessibility to Mustafabad was greatly reduced due to travel restrictions. Even rounding up people to ferry relief material became almost impossible as the lockdown became stricter,” says Aditi Sharma, a volunteer and postgraduate student in sociology at Ambedkar University, Delhi. Organisations such as the Indian Women’s Press Corps, too, which worked vigorously before the lockdown, could no longer continue their relief efforts. 

Jatin Sharma, a 33-year-old PhD student at IIT Delhi, moved to Mustafabad during the lockdown to help with relief measures. Being there meant he could ensure the delivery and movement of rations. He continues to live in Mustafabad to help riot-affected people piece together their lives again. “The calls for rations have greatly reduced. But people who lost their shops and homes are struggling to find new work. While most of them have either gone back to their villages or moved in with relatives and friends, for those who call this city home, long-term sustainability is an issue,” says Sharma. He is an individual volunteer who works with various organisations such as Karwan-e-Mohabbat and the Citizen’s Collective for Peace, another civil initiative that worked quickly and quietly to raise funds (Rs 3,000 per affected family) that were transferred directly to the bank accounts of the affected.

The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, an organisation founded as an offshoot of the Jamaat-e-Islami, which split into three outfits in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh following Partition, has been helping reconstruct the lives of riot victims too. According to Mohammed Ahmed, its national secretary, the riots affected close to 740 families, 600 of which moved into homes of relatives, friends, neighbours and even strangers. The rest of the families made their way to the Eidgah camp, which the Jamaat helped set up. Other than providing ration kits with sugar, rice, atta and pulses on a weekly basis, the Jamaat has been rebuilding and repairing homes that were burned down. 

“We have managed to hand over 16 reconstructed houses, while four houses are still being repaired,” says Ahmed. Those who lost money and businesses are being funded by the organisation as well. “We have given tailors sewing machines and hawkers handcarts,” he adds. Seven widows and 24 orphans have also been adopted by the organisation.

Despite the ongoing relief effort, things are moving slowly for the displaced people, at least on the legal front. The ongoing health crisis has proved to be an obstacle in their receiving the promised compensation from the Delhi government. While Delhi’s Aam Aadmi Party government announced a variety of compensation packages in February — Rs 10 lakh to the families of those killed and Rs 2-5 lakh for those injured — not much has happened since. Ankita Ramgopal, a lawyer with Karwan-e-Mohabbat who has been working with people in Shiv Vihar, one of the worst affected neighbourhoods, says most people with a death in the family have been compensated. However, those with sustained injuries, loss of businesses, capital and homes are yet to receive compensation. “After the lockdown, these people were not able to begin rebuilding their lives,” says Ramgopal.

Some have returned to their burned homes, while others have preserved damaged assets as evidence of being victimised in the riots. People have also lost important documents such as proof of identity and property papers. “Letters to the sub-divisional magistrate’s office, responsible for verifying the claims of those affected, have gone unanswered and those who went to the office were asked to return,” says Ramgopal. She says there have been delays in the filing of FIRs (first information reports) as well, crucial documents for victims to claim compensation.

The “other virus”, as February’s rampaging communal hatred has often been described, devastated the lives of many who live on the fringe. While more comfortably situated people remain fixated on the coronavirus, the plight of riot victims remains largely unreported and unaddressed.