Muzaffarnagar: The farmers' agitation on the three new farm laws has played a significant role in bridging the gap between Hindus and Muslims in Muzaffarnagar, documentary director Nakul Singh Sawhney told Madhyamam. The director of "Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai", which discusses the 2013 riots in Muzaffarnagar, added that the change in the city's social atmosphere after the farmers' agitation would be a setback for BJP.
He said that BJP is losing many sympathisers, who were brought into the party through the Muzaffarnagar riots after the three farm laws were passed. Jat farmers say that the BJP is against their interests. Now, many Jat farmers openly say that they made a mistake in 2013 (during riots). They also say that such a mistake will never happen again, Nakul said. He believes that those words were from their hearts.
Sawhney added the Jat community's confession and apology were a good step in reducing the tensions between the two communities.
Ghulam Mohammad Jola at protest site in Muzafarnagar
Meanwhile, Ghulam Mohammad Jola, a close acquaintance of Jat leader Mahendra Singh Tikait, said that 70 per cent of Jat Hindus who went to the BJP had returned to Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). A majority of the remaining 30 per cent of Jats, who remain with the BJP, is in power or their dependents.
The majority of Muslims still remain with the Samajwadi Party, he said. They are looking at whether the RLD will field Muslim candidates in the next assembly elections in constituencies where Muslim votes are crucial or have a majority. If not, the Samajwadi Party will have their vote, Jola said.
After the Muzaffarnagar riots, which claimed 62 lives and wounded 50,000, Jola and his community suffered from Hindu Jat leaders, including Mahendra Singh Tikait's two sons. Jola said he had left Bharatiya Kisan Union and formed his own farmer's union, the Bharatiya Kisan Mazdoor Manch. But, during the farmers' Mahapanchayats this year, Tikait's sons met him and asked his forgiveness and later took him to various meetings for his speech.