Thread : How my family transformed from hardcore communism to Hindutva.

My grandfather was a self made man. He used to travel from his village to city everyday for studies. He topped the district in Higher Secondary and was 2nd in Intermediate.

Later on, he settled and became one of the best lawyers in Moradabad.

He was a devout communist. So much so that he was one of the office bearers (General Secretary) of the district Communist Party of India.

As my father tells me, our house used to be the focal point of communist activities.

'Qaumi Awaz' and other revolutionary material used to be secretly stored in our house.

Culturally, we had close association with Muslims, who used to be the prominent district leaders of CPI.

Our family used to speak a mix of Hindi/Urdu. You know usage of the terms like 'Guslkhana' etc was quiye common. Hindu festivals used to be low key affairs. Mushairas, urdu poetry and all such stuff was very much liked.

Men of our house used to wear 'Tehmat'- a dhoti sort of a dress still prevelant in many muslim families.

To sum it, culturally we were less Hindu and more Muslim,inspite of being Brahmins by caste.

Maulana Ishaq Sambhali, a prominent leader of CPI and ex Member of Parliament used to be a close family friend. My grandfather used to regularly visit Lucknow and Delhi for meeting him and other party matters.

All this was going well. Emergency happened in 1975 and CPI,more or less, towed the Indira Gandhi's diktat. My grandfather was miffed with it for this reason but continued with the party work until one dreadful day.

13th August,1980.

13th August,1980. The day of Eid. Around 50,000 muslims had gathered in the local Eidgah of Moradabad for their customary prayers.
Suddenly, a domesticated pig from the nearby dalit community locality somehow entered the Eidgah.

Muslims told the local policeman to chase the pig away but he refused to do so. This led to heated argument with the police and ultimately they started stone pelting on the policemen who were on duty. The SSP collapsed when a stone hit his head.

The police started firing in retaliation. Many muslims got killed in the firing and the subsequent stampede. The crowd turned into a mob and looted the nearby police station and lynched many policemen. Many other police stations were burnt down or looted.

Our family,standing on the roof, could see the local police station being looted. The sound of local bombs and firing was in the atmosphere. My grandfather, also part of the civil defence, went out to help the people.

Shockingly, he found his muslim comrades indulging in looting Hindu homes. He too,was caught by a bunch of muslims but somehow managed to escape thanks to his chaste Urdu and no hindu symbols like Tilak, kalawa.

The 1980 riots of Moradabad continued abated for weeks. In October, during the festive occasion of Raksha Bandhan, many stabbings took place. How his own muslim acquaintances behaved in those riots, transformed my grandfather for ever.

The BJP got founded in the very same year and my grandfather found a new hero. Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He left CPI and became a staunch follower of Vajpayee ji. Shahbano case, opening of locks of Ramjanmbhoomi further aggrevated the feelings of Hindutva.

My family, which was devoutly communist turned hindu in the span of six years. I am sure this is not the only instance. Many more such families switched sides. The rise of BJP syncs perfectly with the rise of Hindu nationalism in the urban hindu middle class.

Thread ends.