Editorial

Pradeep Ramteke

      Editor-in-Chief

            A public disturbance of peace by a group of people through violent means is called a riot.

            A riot is a form of civil disorder. In a riot, organized or unorganized groups act against specific or unspecified people and loot and destroy private and public property. In such a situation, mild or severe violence can occur, suddenly or deliberately.

             Once a riot starts, the leaders responsible for creating it cannot necessarily stop it. Ultimately, a riot is a form of public disorder and it involves only mob rule.

             The type of property to be destroyed in a riot depends on the immediate cause of the riot and the attitudes of the people participating in the riot. Generally, shops, restaurants, vehicles, government institutions, and religious places are targeted in a riot.

          Riots are often caused by a public feeling of real or imagined distrust, suspicion, or uneasiness arising from injustice.

            The fact that complaints against injustice have not been properly addressed can be the cause – not the justification – of the riot.

           Riots have occurred throughout history, and still occur today, due to reasons such as unemployment, government mismanagement, poor living conditions, oppression by officials, ethnic conflict, religious differences, and insufficient food supplies.

            Riots can occur in response to differences between two or more groups, or when displeasure with government/non-government institutions is expressed in violent ways.

             Disturbances in the work of other people, causing harm on occasion, and sometimes even life-threatening nuisance, misuse of valuables, hooliganism, public nuisance, and defacement of private or public property are some of the prominent features of riots.

           Responses to dissatisfaction with a situation or event often do not resolve doubts through appropriate official channels, but continue to manifest themselves in the form of condemnation and hostility between individuals or in society.

           When two or more people, absent persons, condemn a situation on one side, it helps to strengthen their mutual bonds, while at the same time its negative effect strengthens prejudice and dissatisfaction.

          Often, social dissatisfaction or a situation of dissatisfaction is used to strengthen one’s side in the competition for immediate leadership or power.

           Usually, the leaders who use extreme language are in the minority. But extreme language gets undue publicity from the media. If the discontent is between two different groups of the society, then the people of the other group also go through the same process of dissatisfaction, condemnation, prejudice and discontent, and the leadership with a lust for leadership or power starts using extreme language.

            Such leaders of both groups are selectively busy showing the negative sides of the other group. As a result, a feeling of mutual distrust and insecurity arises in the group. Rumors are spread or are spread. Taking advantage of a spark from a trivial reason, rioters start riots.

           Other criminals, robbers and other relatives try to take advantage of the breakdown in law and order. Due to this, the situation often has the possibility of taking a serious turn.

          Generally, when moving to a new place or after moving, any person or family prefers to live and establish relations with people of their religion, language and region for cooperation and other economic support. Security is the positive side behind this.

          On the other hand, living in a place separate from other majority people delays the mixing of the language and culture of the majority people. This leads to the division between minority and majority.

          According to Marathi thinker Narhar Kurundkar, usually any minority society usually adapts to the majority. But when the population goes beyond ten to fifteen percent, the society starts to express its own needs more clearly.

           If there is a lack of proper leadership, negative ways are adopted. At the same time, if the distrust of the majority society towards other communities is also fed, the necessary ground is created for the situation to escalate.

         Apart from the immediate selfishness of a few people, the consequences of riots are severe and frightening.

           There is immense damage to the businesses and public property and lives of ordinary people. In addition to the direct damage, mutual trust is broken for a very long time. There is unnecessary displacement of families and communities, self-confidence is undermined, the importance of the value of the threat increases and people do not dare to fully exercise their freedom of invention and freedom of expression in an atmosphere of fear.

      Similarly, many people are killed unnecessarily due to riots.

          Strict action must be taken against those who sow the poisonous seeds of religion and those who create such an environment to cause communal riots.

           In this too, the government and administration should be of the opinion that action should be taken only against the real criminals, without taking action based on caste and religion.