Amid the communal violence that ensued in Maharashtra's Nagpur, following protests by Hindu extremist groups Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad demanding the demolition of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb's tomb, some right wing social media handles have been sharing images of cauliflower, symbolically referring to bloodshed as a "solution."
A right-wing X handle, @HPhobiaWatch, posted a picture of a woman harvesting cauliflowers with the caption, "Nagpur has a solution."
Commenting to the post, another user, @HitRunDFI wrote, "Request to Hindus: Do not be sitting ducks this time. Have a target, have a number in mind like a minimum of 2-3 and act. Also, remember, you will be blamed by everyone even if you do nothing. So stop worrying about bad PR."
"Agriculture has a calming effect on violent minds. Maybe Nagpur needs more cauliflower farming," wrote another user, @Karthik0412.
What is the cauliflower reference?
The reference to cauliflowers and cauliflower farming in this context is a direct evocation of the 1989 Bhagalpur violence, which saw a series of brutal massacres of more than 900 Muslims at the hands of right-wing mobs including members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Bihar's Bhagalpur district, during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
Following the violence, according to multiple media reports, more than a hundred dead bodies of Muslims were recovered from the cauliflower fields of Logain.
The violence, which lasted nearly two months and affected nearly 200 villages in rural Bhagalpur, killed more than a thousand people, according to official accounts. However, other sources put the death toll at 2000. According to the People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) report, 93% of the dead were Muslims.
A report by the members of Bhagalpur Riots Inquiry Commission, set up by the Satyendra Narayan Sinha-led state government in December 1989, held the administration guilty of incompetence and indifference for letting the Ram Janmabhoomi procession pass through a Muslim-dominated area, raising provocative slogans. The report also found Superintendent KS Trivedi “wholly responsible for the riots that occurred.” Notably, the BJP and VHP had contested the disciplinary action against Trivedi, following which then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi revoked his transfer, issued by the state government.
The Bhagalpur violence remains a dark blot in Indian history with multiple subsequent governments in Bihar falling short of conducting proper investigations and delivering justice to the victims.