Azamgarh is shocked, even angry, at the way the police and the media have labelled it a “nursery for terrorists” ever since the Jamia Nagar encounter in which the police gunned down two boys hailing from this district. In Sanjarpur village, which was raided by the Delhi ATS and UP Police, every journalist is eyed with suspicion.
“A news channel is frequently referring to Azamgarh as ‘aatank-garh’ (haven for terrorists). This is ridiculous. For God’s sake, please stop this madness,” frets a visibly upset Zahid, elder brother of Sajid, one of the two boys gunned down in Jamia Nagar.
What upsets them most is that this “historical place known for its Hindu-Muslim unity is getting a bad name just because of some misguided youngsters. Is it justified?” They ask this to every journalist visiting Azamgarh.
“Because of its name, most people even think Azamgarh is Muslim-dominated, when actually Muslims form only 15 per cent of the population,” said Islahi who was president of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Student Union in the mid-60s.
In fact, Azamgarh, founded around 1665, is named after prince Azam, who was the son of a Rajput ruler. Vikramajit, a descendant of the Gautam Rajputs, had embraced Islam, and Azam was one of the two sons he had from a Muslim wife. A large section of Muslims here were originally Thakurs or Rajputs who embraced Islam.
“The media and outside world are being unfair,” laments Chunnan Rai, a social worker and poet. “Even the forefathers of Allama Shibli Nomani (secular theologist) were Rajputs who converted to Islam,” he says. He also reminisces of Pandit Nehru’s visit to Azamgarh. “He stayed at the Shibli College guest house.” Shibli College principal Md Iftikhar Ahmed says half the 14,000 students there are Hindus. “Azamgarh has never witnessed any communal violence or major crime. Suddenly it is seen as a terror haven,” he says.
“Azamgarh was peaceful even during the post-Independence communal riots,” says former MP Santosh Singh.
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