While the death toll in Tamil Nadu’s Karur, where a rally held by film star-turned-politician Vijay saw a stampede, mounted to 41, Ladakh was convulsed by clashes in the wake of protests over the demand for statehood and Sixth Schedule status for the region, in which four youths were killed in police firing. Covering these developments over the week, the Urdu dailies spotlighted the arrest of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), who was flown from Leh to a Jodhpur jail. Also in focus in their front pages were the protests over police action against the “I love Muhammad” campaign in UP and other states.
Referring to the unrest in Ladakh, the Mumbai-based Urdu Times, in its September 25 leader, points out that when the Narendra Modi government abrogated Article 370 in relation to Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019, and bifurcated the then state into two Union Territories (UTs), J&K and Ladakh, celebrations had erupted in Ladakh. Six years down the line, the situation has undergone a sea change in the UT, where people have taken to streets to demand protection of their rights and identity, it says. The police clamping down on them and opening fire resulted in four people being killed and scores injured.
The editorial states that the UT administration’s bid to impose a curfew in Leh controlled the situation but tension swept through the sensitive region bordering China. Noting that it is imperative that the Modi government quickly defuse the crisis gripping Ladakh, the edit says: “The Modi government however faces an uphill task as it has yet to fulfil its pledge to restore statehood to J&K in the first place.” The edit adds that the violent protests in Leh evoked the recent upheaval in Nepal where Gen Z protests against alleged corruption and misrule toppled the K P Sharma Oli-led government. “India is not Nepal, but the Leh spark could ignite other statehood demands and discontents. It could not be tackled by resorting to force, which could backfire. The government must show sagacity and prudence, and resolve the Ladakh crisis through dialogue.”
SIASAT
Referring to the stampede at the rally of superstar-turned-politician Vijay’s fledgling party TVK in Karur, the Hyderabad-based Siasat, in its September 29 editorial, writes that South India has a tradition of film actors achieving success in the political arena by riding on their star power. “Such star-politicians include M G Ramachandran (MGR) and Jayalalithaa in Tamil Nadu, N T Rama Rao and Chiranjeevi in undivided Andhra Pradesh and, currently, Pawan Kalyan in Andhra Pradesh,” it says, adding that Kamal Haasan, who has also floated his own party MNM, has been sent to the Rajya Sabha by ally DMK. “Vijay has declared that his party would go solo in the 2026 Assembly polls, which will mark its electoral debut. As part of his poll preparations, he has been holding rallies in different parts of the state,” the edit notes. “In the aftermath of Karur stampede, Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin and even Vijay himself have announced ex gratia for the kin of the dead, but no amount of money could compensate for the loss of human lives.”
The daily says the key question is, who was responsible for this deadly crush? “In our country, there have often been incidents of such stampedes due to lack of proper planning and arrangements. This also seemed to be the case in Vijay’s rally, who arrived at its venue after a delay of several hours that resulted in overcrowding and restiveness among the people.”
The editorial says the authorities must enforce guidelines for crowd management effectively for prevention of stampede incidents. “Accountability also must be fixed in the event of such mishaps,” it states. “In the case of the Karur disaster, a political blame game seems to have started. While the DMK dispensation is accusing the TVK of botching up the management of the rally, Vijay’s outfit has alleged political conspiracy behind the incident,” the edit says, calling the exchange of these allegations and counter-allegations “unfortunate”. “Someone needs to own up responsibility and ensure effective steps so that such a tragedy does not recur again.”
ROZNAMA RASHTRIYA SAHARA
Commenting on the Uttar Pradesh Police’s crackdown on protesters supporting the campaign to display “I love Muhammad” posters and banners, the New Delhi edition of Roznama Rashtriya Sahara, in its September 29 editorial, says that such actions “criminalising” the right to express love for one’s faith undermine the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. The editorial points out that the row started with the the police registering an FIR in Kanpur over a board displaying “I love Mohammad” as part of the annual Eid Milad-un-Nabi procession to mark the birth anniversary of the Prophet. It then spread to several districts across UP with police booking cases and arresting many protesters. In Bareilly, following the clashes between the police and protesters, police arrested prominent Barelvi cleric and Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) president Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan, booking him in seven cases and sending him to jail, the edit notes.
The daily writes that following the Bareilly violence, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, addressing an event in Lucknow, said, “The Maulana seemed to have forgotten who is in power in the state. He threatened to block roads, but we made it clear that there would be neither a roadblock nor curfew. We will send a message so strong that even your future generations will never indulge in rioting.” The editorial says such a rhetoric from a CM in a democracy betrays “majoritarian politics and arrogance of power”, which, it adds, is “part of bulldozer justice”.
The editorial points out that an expression of love could not be painted as a criminal act in our country. “UP is presenting a disquieting scenario marked with divisive politics, where the minority community has already been pushed to a corner over the bogeys of ‘land jihad’ and ‘love jihad’,” it says.