As the National Democratic Alliance got a landslide win in the Bihar election, Assam Cabinet Minister Ashok Singhal shared a photo of cauliflower farms captioned “Bihar approves gobi farming”, invoking the “Cauliflower” massacre during the 1989 Bhagalpur violence, in which hundreds of Muslims were brutally killed.
In the Logain massacre, 116 Muslims were killed, and their bodies were buried and concealed by planting cauliflower and cabbage saplings to hide the evidence. The riots were fueled by the radicalisation of Hindu masses through the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)’s Ram Janmabhoomi movement, creating an atmosphere of anti-Muslim hatred and distrust.
In Bihar’s Bhagalpur, the violence, which lasted nearly two months, resulted in the deaths of around 1,070 people and injuries to 524. A total of 11,500 houses in 195 villages were destroyed, displacing 48,000 people. Additionally, 68 mosques and 20 mazars were destroyed.
The majority of those killed, almost 93%, were Muslims.
The Bhagalpur silk industry, primarily led by Muslims, suffered severe devastation, with 600 power looms and 1,700 handlooms burned, causing immense economic loss and wiping out livelihoods.
NDTV journalist Gargi Rawat responded to the post, expressing shock that a minister would allude to a massacre, saying, “We all know what gobi farming means. Don’t think this is the right interpretation of the victory in Bihar.”
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.