This compelling film delves into the dark pages of history to unravel the shocking truth behind the Maliyana Massacre, a harrowing incident that occurred on May 23, 1987, in Uttar Pradesh, India.
The Maliana Massacre, a tragic chapter in the history of communal violence, saw 72 innocent lives, all of them Muslims, brutally taken by a mob and personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC). After an agonizing 36-year wait for justice, a district court in Uttar Pradesh acquitted all 38 accused on the grounds of inadequate evidence in March 2023.
This film retraces the steps of this horrific event. I have tried to leave no stone unturned, meeting all the key stakeholders, including survivors, accused individuals, lawyers, police officers, and journalists who were present at the scene in 1987. Through meticulous investigation, the documentary seeks to unveil the true culprits responsible for this gruesome and senseless massacre.
The Maliyana massacre unfolded against the backdrop of the riots in Meerut district, Uttar Pradesh, in May 1987. Sparked by tensions surrounding the disputed Babri Mosque, clashes between Hindu and Muslim communities erupted in Meerut city on May 17. Two days later, as curfew was imposed in the city, the state government deployed 11 companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) to restore peace. However, disturbingly, the PAC launched attacks on Muslims across the district instead.
On May 22, the PAC descended upon Hashimpura, rounding up 42-45 Muslim men who were subsequently taken away in a truck, shot dead with .303 rifles, and their lifeless bodies discarded in the Ganga nahar (canal) and Hindon river. In a significant development in October 2018, the Delhi High Court sentenced 16 former PAC personnel to life imprisonment for the “targeted killing” in Hashimpura.
Maliyana, a village situated approximately 10 km west of Meerut town, had a population of 35,000 at the time, including about 5,000 Muslims who lived in close-knit communities. On the 23rd of May 1987, the PAC, accompanied by hundreds of locals wielding guns and swords, descended upon Maliana—the very next day after the Hashimpura killings. They blockaded all five entry and exit points of the locality and unleashed a horrifying massacre, claiming the lives of 72 Muslims. Eyewitnesses recount that “death was raining from all sides, and no one was spared, including children and women.”
Survivor accounts further shed light on the grim reality. Yameen, a survivor, mourns, “Nine of my family members were killed, and my house was set on fire. Police and rioters did it together.” Momina, another survivor, painfully shares, “I had a big family of 22 people. They mercilessly slaughtered them all. My father, mother, nieces, nephews, and siblings were among the people cruelly murdered in my family. Many of them were hiding in a well. They were crushed with stones in that well.”
Hari Shankar Joshi, one of the first journalists to reach the scene, recalls the gruesome incident, saying, “Burnt-out shells of houses and a handful of survivors sheltering in another charred hovel greeted me. People were numb and in fear. In their shaky voices, they told me that it was the PAC who killed the majority of them.”
“In communal riots, two opposing parties attack each other. But in this case, only Muslims were killed, only Muslim houses were set on fire, only Muslim survivors continue to wait for justice. The other community was not harmed, and no one was injured. So, how could this episode be called a ‘riot’?” questions Vakeel Ahmed, another survivor.
Due to the involvement of the police themselves, Yaqub Ali, a resident of Maliana severely injured in the attack, was brutally coerced into signing a document that he later discovered was an FIR. This ‘FIR’ listed 93 people as the accused in the massacre, all of them local residents, with no police personnel named.
Colin Gonsalves, a senior lawyer, concludes, “This FIR went missing, and the regular proceedings of the court couldn’t start for 34 years. Thanks to the appeal filed by journalist Qurban Ali and retired police officer Vibhuti Narain Singh, the lower court began hearing the case and hurriedly pronounced the judgment without examining the evidence.”
Survivors have now appealed in the Uttar Pradesh High Court against the judgment of the lower court.
Gautam Singh 