Straight answers

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Maulana Kalbe Jawwad, </span><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Shia cleric and eye-witness to the Shia-Sunni flare up in Lucknow, On the failure of the district administration</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">What sparked off the Moharram day sectarian violence in Lucknow ?</span><br /><br />The tragedy was just waiting to happen.What with certain self-styled Shia leaders giving venomous speeches, the air was already thick with tension. The undercurrents of hostility were palpable everywhere, only the district administration couldn''t feel them. <br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Are you suggesting a failure on the part of the district administration?</span><br /><br />Of course. First the administration failed to sense trouble and then it failed to contain the rioting. The mayhem continued for more than two hours, but the police didn''t do anything to quell it. The forces just stood there like mute spectators. Had the police not been inert, there wouldn''t have been any loss of life or property. <br /> <br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Lucknow has a history of Shia-Sunni conflict. What could be a lasting and amicable solution?</span><br /><br />The Parikh Commission set up some time back to probe the reasons for Shia-Sunni riots would be of immense help in this regard. For some inexplicable reason, however, its findings have not been made public. It seems that certain divisive forces want to keep this issue alive. If the Mulayam Singh government wants to solve the problem, it should release the Parikh Commission report immediately.</div> </div>