Life in Kairana, a small town in Shamli  district of western Uttar Pradesh, is limping back to normal, albeit with a fear that it might again be subjected to another round of conspiracies and communal theories manufactured by political parties and media. The last 20 days have been gruelling for Kairana, which isn’t used to fundamentalism. Anywhere you go, you’ll meet someone who will eagerly explain how Hindus and Muslims have lived together harmoniously for generations here. The plot by Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Hukum Singh to polarise the town by creating a phantom of a “Hindu exodus”took everyone aback.

Singh produced a list of Hindu families who allegedly left Kairana because they feared for their safety in the Muslim-majority town. Channels like Zee News, NewsX and India TV were quick to take up the issue, evidently without bothering to investigate the story. In contrast, NDTV India and The Indian Express did go to Kairana to explore Singh’s claims. They found the ‘exodus’ was more of an economical crisis, rather than a law and order one. It was also found that along with Hindus, many Muslims too had left Kairana in search of better professional opportunities.

When Newslaundry went to Kairana, there was another detail that came up in our conversations with locals. Hukum Singh’s claim that the law and order situation in Kairana is bad isn’t off the mark, but at the root of this problem isn’t Hindu-Muslim rivalry. There is fear and insecurity among locals, but this is inspired by criminal gangs belonging to the Gujjar community. Gujjars of Kairana can be either Hindu or Muslim — they’re in the administration, politics and also run number of criminal syndicates in the town.

“Yahan Hindu hon Musalman ho, yahan ek vishesh jaati ke log unse hum pareshan hain,” said Dilshad Ahmad, 40, who lives in Kairana but runs a business in Aligarh. “Aur sansad mahoday bhi ussi jaati se belong karte hain.” (“Here, whether you’re Hindu or Muslim, there’s a special group that troubles us. Even the member of Parliament [Hukum Singh] belongs to that caste.”) The group that Dilshad is referring to are Gujjars, who, whether Hindu or Muslim, have a demographical upper hand in Kairana. When it comes to loyalty to caste, Singh’s own track record is a good example. Singh’s political career began with Congress and he joined BJP in the 1990s. He’s won the Assembly elections seven times and his first Lok Sabha win was in 2014. Singh is popular among the Muslim majority in Kairana despite being Hindu.

The Kairana Lok Sabha constituency has 14 lakh voters of which two lakh are Hindu Gujjar and another 1.5 lakh belong to the Muslim Gujjar community. To capitalise on this breakup, caste politics — a standard tactic across Uttar Pradesh in particular — has led to the prevailing wisdom of fielding Gujjar candidates from Kairana. The list of candidates from the main political players for 2014 general election in Kairana included three Hindus and two Muslims. All were Gujjars, regardless of their religious identity. BJP’s Hukum Singh and Rashtriya Lok Dal’s Kartar Singh Bhadaana are both Hindu Gujjar. Samajwadi Party’s candidate Nahid Hasan and his uncle Anwar Hasan, who are Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidates, are both Muslim Gujjars. To capatalise on Gujjar votes, even Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) fielded a candidate from the community – Sunil Kasana.  “Yahan vote party ko nahi jaati ko milta hai. Nahid, Anwar Hasan yaa apne Babu Hukum Singh, vote inhi ko milta hai,” said Shahim, a 45-year old resident of Kairana. (“Here, we don’t vote for party as much as caste. We vote for caste not party. Nahid, Anwar Hasan and our Babu Hukum Singh, the vote goes to them.”)

Historically, the Gujjars have enjoyed a majority status in Kairana. The community considers themselves to be the descendants of a Rajput chief who is remembered as Dada Kalsian. Even traditional public places are named after him, like the Kalsian Chaupal. Eight-four villages in the area trace their lineage to him. Hoardings of Hukum Singh, a Muzaffarnagar riot accused, can be seen at areas with Muslim majority like Kalsian Chuapal on Shamli-Panipat road in Kairana, speaks volumes about the importance of caste over religion.

However, there does seem to be a concerted effort to introduce a communalism and religious divide. Newslaundry  met locals who expressed anxieties about the migrants who shifted to Kairana after the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013. Reportedly, 14-camps, funded and non-funded, were opened in Kairana during the Muzaffarnagar riots. Though pathetic in condition, they were home to thousands of Muslim victims who had to abandon their homes and property during the riots. Some of the responses have been heartwarmingly positive while other locals have viewed the riot victims suspiciously.

Cashing in on the suspicion are the likes of Singh. “A Hindu kid who leaves his house with Rs 50 or Rs 100 will not even reach the shop. Money will be snatched by kids of these people (riot migrants),” claimed Singh when speaking to Newslaundry. “They are addicted to intoxication and indulge in petty crimes.”

The incidence of crime in the area has indeed shot up. According to Uttar Pradesh Police’s crime data, while the number of cognizable crime cases under the Indian Penal Code in Shamli district dropped from 1,286 in 2011 to 1,268 in 2012, the same rose to 1,410 in 2013 and jumped to 1,764 in 2014, registering an 18 per cent hike. Looking at the incidence of crime in western UP, one can see that the number of crimes in Shamli and Muzaffarnagar dropped by eight per cent and one per cent respectively between 2011 and 2012. Saharanpur registered an increase of five per cent in that time. This was a year before the Muzaffarnagar riots. In 2014, however, the 18 per cent hike that Shamli registered was among the highest in the state.

When Deputy Superintendant of Police Verma was asked about the links between increasing trend and migrant population, he said, “Instead of looking at this factually, we should analyse the situation and crime graph principally. Crime has increased in entire Western UP. ” Verma believes that this has more to do with limited employment opportunities and increase in density of population. However, he also provided the caveat that it has been just month and half that he has appointed in Kairana.

The Sub District Magistrate, Ram Avatar Gupta, spoke to Newslaundry  and he agreed with DSP Verma. He said such criminal activities take palace all over UP and Kairana was not an isolated case. Coincidently, he too is new to the area, having arrived just a month back. Both DSP and SDM — despite being high ranking officers — were unaware of the Gujjar clout in the area. Either that or rather than get caught between the political parties and media, the local administration prefers to look away.