Journalism of Courage
Uttar Pradesh witnessed communal riots in the last two years. With Lok Sabha elections being underway, the riots divided the political landscape of the region on religious lines. The Indian Express visits Kosi Kalan in Mathura, Sambhal, Bareilly, Pratapgarh and Faizabad to gauge the mood during elections.
The forgotten war memorial 'Amar Jawan Jyoti' stands broken, pillaged and lost in time behind a line of busy fruit vendors at the main city chowk of Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
Craftsmen are busy making traditional wooden items to export them at a local factory in Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh. With government policies not in place for the protection of small scale artists and craftsmen, most of the industry in Sambhal is closed. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
A tea stall with posters of Hindu Gods at the temple town of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
BJP flags are hoisted on most of the rooftops of Ayodhya. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
A BJP candidate holds an election roadshow in Barielly, Uttar Pradesh. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
BJP supporters with party flags during an election roadshow in Bareilly. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
A young boy waves the BJP flag during the party roadshow in Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. Bareilly is a region which had witnessed riots two years ago. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
Cows sitting at an empty ghat on the banks of the Saryu river in Ayodhya. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
A Saudi born Samajwadi party Lok Sabha candidate from Bareilly Ayesha Islam campaigns on the outskirts of the city. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
A policeman stands guarding the junction heading towards the disputed Babri Masjid area. More a poet and Hindu philosopher as he feels, he loves to spend time interacting with visitors and discussing on the vedas and Hindu spirituality. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
A young girl with her sibling watches a BJP election road show in Bareilly. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
A Muslim neighbourhood of the Asthan village in Kunda, Pratapgarh, where all the homes belonging to the minority community were burnt down during the Muzaffarnagar riots in 2012. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
BJP party flag adorn most roof tops in Ayodhya. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
Florists stand outside the main city mosque at the Chowk in Faizabad, where sectarian riots broke out in 2012 during a Hindu procession and spread to the neighbouring villages. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
A child plays by the mosque at Asthan village near Kunda, Pratapgarh, which was one of the worst affected during the riots two years ago. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
Muslim men ride a tonga to reach an election rally in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
Muslim men are seen drinking tea at a tea stall in Smabhal, a district which is still to see a rail network joining them to the country directly. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
A man is seen riding a bicycle in the main temple alley of Ayodhya. The BJP has once against reiterated in the poll manifesto that it is committed to the construction of the Ram Mandir. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
A shop selling photo frames of Hindu Gods in Ayodhya. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
A traditional bone craftsman from Sambhal. With no government policies in place for local traditional craftsmen, many from the trade have left in search of other vocations. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
A busy quarter of the Qutab Khana area in Bareilly where a riot broke out two years ago. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
A lone passenger awaits for a train at the broken down Sambhal railway station in Uttar Pradesh. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
Women are seen buying bangles at a shop on the main street of Bhadarsa, a small village town near Faizabad which was also hit by the spate of violence during the Muzaffarnagar riots in 2012. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
A woman shows a photograph of her two sons who were killed in the riots in Kosi Kalan near Mathura two years ago. She is seen here with her third son. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
Congress party flags are hoisted high at buildings in Faizabad days before this region goes to the polls. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
The locality in Kosi Kalan near Mathura which was hit by riots. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
A patient waits for treatment at the only government hospital in Sambhal. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
Security personnel walk through a busy market area in Bareilly, days before the district goes to polls. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
A Samajwadi party supporters campaign at a Muslim quarter of Rabri Tola in Bareilly. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
Huge blocks of concrete are seen with slogans and writings at the Ayodhya Ram Mandir museum, a workshop for preparing the infrastructure of the Ram Mandir, according to the Hindu groups. The museum over the years has ended up itself becoming a pilgrimage and a tourist site, where visitors from all over the country make sure to reach here during their trip to the temple town in Uttar Pradesh. (IE Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
