It has been one week since violence broke out in Nuh in the Mewat region of Haryana, and even though the State Government, after being unable to initially anticipate the fallout of a religious procession, has taken numerous steps, the situation continues to be tense. In fact, the aftershocks of what happened in the Aravali hills are visible in both the adjoining districts of Faridabad and Gurugram, where there have been reports of attacks by fringe elements on houses and commercial establishments of the minority community. Haryana has in the past, rarely witnessed communal violence, and even in the aftermath of the demolition of the disputed structure in Ayodhya in 1992, it was one State, where by and large, the situation remained under control. While former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has demanded a judicial probe into the Nuh incidents, holding the administration responsible, the Home Minister, Anil Vij has claimed that the entire matter was pre-planned, which is “evident from the manner in which the religious Yatra was ambushed’’. Vij had earlier maintained that he was unaware of the violence in Nuh till 3 pm on July 31st and even senior police and state officials were clueless till then. He had obtained the information through private channels. What appeared obvious from the Home Minister’s earlier claim was that there had been complete lack of coordination, and the district authorities had failed to take adequate measures to ensure the peaceful passage of the procession. The question that is raised is that where was the need to grant permission to the procession, and that through a Muslim dominated area, knowing fully well that certain right-wing activists had been making provocative statements on the social media. The intelligence inputs were either deliberately ignored or they were not passed on to those who were to deal with maintaining law and order. For some odd reason, the Intelligence agencies in the State report to the Chief Minister while the police is under the Home Minister. Why this arrangement exists is for those who are in power to answer. The short point is that at some stage, there needs to be better coordination amongst the various arms of the government and this is paramount in maintaining the law and order situation. Secondly, if the permission to take out the Yatra was granted, why was there not sufficient deployment of forces. Videos of the violence reveal that the policemen and Home Guards were themselves seeking shelter when stone pelting started from the hills and other places. As it turned out, the district SP was on leave and the other officials, seem to have been caught by surprise, in the confrontation that left at least six persons dead. The government has since the incident replaced both the SP and the district boss by bringing in the old team that administered the area in the past. What is being done to contain the situation has also created insecurity amongst residents, who fear that their lives and property were not secure, and thus many of them have taken refuge in the Hills. On its part, the Haryana government has started its drive against illegal structures on government land, thereby demolishing many homes and shops owned by locals, who are all mostly Meo Muslims. There is near unanimity on both sides that the entire violence was instigated by posts on the social media, and the failure of the administration to take adequate preventive measures. The names of Monu Manesar, a Bajrang Dal activist accused of killing two Muslim men suspected of cattle smuggling some months ago, Bittu Bajrangi and Ehsan Mewati are there in public domain. These persons posted incendiary material on the social websites, and this seems to have made matters worse. Significantly, the police have so far arrested more than 250 persons in connection with the violence, but these three are not amongst those who have been taken into custody. There are allegations and counter allegations regarding the entire incident, but what is disturbing is that fringe groups are now targeting the minorities in other parts of the State. News reports reveal that many migrants have left the state and this certainly is not a good advertisement for Gurugram, the Millennium city, which houses the offices of numerous multi-national companies. In a scenario where the police were still trying to restore normalcy, a war of words has broken out between the Congress and the BJP. The ruling dispensation is claiming that the Nuh MLA had in the past, made some inflammatory speeches inside the Assembly, while the Congress is alleging that the State government had failed on all fronts and was unable to prevent the violence, since it was determined to polarize the communities, ahead of next year’s elections. This certainly is not the time to trade charges but help in healing the wounds. The trouble makers must be dealt with strictly, regardless of their party affiliations, so as to send a clear message down the line, that such conduct would have zero tolerance in the State. Senior functionaries of the government should simultaneously re-assure those who are leaving the cities for their homes, that their lives and properties would be safe. The police patrolling should be strengthened to bring to book anyone found infringing the law and disturbing the peace. Internet services in the affected parts of the State continue to be suspended, but what is most important is there should be proper monitoring of the social sites, which carry provocative messages. The solution is in prevention and not putting the blame on others when things go wrong. The Chief Minister should convene an all-party meeting to help in restoring normalcy. This is not the time for scoring brownie points but time for peace. Haryana is amongst the best states in the country and its position should not be altered by any more similar incidents.