The embers of unrest have not settled down in Kashmir now Punjab witnessed clashes with members of two communities armed with swords and other sharp weapons attacking each other . The clashes followed after the disruption of Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir. Aggrieved by the Yatra disruption, Shiv Sena activists launched a massive protest in Phagwara, forcing Muslims to shut down their shops. The change in the clash is that it was Muslims and Sikhs united to take on Shiv Sena; dozens left injured. following the recent disruption of the Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir, the Shiv Sena leaders had been targeting the local Muslims and raising anti-Pakistan slogans. On Thursday evening, they wrote ‘Pakistan Murdabad’ on the wall of a shop owned by a Muslim. Though the district administration was able to contain the initial conflict, it will simmer in future. Police had booked eight Shiv Sena Bal Thackeray leaders and 40-50 other unknown persons on charges of murderous assault, deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs, rioting armed with deadly weapons and relevant Sections of Arms Act. Last October saw members of several Sikh groups protesting against the alleged desecration of their Holy Book and clashing with police in Faridkot District of Punjab, leaving at least 15 people injured. Communal frenzy has always been in the forefront when it is a question of religion. Most of the clashes take place on some frivolous issue which political organisations blow up out of proportion for their own benefits. Of all the religious and ethnic issues in contemporary India, history has cast its deepest shadow on Hindu-Muslim relations. The most critical contemporary phase of this history was the partition of 1947. The partition did not solve the Hindu-Muslim problems; it caused the situation of the Muslims in India to deteriorate. They were blamed for the division of the country, their leadership had left and their power was further weakened by the removal of all Muslim-majority areas except Kashmir. Most of all, the conflict between India and Pakistan kept the roots of the communal tension perpetually alive and pushed Muslims into the unfortunate situation of defending their loyalty to India. Even after independence, the problem has not been overcome; Hindu-Muslim riots have in fact increased in the last few years.
