On 22nd January 2024, the idol of Ram Lalla was consecrated at his Janmabhoomi (birthplace) in Ayodhya according to Hindu rituals. For over a month, the OpIndia team has been informing people about numerous anonymous devotees who sacrificed their lives in the struggle for the Ram Mandir for five centuries. Meanwhile, in our ground reports, several Ram devotees mentioned the names of a few villains in the Ram Mandir movement, with Munnan Khan being one of them.
Munnan Khan served as MP from Balrampur and was close to Former UP CM Mulayam Singh Yadav. It is alleged that Khan carried out the massacre of karsevaks in Ayodhya in 1990. As per the allegations, Khan’s henchmen killed Ram devotees while donning Police uniforms. However, they were not police personnel but rather Khan’s private militia. Since his demise, his son Qasim Khan has allegedly continued his father’s criminal legacy. Our investigation has revealed that not only streets, villages, and a competition are named after Munnan Khan but also his name is mentioned in government records.
Now, the residents of Gonda in Uttar Pradesh are demanding that the ‘Munnan Khan Chowk’ be renamed. Officials of various Hindu organizations, businessmen and even leaders of the Congress Party are among those who have raised this demand. However, some radical supporters of Munnan Khan are still averse to the idea of renaming the crossroad named after former MP and Mulayam Singh’s aide.
Earlier areas around Munnan Khan Chowk were Brahmin-majority areas
When OpIndia’s team arrived at Munnan Khan Chowk in Gonda, we saw not very many Hindus living in and around that area. The local vendors like those selling Gauva and peanuts fell completely silent when we asked them about Munnan Khan. Interestingly, even an FIR filed by the Gonda police in 2017 read that deceased Munnan Khan’s son Qasim Khan is so dreaded in the locality that no one dares to come out and testify against him.
An individual, who requested anonymity, told us how the Brahmin community of Hindus formerly made up the majority of the population in the now Muslim-dominated area around ‘Munnan Khan Chowk’.
He said that over time the number of Muslims continued to rise and as a result, the demography of the areas stretching several kilometres from Gonda Chowk to Khorhasa Bazaar and Darji Kuan changed. However, there is a small hamlet called Budhai Ka Purwa near the Munnan Khan Chowk which is still predominantly occupied by the Brahmin community.
He added that the place which is now called ‘Munnan Khan Chowk’ was known as Kamal Tanki before 1990. At that time there used to be a petrol pump named Kamal in the same place.
Posters of Maharishi Patanjali put up by BJP MLA who demanded the renaming of ‘Munnan Khan Chowk’ were torn
During the first term of the Yogi government, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Prateek Bhushan Singh attempted to rename Munnan Khan Chowk. He wanted to name this intersection after Maharishi Patanjali, the ‘father of Yoga’. The BJP MLA had at that time put up posters of Maharishi Patanjali at the crossroad named after Munnan Khan.
Gonda’s VHP karyakarta Rakesh Verma Guddu told us that the radical Muslims in the area, who hero-worship Munnan Khan, were so agitated by this initiative that they tore all the posters of Maharishi Patanjali that the BJP MLA had put up in the area. However, no legal action could be taken against the accused as that crossroad’s name wasn’t Maharishi Patanjali Square.
Dhirendra Pandey, a social worker in Gonda, also told us that the fundamentalists had also gone on to destroy a board that was installed in Maharishi Patanjali’s honour.
Similarly, full-fledged protests were carried out when it was proposed that a police station falling on the Munnan Khan intersection be named Sadbhavna.
Bharat Yadav, a retired police officer who served as the district superintendent of Gonda in 2017, spoke to OpIndia. He asserted that he was instrumental in the setting up of the police station at the Munnan Khan Chowk. He added that the exponential increase in criminal activities in and around Munnan Khan Chowk, necessitated authorities to open a police station in that area. The police station was inaugurated with the help of locals on 22nd October 2017. VHP official Rakesh Verma said that at that time many people from the Muslim community had opposed the formation of a police station there.
Rakesh Verma listed two specific reasons why the Muslim community had opposed the police station. He said that the primary reason for the opposition was that the daily crimes being committed by anti-social elements would be curbed and secondly, it was not named after Munnan Khan.
Along with ex-DSP Bharat Yadav, SP Umesh Kumar Singh had also faced a lot of opposition from the local Muslims, when the police station was being set up. Yadav also confirmed that a massive protest was carried out in 2017 when the police station was inaugurated in the area. “Some people like darkness and some people like light,” said Yadav while recalling the protests that were carried out by Munnan Khan’s aides.
Many including a Congress leader demanded the renaming of Munnan Khan Chowk
During our investigation, OpIndia’s team met many residents in Gonda. Almost every permanent and temporary resident of Gonda City was aware of the Munnan Khan intersection. Most of them were in favour of renaming the intersection. District Vice President of Congress Party Dilip Shukla was also among them. While talking to us, Dilip said that he wants the Munnan Khan intersection to be named after a person who has contributed to the independence and progress of the country.
For instance, Dipika Shukla proposed renaming the Chowk after the Gonda king, Raja Devi Baksh Singh. It was approximately in the year 1850 that Raja Devi Baksh defeated Wajid Ali Shah and acquired control of the Ramjanmabhoomi complex from the Mughals and constructed a Ram Chabootra (platform) there.
Dilip Shukla said that Munnan Khan utilized his political connections and clout to get the intersections named after him. Shukla added that Munnan Khan was a strong, authoritative figure at that time.
A Gonda businessman named Chandan Gupta, while talking to OpIndia, also raised the demand to change the name of the Munnan Khan intersection. Chandan Gupta said that no civilized person likes former MP Munnan Khan because in 1988 when extremist Muslims started rioting when Hindus were carrying out a Shobhayatra in Colonelganj, Gonda, he had instigated attacks on Hindus with his gang.
Chandan added that if this intersection was named after some revolutionary or great man, it would have sent a good and positive message to the people. In the end, Chandan expressed hope that the current UP Government led by Yogi Adityanath would rename this intersection soon.
Suresh Gupta, a social worker from the Gonda district, also spoke to OpIndia. He said that his heart weeps every time he notices the PWD board when he passes the intersection. Suresh lamented how previously it was Munnan Khan and now several of his family members who are involved in criminal activities in the area. He also alleged that the Munnan Khan Chowk had become a hub for several goons and criminals from the surrounding districts.
Gupta recalled how the local goons used to gather at the Chowk, adding that in those days hooliganism was at its peak in the area.
He asserted that if Munnan Khan Chowk was not renamed during Yogi Adityanath’s regime, then perhaps it would be impossible to bring about the change. As an alternative, he suggested that the Chowk could be named after any legendary revolutionary and leader who has contributed to the nation.
Dhirendra Pratap Pandey, a social worker and resident of Gonda, spoke with OpIndia. He said that there is no justification as to why the crossroad was named after Munnan Khan because he, in those days was an MP and had used his political connections to get the intersection named after himself.
Saying this, he urged the Yogi government to rename the intersection. He too believed that maybe the government should consider renaming the Chowk after Raja Devi Baksh Singh, the Gonda monarch who fought for the Ram Mandir between the years 1847 and 1857 and constructed a Ram Chabootra (platform) there.
Dhirendra added that since Munnan Khan was an anarchist more than a political leader, renaming the Chowk after Mangal Pandey would also be a better option.
Gonda District Court lawyer Arvind Shukla spoke to OpIndia. He told us that there have been many revolutionaries in the Gonda district and it would be better if the Munnan Khan intersection was named after one of them.
Let us tell you that Indian revolutionary Rajendra Lahri, the mastermind of the Kakori incident during the British era, was hanged in Gonda jail on 17 December 1927. This jail is situated just a short distance from the so-called Munnan Khan intersection.
During our conversation, Rakesh Verma aka Guddu, a member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, expressed hope that the Yogi government will soon issue an order to rename the places that bear Munnan Khan’s name and remove his name from all official government records. He said it was regrettable that the crossroad and other locations were named after Bahubali Munnan Khan. A village or crossroads bearing Munnan Khan’s name does not send the correct message to a civilized society, claims Rakesh Verma, because Munnan Khan devoted his entire life to playing communal politics to advance the interests of the radical members of his community and carrying out criminal activities.
The Chowk was and will always remain in the name of Munnan Khan
OpIndia talked with the owner of a store at the Munnan Khan crossroads that sold gutka cigarettes and other items. There were festoons with moon and stars imprinted on them hanging on the entrance of the store. We asked the shopkeeper whether the intersection should be renamed. The shopkeeper retorted sharply, “Does not matter what people say, this Chowk is called Munnan Khan Chowk and it will remain that way. People can say whatever they wish.”
Another shopkeeper who makes punctures right in front of Munnan Khan’s house shared similar views. He said that there are rumours that the Munnan Khan intersection’s name is being changed, however, it is still called Munnan Khan Chowk.
Muslim community also views Munnan Khan as a criminal
OpIndia came across two Muslim individuals near the Munnan Khan crossroads. Iqbal was the name of one of them. They both said that Munnan Khan was a criminal. However, out of fear for their safety, they both urged us to not disclose their identities.
“We have to go back home at night. Who knows what is going on in someone’s mind? Iqbal said, acknowledging that there was a lot of lawlessness in the area when the Samajwadi Party was at the helm in Uttar Pradesh which the Yogi government has ended.
Notably, OpIndia had previously reported on how not only streets, villages, and a competition are named after Munnan Khan but also his name is mentioned in government records.
