Boards put up banning entry of non-Hindus/ Rohingya Muslims in Garhwal hills, Muslim delegations call upon Uttarakhand DGP

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Boards put up banning entry of non-Hindus/ Rohingya Muslims in Garhwal hills, Muslim delegations call upon Uttarakhand DGP

S.M.A.KAZMI

Dehradun,  Sept 6

Amidst growing intimidation and public threats to minority Muslims in Uttarakhand hills where public boards have been put up banning the entry of non-Hindus/ Rohingya Muslims, two Muslim delegations met Uttarakhand Director General of Police (DGP) Abhinav Kumar today and apprised him about the grave communal situation prevailing in Garhwa hills particularly at Nandghat and Gopeshwar areas of Chamoli district and sought police protection for the minuscule minority population living there.

A delegation of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) led by its’ Uttarakhand state unit President Dr. Nayyer Kazmi along with victims of Nandghat violence met the DGP and told him about the violence perpetuated by the right wing Hindutva groups in which the shops and business establishments of the Muslims were attacked, ransacked and looted. Some of the Muslims were badly beaten up and their mosque at Nandghat ransacked and damaged.

Another delegation of Muslim Sewa Sangathan led by Dehradun Shahr Qazi Maulana Mohammad Ahmad Qasmi submit a memorandum regarding the increasing number of cases targeting the minority Muslim population particularly in the hills of Garhwal and Kumoan.

The trouble had started at Nandghat market near Nandprayag in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand on Sunday following allegations of eve-teasing and making indecent gestures to a minor girl by a Muslim youth who was running a barber shop in the area. The father of the minor girl had lodged a complaint with the police a few days ago as the alleged accused absconded. An irate mob of Hindutva groups raising provocative slogans against minority Muslim community attacked, ransacked and looted atleast seven shops owned by Muslims in Nandghat market. They also damaged a makeshift mosque where the Muslims used to pray. They also damaged some vehicles owned by the Muslims. Already, the alleged accused Arif Khan was arrested by the police from Bijnore.

The victims of Nandghat violence who were beaten up by the mob said that they are shopkeepers and were part of the protest against eve-teasing but were identified and brutally bashed up after their shops were broken open and looted for being Muslims.

The delegation apprised the DGP that some of the Muslims are residing in the area for the past more than five decades and had to flee with their families to save their lives. Similar, processions with provocative slogans was also taken at Gopeshwar town, the district headquarters on Tuesday. The police has imposed prohibitory orders at Nandghat and registered cases against 500 unidentified persons for Nandghat violence.

The Muslim delegations told DGP that Darshan Bharati, a known rabble-rouser  Hindutva leader who is known for his anti-Muslim hate speeches was allowed to hold meetings further vitiating the already tense atmosphere in the entire area.

The DGP was also apprised about the public boards put up by Hindutva groups against the entry of Non-Hindus/ Rohingya Muslims for doing any business in Rudraprayag district. The Muslims told the DGP that it was completely unlawful and against the Constitution of the country.

They pointed out that on petty issues or any alleged criminal or anti-social activity by any Muslim, processions are taken out by right wing Hindu organisations targeting the entire Muslim community in the towns and cities of the hills. The shops belonging to the members of the minority community are ransacked and looted and Muslims threatened to leave the state.

The Muslim delegations said that similar incidents happened at Chauras in Kirtinagar block of Tehri Garhwal where nearly ten Muslim who were engaged in small businesses were forced to leave on filmsy ground of ‘Love Jehad’,last month.  Earlier, the Purola incidents of June 2023 where Muslims were targeted on similar grounds, didnot stand judicial scrutiny in the court of law and found to be baseless.

The state police chief was told that since 2017, there had been several such cases where minority Muslim community had been targeted on trivial issues and forced to leave. There has been planned attempts bordering on ‘Islamophobia’ to harass, humiliate and threaten Muslims with an evil and unlawful design of ethnic cleansing in the state.

“Despite the communal politics of the times, we understand and believe that the officers of the country particularly of all India services have a constitutional responsibility to uphold the rule of law by standing up with the poor, marginalised, deprived and minorities in the country,” the Muslims requested. DGP Abhinav Kumar assured the Muslim delegations. Nayeem Quaraishi of Muslim Sewa Sanghathan announced that his organisation would be holding a prèss conference on the issue in Dehradun on Friday.