In Uttarkashi, ‘love jihad’ row weighs heavy on some shopkeepers, residents
The Indian Express | 17 hours ago | 09-06-2023 | 12:45 pm
The Indian Express
17 hours ago | 09-06-2023 | 12:45 pm
Zahid Malik came to Purola town in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district over 30 years ago, and has been running a readymade garments shop for 18 years. He had also joined the BJP six years ago. However, on Wednesday night, he had packed everything up and loaded it into a truck as he got ready to shut the shop for good.He is one of at least seven Muslim shop owners in Purola market to permanently close their shops and leave the town in the past two-three days.Zahid’s elder brother, Abdul Wahid, had moved to Purola much before Zahid. The tailoring shop that Abdul ran for more than three decades has been managed by his son, Shahnawaz, ever since Abdul’s death a few years ago. Now, Shahnawaz is also considering leaving town.Tensions in the Purola area erupted on May 26 after two men were allegedly found with a minor girl by some local residents. One of the two men was Muslim, leading to allegations of “love jihad”.Police identified the two men as Ubaid Khan (24) and Jitendra Saini (23), who were booked under sections 363 (kidnapping) and 366A (procuration of minor girl) of the IPC, as well as under the POCSO Act. They are currently in judicial custody.Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand: Muslim owned shops forcibly closed by Hindutva outfits! Posters have come up asking Muslim traders to vacate their shops before a Panchayat for “targeting Hindu women” to be held on June 15! Some Muslim shopkeepers have left Uttarkashi & came to Dehradun! pic.twitter.com/FQ6vYJD0bL— Muslim Spaces (@MuslimSpaces) June 6, 2023An officer familiar with the investigation said, “The girl did not know these people… There is no love jihad angle. We can call it love jihad only if the girl and boys knew each other, or the guy introduced himself as someone else, or they already had a friendship. But that is not the case here.”The day after the incident, protest rallies were organised by right-wing groups, the local Vyapar Mandal (trade union), and some residents. They demanded strict action against the accused and called for a stringent verification process of “outsiders” who come to the town.Posters also came up threatening Muslim traders with consequences if they did not shut down their shops.There are around 35-40 shops run by Muslims in Purola, and all have been shut for the past 12 days.The district administration have meanwhile formed joint teams of revenue and police officials to verify the antecedents of those coming from outside.“There are around five-six (Muslim) families living here for decades, including ours, and they, too, are being targeted now. They are using social media to threaten us. We have also been removed from the WhatsApp group of the Vyapar Mandal. Instead of giving us security, the PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary) jawans deployed here are asking us not to leave our houses,” said Mohammad Ashraf (41), who runs a garment shop in the area. Ashraf is one of the few members of the community to own a house in Purola.“My family came to Purola in 1978 from Bijnor. Our shop was one of the first few in the area. Three generations of my family lived here, but we have never seen anything like this before… I was born here. I studied in the local Saraswati Shishu Mandir. Most of my friends here are Hindus. We cannot leave this place,” he said.Those who have already left include three traders of toys and crockery, two who were running garments shops, one car wash owner, and one mobile repair shop owner.Having shut down his garment shop, Zahid said he would leave the BJP. He claimed that he was the Uttarkashi district president of the BJP’s minority wing, but the party’s district president Satendra Rana denied this, saying that post was currently vacant and that Zahid had once been a district general secretary.On his decision to shut his business in Purola, Zahid said, “There was a big rally on May 28, during which some people vandalised the hoardings and flex boards of shops owned by Muslims. At that time, I came to Dehradun. We thought we would wait a few days until the situation gets normal. But then, there was another rally in Badkot. Four days ago, we decided to leave Purola.”He said he would look for a shop to rent in Dehradun’s Vikas Nagar area.Local resident Abhishek Semwal, a BJP member, said several Muslim families had been living in the area for decades, but that “problems” started when “new people started coming and opening shops”.Semwal and others, like BJP office bearer Pawan Nautiyal, alleged that such “outsiders” were involved in illegal activities.Meanwhile, Purola sub-divisional magistrate Devanand Sharma Thursday held a Peace Committee Meeting with local public representatives, influential members of society, and local members of the Muslim community. He said that the situation was under control.On Friday, another meeting will be held with local residents to decide the future course of action.Brij Mohan Chauhan, president of the Purola Vyapar Mandal, said: “It is expected that we will ask the administration to make sure that those coming from outside present a character certificate from their local police station. Those already living here for several decades will be allowed to stay here. We will give them a date when they can open their shops.”
