India’s capital New Delhi seems to be the latest venue where Hindu families have to flee to live in peace. Acts of communal violence and threats to life and property had led to mass exodus of Hindu families from Kairana in Uttar Pradesh, various parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Agra (UP). The news had created quite the stir in the country and counter measures were taken to bring the situation back to normal in the areas. Residents of Brahmpuri located in north-east Delhi are facing situations currently which are similar to those faced by residents of Kairana and Agra. The Islamic extremists have resorted to vandalism and spreading mischief in a mob in order to force the residents of Delhi to flee from their houses. The families from Brahmpuri locality have put ‘For Sale’ boards in front of their homes and are looking to move away from the area owing to the increased interference and intimidation from members belonging to the Muslim community.
As reported by the Hindi daily Navbharattimes, the problems started when a house in the locality was tried to be converted into a mosque. The Brahmpuri colony falls in the Seelampur constituency where the incident took place between members of two communities. There are about a dozen Muslim families who have been living in the area since a very long time; around 30 Hindu families as well live in the same gully. The matter escalated when a mob got into the small gully and raised violent slogans on the 9th of August. The police was called and they tried to settle the matter without using force. A local leader belonging to the Muslim community had something else in mind as he went ahead and started offering prayers at the site which was under dispute. This defiance shown by the local leader from the Muslim community further heightened the mood of his people which led to more tensions in the area. Families of Hindus which are living in the specific lane have stopped moving out of their homes and are remaining inside to stay safe.
While some leaders from the Muslim community have tried to come out and control the situation from deteriorating any further. Statements from MLA Haji Ishraq Khan have come which state that the people from both the communities have been living together peacefully since decades, and some people are just trying to make the situation bad in order to serve their vile intentions. Former MLA Matin Ahmad too pointed out that the creation of the mosque had led to tensions between the two communities; he also mentioned that creating a mosque inside the locality would be a problem to other people.
The Hindu residents of Brahmpuri locality have put up sign boards proclaiming ‘For Sale’ in order to get away from the scuffles and communal tensions which have continued since August 9th. It is shameful that the mainstream media had decided to maintain silence over this issue and is yet to term this as a religion based act of terror, simply because Hindu families and not Muslims are at the receiving end. Terming the hardliners from the Muslim community as violent and fear mongers would be blasphemous for the mainstream media and it would also be self-defeating. The police and politicians should interfere in this matter as quickly as they can and make the residents feel safe and secure in their homes and localities, or else Delhi too would join the unholy list of places where Muslim hardliners have made people flee.
