Hindu families in Aligarh are readying themselves to leave the town as Islamist high handedness and violence against them rises. Over 100 Hindu families have now stuck notices outside their houses saying their residences are up for sale – effectively meaning that such families are about to leave Aligarh. Noorpur village in the Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh has turned into a communal hotbed, and Hindus are being forced to flee since members of the Muslim community are simply not allowing them to live in peace and with dignity.
The threshold was crossed recently when a Hindu marriage procession was attacked and pelted stones at by the Muslim community. According to the complainant – Omprakash, Islamists indulged in heavy violence against the procession. He has said that some people, including Aakar Kalua, Sarfu, Sohail and Farrukh abused the village’s lawyer son Allaraji and instigated violence by pelting stones at the baaraat – which resulted in several injuries.
Mostly, Dalit families are being forced to flee the village due to casteist slurs hurled at them by members of the Muslim community. According to Zee News, at least four separate marriage processions of Hindus have been disrupted by Muslims recently. Additionally, the local police seem to have taken no action against the perpetrators of violence against Hindus. Instead, the report added that the police had taken to removing the posters saying that Hindu houses are on sale.
The Hindus of the village have claimed that the Muslim community does not ‘permit’ them to carry out processions on public roads, as though the community owns the village and its roads and is qualified to govern the area as per its own whims and fancies.
Hindus of the said Aligarh village are not alone in being forced to flee their homes in fear of Islamists. TFI had recently reported how in Telangana’s Bhainsa town, at least three Muslims were caught trying to instigate communal violence by themselves writing ‘Jai Shree Ram’ on the walls of a mosque.
Interestingly, the populations of Hindus and Muslims in the town of Bhainsa are 49 and 47 per cent respectively. Bhainsa serves as a case study of how conducive demographic conditions allow Islamists to engage in violence against Hindus without any fear. Earlier in March, communal riots flamed between the Hindu and Muslim community in Bhainsa in the Nirmal district of Telangana. Aided by the blind eye of CM K Chandrashekar Rao, the violent clashes resulted in the wounding of over 12 civilians and police officers, all whilst the mainstream media refused to give the incident any airtime.
The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government must make it a point to ensure the safety of Hindus in areas like the Noorpur village of Aligarh.