Nuh Violence: Even as Nuh and Gurugram districts limp back to normal following the communal clashes last week, Hindu outfits have called for action against Muslim traders across Haryana.
Muslim traders in Haryana are in a state of shock after an economic boycott was announced by a Mahapanchayat organized by various Hindu outfits in the Tigra village of Gurugram district.
Around a year ago, Ahmed (name changed) had opened his butcher shop in Gurugram’s Rajiv Nagar neighbourhood.
He heard about the disturbances that broke out in Nuh on July 31 during the Brijmandal Yatra, which was organised by the VHP.
“I was thinking that the matter will be sorted out in Nuh but later it escalated to different parts of Gurugram.
“After the Gurugram violence news reports spread, around 6 Muslim traders in the Rajiv Nagar area did not open their shops including me to assess the situation,” he said.
According to Ahmed, he considered reopening his store on the weekend.
However, the unsettling realisation that “I could be their next target” hit home during Sunday’s maha panchayat in Tigra village, which was organised by members of a Hindu group and local villages and called for a boycott of Muslim-owned businesses.
He claimed that this wasn’t the first time it had happened to him. To prevent any incidents during Navratri, Muslim merchants kept their stores closed for nine days and then went back to their homes.
He claimed that while the police and the government remain silent, Hindu groups can abuse, assault, threaten, and do whatever to us.
Each day that his shop remains closed, he loses incurrs losses amounting to around Rs 1,500.
A number of years ago, Muslim traders would arrive in Gurugram and other districts of Haryana from different areas of Western Uttar Pradesh such as Saharanpur, Bijnor and Aligarh.
“As the violence spread in Gurugram our lives are at stake now. Our shops have been closed now. We have to pay monthly rent. We are borrowing money from our well wishes for food now. The economic boycott will crush our business,” Salim, another meat shop owner in Sanjay Gram, said.
Muslims own hundreds of businesses in Gurugram, including clothes stores, salons, scrap yards and motorbike repair.
“We barely make enough to sustain ourselves. We are scared now and failed to collect scraps from houses. We are migrant workers. If we are not allowed to earn a living, we won’t be able to survive.” Abdul said.
ACP (crime), Varun Dahiya said that action is being taken against those disturbing law and order in the city. The presence of police personnel and patrolling has been intensified in Gurugram to protect migrant workers and others.”
