Chandigarh/Shimla: What started as an anti-mosque protest in Shimla’s Sanjauli earlier this month has now spilled over to other parts of the state.
Now the issue is not just the razing of ‘illegal’ mosque structures but also limiting the entry of ‘outsiders’, a term isolating only Muslims from other states who are being blamed for crowding out local jobs and businesses.
Nerwa and Kasumpti in Shimla and Mandi, Kullu and Hamirpur districts have emerged as the latest hotspots of anti-mosque protests or sentiment.
Muslims were subject to open hostility in places like Solan and Palampur for being outsiders.
The outfits linked to these protests were found to be as diverse as trader bodies as well as old and newly constituted Hindu sangathans.
But several members of the opposition BJP and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) were also booked following the police’s probe into violent protests against a mosque in Sanjauli on September 11.
The VHP has already announced free legal aid for those booked in these cases.
The functioning of the Sukhwinder Sukhu-led Congress government too has come under criticism for failing to control these protests. Congress minority leaders from Himachal on Thursday (September 19) even knocked on their party high command’s door to apprise them of the situation back home.
The issue started with a local squabble in Kasumpti before the Congress’s own minister, Anirudh Singh, poured fuel over the fire in the Himachal assembly, causing the issue to explode.
A Muslim welfare committee in Shimla attempted to de-escalate the situation by urging the municipal commissioner to seal the allegedly unauthorised portion of the mosque in Sanjauli, which was the first hotspot of anti-mosque protests.
They even offered to demolish the alleged illegal construction if ordered by court.
Despite these conciliatory efforts, the demand for the demolition of more mosques spread across the state along with the issue of the proper registration and verification of ‘outsiders.’
Protesters from the Hindu Jagran Manch and Shimla Vyapar Mandal rally against the alleged illegal construction at a mosque in Sanjauli on September 11. Photo: Rachna Verma.
Unrest in paradise
The kind of communal tension in an otherwise tranquil hill state was something as yet unseen.
For instance, shops thought to be owned by Muslims were marked with red colour as an attempt to economically boycott them during a protest march jointly organised by the Solan Vyapar Mandal and the Sarv Hindu Samaj in Solan city on September 16.
Besides, a person who is reportedly Muslim was also roughed up during the protest march, which also saw protestors chanting anti-Muslim slogans.
Speaking to The Wire, Gaurav Singh, Solan’s superintendent of police, informed that a police case had been registered against the protestors under multiple sections including unlawful assembly, rioting, outraging religious feelings and spreading false information.
“So far, five persons have been booked, while efforts are underway to identify others,” he added.
When contacted, Kushal Jethi, president of the Solan Vyapar Mandal – who was among those booked in the FIR – claimed that the police case against him and others was entirely wrong.
The agitation targeted an alleged influx of ‘outsider’ vendors, who Jethi claimed took away jobs.
Saying there was no attempt to disturb communal harmony, Jethi claimed that shops were marked to identify ‘outsider’ vendors as the administration had long been giving excuses that it was hard to identify them, and that there was no attempt to boycott anyone.
He also alleged that the person roughed up during the protest was provoking the crowd.
The state government must find some solution to their problem rather than silence public protests with police cases, he continued to say.
Meanwhile, in Palampur, a protest held last week by local organisation Dev Bhumi Sangharsh Samiti – which was formed very recently – also turned anti-Muslim, featuring provocative and inflammatory slogans.
In one viral video, protesters were seen destroying a vending cart that was unoccupied on the day of protest.
On being asked about the Palampur incident, Kangra superintendent of police Shalini Agnihotri told The Wire that while local police had taken cognisance of the matter, no complaint had been filed so far.
She added that no one claimed any damage to their personal property.
Kashmiri migrants at the Solan bus stand. Photo: Rachna Verma.
Muslims worried, concealing their identities
Following the recent protests, Muslim vendors in Shimla are afraid and concealing their identities. When asked about their thoughts on the protest, many were hesitant to speak, with one urging, “Don’t ask anything about it.”
One Muslim shopkeeper who has been selling snacks in the Shimla area for 25 years agreed to speak but preferred to remain anonymous.
Originally from Uttar Pradesh, he remarked, “This is the first time I’ve seen people turn away after realising I’m a Muslim. In the last two days, I’ve only earned Rs 500,” before displaying his empty cash box.
Another vendor, an elderly man who has been selling fruits for years, refused to talk at all, repeatedly saying, “Don’t ask anything about it.”
Farah Khan, who runs a small clothing shop, was willing to give her name but declined to be photographed. Born and raised in Shimla, she attended a sanatan dharma school, where she memorised the Hanuman Chalisa and participated in its weekly recitation every Tuesday.
“If we meant to divide people, why would my parents send me to a sanatan dharma school?” she asked.
Khan, who proudly displays a picture of her son dressed as Krishna, expressed her disappointment, saying, “I used to flaunt how we never faced such issues here. This is so unfortunate.”
In Solan district, Yasir, Shiraz, Ahmed and Mukhtiar, all from Kazinoon village in Kashmir, have worked as laborers for the last 15 years, primarily unloading and loading and transportation goods.
As there is only seasonal work in Kashmir, they came here in search of more stable employment. However, after the recent incident, no one is offering them work.
“Most people were saying, ‘let things get back to normal’,” Yasir said, adding, “if the situation continues, we will go back to Kashmir”.