At least five people have been killed in sectarian violence in the Indian State of Haryana since Monday, July 31. In the early hours of Tuesday, a mosque located in Sector 57 of Gurugram, which lies on the outskirts of the national capital of Delhi, was vandalized and set ablaze by an armed Hindu extremist mob. The mosque’s deputy imam, identified as 19-year-old Maulana Saad, was brutally stabbed and killed. At least one other person present in the mosque at the time of the attack was beaten and shot and is presently hospitalized.
Violence first broke out in the district of Nuh on Monday afternoon. Earlier that day, thousands of people had gathered for the ‘Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra’, a procession organized by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a Hindu far-right outfit, and its youth wing, the Bajrang Dal.
The march was supposed to proceed from temple to temple across the district. According to news reports, when the procession reached Khedla Mod in Nuh, a predominantly Muslim area, some people in the crowd allegedly raised provocative slogans.
Video clips from a newscast circulated on social media show members of the Bajrang Dal carrying firearms and stones and instructing a reporter from news channel Aaj Tak to turn off his camera as gunshots could be heard in the background.
Police claim that the VHP-Bajrang Dal procession had been stopped by a group of people who pelted stones. At least four people were killed in the ensuing clashes including two members of the auxiliary Home Guard force, while around 20 others were injured. Four vehicles were also set ablaze.
According to PTI, some believe that the unrest may have stemmed from an “objectionable video” shared by a local Bajrang Dal leader on social media. Speaking to The Wire, a legislator from Nuh, Aftab Ahmed, stated that the district administration had “failed in its duty to prevent the clashes, despite the circulation of provocative and hateful videos since the last 2-3 days.”
Videos accessed by The Wire showed Hindu extremist activists telling the people of Nuh to “welcome” the procession while using “humiliating references” against people of the area.
One such video was posted by Hindu extremist ‘cow vigilante’ Mohit Yadav, who goes by the alias Monu Manesar, in which he stated that he would attend the procession. He reportedly later told PTI that the VHP had advised him against doing so.
The Bajrang Dal leader from the Mewat district is one of the chief suspects in the abduction and horrific murder of two Muslim men, Junaid and Nasir, in the Bhiwani district in February. Manesar is yet to be arrested, even as he continues to post videos on social media while carrying out further acts of violence. Manesar’s social media accounts repeatedly feature videos of him showing off several guns, as well as videos of ‘vigilantes’ chasing alleged ‘cow smugglers.’
In an environment of near-total impunity, Hindu far-right organizations have often used yatras (processions) and major religious holidays as pretexts to violently target predominantly Muslim neighborhoods, raising incendiary and genocidal slogans, hate speech, and provocative loud music, while flaunting swords and sticks and attacking mosques.
Speaking to Newsclick, Ramzan Chaudhary, a social activist from the Nuh area, explained how videos and statements by Manesar and other such extremists had created an environment of violent hate in the days leading up to Monday’s yatra. He added that the violence was a result of police failure, that the police had prior knowledge of the situation, and that, in fact, it appeared as if the administration wanted violence to take place.
The violence spread to other parts of Nuh and adjoining areas including Sohna in the Gurugram district and Palwal on Monday. Around midnight of August 1, a mob of between 50 to 100 people gathered at the Anjuman Jama Mosque in Gurugram. They began firing at the mosque before setting it on fire. Five people have been arrested in relation to the attack.
Mobile internet and SMS services have been suspended in Nuh and Faridabad until August 2. Similar shutdowns have been imposed in Sohna, Pataudi, and Manesar. There is also a heavy deployment of police and paramilitary forces in Nuh and the district has been placed under curfew. Schools and colleges have been closed in Sohna as a precautionary measure.
Security has also been increased in the border areas of the neighboring State of Uttar Pradesh.
Police have imposed Section 144 in Gurugram and Faridabad city, prohibiting public assembly, but renewed instances of sectarian mob violence were reported on Tuesday when several shops were vandalized and set on fire in at least two separate areas in Gurugram.
Fresh violence in Gurugram, several shops vandalised in Badshahpur. Thread as reported to Ground reporters.pic.twitter.com/dAZHHkLdFW
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) August 1, 2023
Haryana’s Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has stated that 44 First Information Reports (FIRSs) have been registered and 70 people have been taken into custody in relation to the violence on Monday. Khattar added that the violence in Nuh appeared to be a part of a “big conspiracy.” Anil Vij, the home minister of the BJP-ruled State, similarly alluded to a “mastermind’s plan.”
Meanwhile, the VHP has announced plans to hold countrywide protests on August 2, including a “major demonstration” in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The area is currently under a Section 144 order which is due to expire on August 3.
As the situation remains tense, the Haryana State committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) held the State government and local administration responsible for the failure to prevent violence in Nuh. In a video statement, the party’s Haryana State Secretary Surendra Malik said that the violence in the district had been planned by sectarian forces.
Malik added that ever since the ruling BJP had come into power in Haryana, it had targeted areas such as Nuh and Mewat with the intention to further its sectarian politics.
