Haryana state is not new to communal violence and riots. Both the religious people are intolerant towards each other. Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra organised by Hindutva groups Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad was passing through Nuh.

In the show off during yatra, several hateful videos by Hindutva activists were circulated in the region, following which similar videos made by some Muslim youth challenging Hindutva activists like Monu Manesar to enter Nuh also surfaced on social media. The WhatsApp circulations and social media postings created anger among the groups. Hindu groups were all set to challenge Muslims in the areas.

In the meantime, a Muslim mob tried to brutally stop the Yatra in Nuh because of which a fight broke out and later escalated into a full-blown communal riot. The residual effect of the clashes was also seen in adjoining Gurugram where a mosque was set on fire the next day. The mosque is the only one on government allocated land in the area. The deputy imam of the mosque was stabbed 13 times with swords and killed by the Hindu mob.

However, since the clashes broke out, BJP leaders have tried to fuel the communal animosity in the area, with home minister Vij demanding the deployment of central forces in the region. The Congress legislators of the region, on the other hand, have been appealing for peace and working closely with the district administration to prevent another such flare-up.

The Mewat and Gurugram regions have frequently been in the news over the last few years. Frequent incidents of lynching, cow vigilantism, attacks on Muslims and mosques, boycott campaigns against public offering of namaz, and hateful threats on social media against the Muslim community by Hindutva activists like Monu Manesar and Bittu Bajrangi have kept the communal pot boiling in the region. This has resulted in deepening mistrust between communities. More often than not, the aggressive Hindutva activists have acted with impunity, which has led to the region remaining constantly on edge and sharply polarised along religious lines.

The labourers from Bihar and West Bengal who are living in slum areas are leaving Gurugram due to fear of riots. In Sohna town, nearly 30 km south of the Anjuman Jama Mosque, a stretch of shops belonging to Muslims in the town’s main road lay charred following the violence there on July 31. The unrest in Haryana comes a month before global leaders are due to arrive in New Delhi for a Group of 20 (G20) summit.

Nearby, windows of homes were broken, vehicles burned and the streets littered with stones and bricks. The mob saw the names on the hoardings outside the shops and burned only those belonging to Muslims. They were shouting “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail Lord Rama) and saying “Jab mulle kaatey jayenge, Ram Ram chillayenge” (Muslims will be slaughtered in the name of Ram). Jai Shri Ram has emerged as a war cry by Hindu far-right groups, who have been accused of lynching dozens of Muslims on the suspicion of cow smuggling since Modi came to power in 2014.

Authorities in Haryana have deployed additional troops, imposed a curfew and suspended the internet in the wake of the unrest. But the measures did not stop Hindu mobs from attacking Muslim-owned shops, roadside eateries, properties and places of worship in Gurugram as well as in nearby towns such as Sohna.

Shops in Gurugram’s Sector 70A and Sector 66 were torched on, while Bajrang Dal members held a rally in Haryana’s Bahadurgarh city, shouting hateful slogans such as “Desh ke gaddaro ko, Goli maaro saalon ko” (Shoot the traitors of our country) – a chant that was widely used by BJP politicians against Muslims during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests in 2019 and 2020.

The mosque – one of the few places for Muslim worship in Gurugram, a predominantly Hindu suburb of India’s capital, New Delhi – came under attack on the night of July 31, by a Hindu far-right mob. Communal clashes broke out on Monday during a religious procession taken out by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Haryana’s Nuh. At least six people, including two home guards, three civilians and an Imam, have lost their lives in the violence. Haryana Police have arrested at least 116 people and registered around 41 FIRs late on Tuesday following clashes. Meanwhile, fresh violence in Gurugram on Tuesday night out Delhi on alert.

The polarisation along religious lines is evident in the aftermath of Monday clashes. Members of the Hindu community told The Wire that mobs consisting of Muslims ransacked their shops, even looted liquor shops, and set many cars on fire. As per locals, the violence began from 12 pm and continued till 8 in the evening. Police failed to control the situation which resulted in three deaths on Monday.

Injured Bajrang Dal members were taken to the neighbouring SHKM Medical College. Things have not stopped here; the saffron clan is making preparations to invite riots like this so that these incidents can fetch some votes for the party.

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