Hundreds of Hindus in Tonk, Rajasthan district’s Malpura town have claimed that they are being forced to abandon their homes and shops, citing threats from the minority communities in the area. On Monday, September 6, many such families, which, due to economic constraints were forced to live in houses in the minority-dominated areas in Tonk town’s wards 12 and 21 placed posters outside their respective homes which read that they are threatened by the Muslim community.
On Tuesday, September 7, almost 100 people belonging to these same terrorized Hindu families took out a poster march and submitted a memorandum to the Malpura SDM office, demanding justice. They then submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, requesting protection.
The memorandum alleges assault on Hindus and indecent treatment of women in minority-dominated areas.
These Hindus, who handed over the memorandum to Malpura SDM Rakesh Kumar Meena, claimed that communal tensions have existed in Malpura since 1952. They reported that approximately 600 to 800 households had sold their homes and moved out of the region. For the past two days, these families have been pleading with administrative and police personnel for protection.
About 200 families have been requesting protection from the administration for a long time, according to local resident Radhakishan.
On Monday, September 6, another memorandum was presented, in which the Hindus in the neighbourhood claimed that the number of Muslims in the area had been steadily increasing, making it impossible for Hindus to live there peacefully. It further read that there are Jains and Gujjar temples in the neighbourhood, but security concerns due to the expanding Muslim population have forced them to close. Meat markets are operating illegally near temples, causing the temple’s idols to be sent elsewhere, read the Memorandum.
Meanwhile, the Rajasthan police, have in the last two days, attempted multiple times to remove posters from outside Hindu homes but were forced to return in vain due to public outcry. Calling the act of hanging posters outside the houses an “act to disturb the communal harmony of the city”, the Malpura administration warned the Hindus to remove such posters from their homes.
Malpura town in Tonk district has seen many communal clashes since independence and many people have lost their lives. It is noteworthy that the first communal dispute took place in Malpura town in 1952. Including the 1952 incident, eight times communal tension has arisen in Malpura. The town was recently subjected to a curfew in 2019, after some miscreants threw stones during a Dussehra procession, causing communal unrest.
