The influx of Muslims from neighbouring states and the subsequent problem of land encroachment in Uttarakhand has become a major source of concern for state officials. As in many other parts of the state, Nainital’s demographics has also been changing very rapidly. The local residents of Nainital, which is also the headquarter of the Kumaon division, are worried about the rapid demographic shift and its impact.
Many reports have highlighted the concerns that the Muslim migrants, who have pervaded Nainital, one of the most popular hill stations in North India, have started interfering and snatching businesses from the locals living there.
The government’s intelligence agencies believe that Muslim migrants’ intervention in the leasing of horses, taxis, ferries, tourist guide jobs, and hotels has increased dramatically. As a result, locals find themselves being pushed out of jobs and livelihoods they had been holding for generations.
नैनीताल की बदल रही है डेमोग्राफी, है खुफिया एजेंसियों ने किया आगाह#Uttrakhand#उत्तराखंड_मांगे_भू_कानून pic.twitter.com/z9bcBnC5mF
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More importantly, Muslim migrant workers who had first built kutcha houses in restricted areas including upper hill and Barapathar behind CRST school, are gradually converting them to illegal pukka houses. Locals have been also complaining of illegal land encroachment and grabbing, neglected by the local government on a large scale.
Locals say that these migrants have been continuously snatching away small businesses run by locals in Nainital. Their interest in buying and selling land in the hills have also grown and they have started acquiring land through illegal means. The local police administration, instead of taking meaningful action, is said to have sat on its hands until now.
In fact, Uttarakhand BJP leader Ajendra Ajay had also written to CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, raising concerns about the recurring issue of ‘land jihad’. He had raised objections to the purchase of land in the hills and setting up places of worship by members of the Muslim community. In the official communique, the BJP leader had said: “The rapid population growth in some areas of the state had led to a demographic shift, whose ill-effects had started showing in the form of migration of people of certain communities”.
Dilip Singh Rawat, a BJP MLA from Lansdowne, even claimed that a ‘cultural war’ is being waged by the migrant population, many of whom are illegal immigrants into India too, against Hindus in the state of Uttarakhand.
Owing to this increasingly serious issue, the BJP Government led by CM Pushkar Singh Dhami has taken cognisance of the issue. The state government has now constituted a committee, which will be tackling the issue of the sudden influx of Muslim migrants and the associated issue of land encroachment in the state.
The government’s directives about changes in demography and information about migration would be implemented in letter and spirit, Nainital DM Dhiraj Gabryal stated. The land registry will also be given special attention. In this case, there will be no leniency. This is something that local residents should be aware of, Gabryal added.
Raising concerns about the ‘demographic change’ in certain parts of the state due to ‘excessive population growth in a particular community, the Uttarakhand CM had stated that exodus of locals from the state is a matter of serious concern.
Dhami stated that there was a communal atmosphere developing in the state. Ordering authorities to launch an investigation into the demographic changes in the state, Dhami promised a non-biased probe that would not target members of any one community.
“The government has taken this step only after much deliberation. Migration and population imbalance is a matter of concern,” said the Uttarakhand CM.
