Several recent reports have shown that demography is changing rapidly along India’s border with Nepal. The number of mosques and madarsas is constantly increasing. From August 20 to 27, 2022, an OpIndia team visited several areas in Nepal bordering India to observe the ground situation. What follows here is the seventh episode of the series of reports documenting the facts noticed by the OpIndia team.
The Dang district in Nepal falls in the Lumbini state. We entered Dang from the Jarwa border in the Balrampur district of Uttar Pradesh. On the Shravasti road, there is a base camp of the paramilitary SSB (Sashastra Seema Bal) patrolling the Nepal border. This border is situated in dense forests. First and foremost, we gathered information regarding this district’s urban areas.
The very first thing one can see on entering the village is a Mosque
We observed a sugar factory from a distance as we neared Bhagwati Ganj village in Balrampur town along the Gonda road. The first thing we noticed when we entered the area was a mosque on the road itself. Neeraj Tiwari, a local resident of the same neighbourhood, told us that numerous sections in the town are Muslim-dominated, with the Balua Mohalla being the most well-known. It is worth noting that in September 2020, a bomb exploded at the house of a man named Akram in the Balua neighbourhood, resulting in huge destruction of life and property.
We had only walked 500 metres in Balrampur’s Bhagwati Ganj village when we observed another mosque on the side of the road. The police outpost Bhagwati Ganj is not far from this mosque. From here, there was a road leading to Shri Dutt Ganj Bazar.
Illegal encroachment on Balarampur’s Hanuman Garhi temple
The OpIndia team arrived at the Hanuman Garhi temple, which is located in the heart of Balrampur. Mahendra Das Ji Maharaj, the successor of Ayodhya’s revered saint Kamalnayan Das Ji Maharaj, is the Mahant of this temple. This temple is linked directly to Choti Chawani, a revered structure in Ayodhya.
When we spoke with the manager here, Naresh Singh, he told us that there was formerly illegal Muslim encroachment on the premises of this temple, which is still present but much less than before. Naresh Singh further stated that two shops adjacent to the temple are still owned by Muslims and that a legal case against them is still ongoing in court. One is called Badruddin, and the other is called Cashew Hotel.
Bones thrown inside the Hanuman Mandir
Pawan Shukla, a social worker from Balrampur, informed us that once the Yogi Adityanath assumed office, his government and the temple mahant worked together to restore many illegally encroached lands in the main city. He recalled how a former MP Munnan Khan had opened an eatery named Ajmeri Hotel beside Hanuman Mandir’s main gate and afterwards had his office built there.
Pawan Shukla added that Munnan Khan use to get non-veg food cooked in his restaurant and then throw the remaining bones inside the Hanuman Mandir. According to Pawan Shukla, a lot has changed now.
Mahants of the temple seek security from Yogi Adityanath’s government
Mahant Mahendra Das Ji of Hanuman Garhi temple has written to the government several times requesting additional security for himself.
Meanwhile, as we went closer to the temple, we saw two home guards stationed at the temple’s main gate. Within a one-kilometre radius of the temple, there are around a half-dozen mosques and madrasas.
There is also a Dharamshala of the Hanuman Garhi temple on the other side of the temple. According to the temple’s manager, Naresh Singh, a portion of Dharamsala was formerly occupied by Muslims and the temple authorities had to wage a lengthy court battle to get it back from them.
Mazar in the shape of Karbala constructed in Jharkhand temple pond
As we drove from Veer Vinay Chauraha Balrampur toward the SSB Camp, we crossed the railway line. There we spotted a temple named Jharkhandi Temple just next to the main road. There is a big pond just adjacent to this temple, which the local people called Jharkhandi Sarovar.
The Jharkhandi temple was packed with worshippers. The main deity revered here is Mahadev Shiva. However, some green flags were seen fluttering near Jharkhandi Sarovar.
Local social worker Pawan Shukla told OpIndia that although this place is listed in official documents as Jharkhandi Sarovar, it has been turned into a Karbala. Every year, according to Pawan Shukla, new Tazias are interred in this water body. Shukla said even he is unaware as to who did this and why. Omkar Tiwari, a Balrampur resident, claimed that some individuals continued to maintain their supremacy despite the administration’s efforts.
Mosques found along other routes as well
The Jharkhandi Mandir is located just a short distance from the railway station. While travelling, we saw numerous Muslim-owned establishments, mosques, auto mechanics, etc. on Tulsipur Road in UP’s Balrampur city. Even within a radius of 2 km from the SSB camp, we could see the minarets of about half a dozen mosques.
A creeping Islamisation of Nepal and its border areas appears to be underway, with Islamists steadily establishing their foothold in distant villages, including those on the Indian border. In the first four parts of this series, OpIndia documented the demography change ongoing in Nepal, as well as the worrying surge in the number of mosques and madarsas in the Himalayan nation’s border villages. Additionally, we also spoke about the rising incidences of love jihad in Nepal, as well as its Delhi connection and smuggling and various other notorious activities that are threatening India’s border with Nepal.
The first report in this series can be read here in Hindi: कभी था हिंदू बहुल गाँव, अब स्वस्तिक चिह्न वाले घर पर 786 का निशान: भारत के उस पार भी डेमोग्राफी चेंज, नेपाल में घुसते ही मस्जिद, मदरसा और इस्लाम – OpIndia Ground Report
The same report can be read here in English: Demographic change hits other side of the border too, Mosques and Madarasas mushroom in former Hindu dominated areas in Nepal: Ground report
The second report in this series can be read here in Hindi: घरों पर चाँद-तारे वाले हरे झंडे, मस्जिद-मदरसे, कारोबार में भी दखल: मुस्लिम आबादी बढ़ने के साथ ही नेपाल में कपिलवस्तु के ‘कृष्णा नगर’ पर गाढ़ा हुआ इस्लामी रंग – OpIndia Ground Report
The same report can be read here in English: Islamic flags flying atop houses and mosques, madarsas influencing businesses: The creeping Islamisation of Nepal’s Krishnanagar
The third report in this series can be read here in Hindi: नेपाल में लव जिहाद: बढ़ती मुस्लिम आबादी और नेपाली लड़कियों से निकाह के खेल में ‘दिल्ली कनेक्शन’, तस्कर-गिरोह भारतीय सीमा पर खतरा – OpIndia Ground Report
The same report can be read here in English: Rising cases of love jihad in Nepal and its Delhi connection, smuggling plaguing India’s border with Nepal: Ground report
The fourth report in this series can be read here in Hindi: बौद्ध आस्था के केंद्र हों या तालाब… हर जगह मजार: श्रावस्ती में घरों की छत पर लहरा रहे इस्लामी झंडे, OpIndia Ground Report
The same report can be read here in English: Steady rise in mazars and madarsas adjoining Buddhist places of worship in UP’s Shravasti near Indo-Nepal border: Ground report
The fifth report in this series can be read here in Hindi: महाराणा प्रताप के साथ लड़ी थारू जनजाति बहुल गाँव में 3 मस्जिद, 1 मदरसा: भारत-नेपाल सीमा पर बढ़ती मुस्लिम आबादी का ये है ‘पैटर्न’ – OpIndia Ground Report
The same report can be read here in English: Rising number of mosques, madarsa along Indo-Nepal border: Ground report on Islamisation of village of Tharu tribe that fought along Maharana Pratap
The sixth report in this series can be read here in Hindi: बौद्ध-जैन मंदिरों के बीच दरगाह बनाई, जिस मजार को पुलिस ने किया ध्वस्त… वो फिर चकमकाई: नेपाल सीमा पर बढ़ती मुस्लिम आबादी – OpIndia Ground Report
The seventh report in this series can be read here in Hindi: हनुमान गढ़ी की जमीन पर कब्जा, झारखंडी मंदिर सरोवर में ताजिया: नेपाल सीमा पर बढ़ती मुस्लिम आबादी, असर UP के बलरामपुर में – OpIndia Ground Report
