Following the significant buzz on social media and subsequent national media coverage, the OpIndia team has been undertaking an on-the-ground investigation into the issue surrounding the expulsion of illegal settlers on railway lands in Haldwani, Uttarakhand. The team reached Haldwani on January 3, 2023, and has been working there ever since to learn the truth about the demonstration and refute the falsehood that Muslims in India are being attacked.
On 5th January 2023, the OpIndia team interacted with the people settled along the railway lines in Haldwani. These people were part of the protests. Many shocking facts surfaced in this interaction. The locals said that the illegal encroachers in Haldwani railway lands have come from various places and settled there. They also added that outsiders were involved in the protests against the encroachment demolition drive.
Where will the poor Muslims go?
When asked if you have any land or plot, one of a local who had participated in the protests said, “When we don’t have anything to eat, how will we have any money to buy land? I earned 30000 to 40000 rupees and invested them in making the home here only. And now the railway department says the land is theirs.”
When the OpIndia team member pointed towards a water tank at some distance from the illegal settlement, the local man said, “Here we have everything from the water supply tank to a school. Yes, there is a school inside this settlement.” Another person said that the water supply tank is 50 to 60 years old.
None of them knew about the Maulana who was leading the protests from the stage. They said that there are so many mosques in Haldwani and that they did not know exactly which mosque the Maulana belonged to. Meanwhile, a woman standing nearby intervened and said, “The Imam does not belong to any of the local mosques. He belongs to a mosque that is not here.”
#OpIndiaExclusive How schools, homes have come up on encroached land in Haldwani (part 1) pic.twitter.com/DQ5fM1bZUi
— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) January 5, 2023
The first person in the video continued and said, “Hindus, Muslims, Sardars – all live here. You can see Muslims here. But, down there, there are other communities living too. Will all of them be bulldozed just like that? Is it this simple for you?”
According to OpIndia sources, many people among the illegal encroachers have bought land at a nearby place called Golapar. Still, the people in this illegal settlement were presenting themselves as victims and asking where should they go.
Rohingyas and Bangladeshis are also settled in the illegal colony
When the OpIndia team asked the woman about the protests, she said, “I participated in the protests. We demanded that our land should be given to us. My name is Akhtari. Everyone from our houses participated in the protests including even the youngest of the children. All of them were present there. The railways put a loudspeaker in the name of giving notice to us. This is how we came to know.”
‘Nepali, Bengali – all ‘quom’ live here’, Encroachers at Haldwani say when asked if Bangladeshis also live there (part 2) pic.twitter.com/SW1CbFEwPX
— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) January 5, 2023
Akhtari added, “If the encroachment was removed many years ago, then why did the railways not acquire that land at that time only?” The man standing aside joined her and said, “Why did not the government take hold of the land back then only? Be it any government. Be it the Railways, municipality, forest department, or police department. None of them leaves their land open. The municipality has a clear demarcation of boundaries. So does the forest department. Why do they do this? To ensure that nobody encroaches. So, if the railway had evacuated the place in the past, why it did not do the boundary at that time only?”
On being asked if Rohingyas and Bangladeshis stay in this illegal colony, the man said, “There are so many communities. How many names should I take? There are Bengalis, Nepalis, and many more.” The woman named Akhtari also confirmed that multiple communities live in the encroached area.
Protestors did not know the Maulana who led the protests
The OpIndia team interacted with two more locals named Rashid and Ashraf. Both of them had participated in the protests. Ashraf said, “We did not know who was the Maulana sitting on the stage on that day. We don’t know from where he came. We don’t know his name.” When asked if the protestors were outsiders, Ashraf said that there were many outsiders involved in the protests. But Rashid, in a damage-control mode, said, “Outsiders were just a few of them, like the Maulana, the relatives of the locals. Everyone else was from the colony only.”
Local encroachers didn’t know who the maulana was who was present during the dharna (part 3) pic.twitter.com/jN6rcW7ySG
— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) January 5, 2023
Local corporator supported the protestors
Rashid further said, “A local corporator here has told us that unless the judge in Delhi does not give any verdict, no one should talk anything about this. So there is a temporary silence here on this issue. Otherwise, everyone is protesting. Laik Bhai is the corporator. He is from the Congress party.”
Support and instructions from the local Congress leader (part 4) pic.twitter.com/sE8W5eVyTE
— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) January 5, 2023
A veteran local Muslim admitted that most of the people who settled in Haldwani are outsiders
As our team went ahead, a veteran local Muslim was seen approaching. When asked about the locals and outsiders, he said, “The people have settled here for a long time. But people in Haldwani have come here from outside only. A few of them are here for the last 100 years. Some of them have plots on lease. Some of them even own land and have registry papers. The current issue is driven one-sided. I did not go to the protests. I don’t know who the Maulana was and where did he come from.” Two other persons who participated in the protest also confirmed that the Maulana who led the protest was an outsider. They also confirmed that there is no fixed leader of this protest and whosoever is coming there is trying to lead the mob.
Support and instructions from the local Congress leader (part 4) pic.twitter.com/sE8W5eVyTE
— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) January 5, 2023
It is notable that the Supreme Court Wednesday put a stay on the matter of the removal of encroachment from Indian Railways land in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, saying that a workable arrangement has to be devised. Staying the Uttarakhand High Court order to evict more than 4000 families who are illegally encroaching on railway land, the apex court bench comprising Justices SK Kaul and AS Oka also barred any new construction or development on the land till the matter is resolved.
