Vehicles were burnt and stones pelted at a Hindu shobha yatra, leading to clashes in Haryana’s Nuh, a Muslim-majority region.
Tensions escalated in Haryana’s Mewat region following an incident on Monday where stones were thrown at the Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Religious Mewat Yatra. According to reports, individuals from a minority community attacked one of the vehicles in the religious procession. In response, the police intervened, using teargas shells to disperse the crowds and calling for reinforcements from neighbouring areas as both sides engaged in stone-throwing.
The situation created an atmosphere of anxiety in the area, leading to the restriction of internet services and the imposition of Section 144. To address the situation, the Nuh Deputy Commissioner scheduled a meeting with both parties on Monday at 8:30 pm.
“In order to stop the spread of misinformation and rumours through various social media platforms, for facilitation and mobilisation of mobs of agitators who can cause serious loss of life and damage to public and private properties by indulging in arson or vandalism and other types of violent activities, I, Home Secretary, Haryana do hereby order the suspension of the mobile internet services in the jurisdiction of district Nuh in the state of Haryana and shall be in force w.e.f. 31.07.2023 (16:00hrs) to 02.08.2023 (23:59 hrs),” the order read.
Mobile internet services temporarily suspended in Nuh district of Haryana after clashes erupted between two groups pic.twitter.com/h4Fy6uvwmQ
— ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2023
According to the police, the Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra encountered a roadblock near Khedla Mod in Nuh, where a group of young men halted the procession and started throwing stones at it. An official stated that “one or two cars” within the procession were set ablaze during the incident. Reports further mentioned that individuals participating in the yatra retaliated by pelting stones back at the youths who had obstructed their path.
Notably, an exclusive report published by The Pamphlet said that the violence witnessed during the Jalabhishek Yatra in Nuh on Monday, July 31, was planned. The report stated that the location of the rally was live-tweeted even as miscreants remained prepared to disturb communal harmony and stir violence.
The yatra, which was inaugurated earlier at Gurugram’s Civil Lines by BJP district president Gargi Kakkar, was accompanied by a police contingent. During the procession, some individuals sustained injuries, but the exact number was not immediately available, according to the police’s statement.
After the stone-pelting incident that occurred approximately 2 km from the temple, Nuh SHO Hukam Singh reassured that the situation in the area has stabilized. In response to the attack, workers of Vishwa Hindu Parishad also retaliated by pelting stones back at the assailants.
Why Mewat is often referred to as ‘mini Pakistan’
It is worth noting that Haryana’s Mewat has been under the spotlight for the last few years for the increase in terror activities, cow smuggling, and forced conversions. In the wake of the coronavirus crisis in 2020, Mewat of Haryana hogged the limelight after an investigation report by the 4-member team headed by former Justice Pawan Kumar asserted that Mewat is gradually turning into a graveyard for Hindus, especially Dalits.
A 2013 report of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti states that these incidents happening in Mewat are not a recent phenomenon and are rooted in the creeping Islamism in the region. Rather, the attitude of the Muslim majority of people has been continuing for a long time due to which many activists were forced to call it a “mini-Pakistan”. The report states that the way Hindus in Pakistan are persecuted and stripped of their basic rights, similarly, the Dalits and Hindus in Mewat are subordinated by the Muslim majority and atrocities are committed against them.
The ten-year-old report of the committee mentions that the people of Tablighi Jamaat in Mewat motivated members of the local Muslim community to wage love jihad, jihad and forced conversion. Also, the report cited an incident where one Veer Singh, while making a statement on his father-in-law’s conversion to Islam, stated that his father-in-law was converted to Islam a while ago and was later sent out for 4 months. However, when he returned, he once again started practising Hinduism, due to which he received death threats.
