This year, Islamists and the leftist ecosystem launched a smear campaign against the Kanwar Yatra even before it commenced on 22nd July. After the administration in Western Uttar Pradesh instructed eatery owners to reveal the real names of their owners and operators, concerted efforts have been going on to smear the Hindu religious procession on one pretext or the other. While propagandists and fake news peddlers like Mohammed Zubair initiated a vicious campaign against the Kanwar Yatra, journalists like Arfa Khanum have also joined in.
Peddling the boogie of Muslim victimhood, Arfa Khanum described the eatery renaming row as a conspiracy to destroy the businesses of Muslims and Dalits. However, OpIndia’s investigation has found that her claims couldn’t be further from the truth.
‘Will not rename our eatery and give it an Islamic name even if the potential profit runs in lakhs per hour’: Hindu shopkeepers told OpIndia
OpIndia team spoke to dozens of Hindus who own eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route between Ghaziabad and Saharanpur. It also includes mobile dhabas like Desi Thath, Babe Di Dhaba, Shyam Bhojnalaya, and Pehalwan Dhaba along with small shopkeepers like Vansh Juice and Bhojnalaya. All of them unanimously told OpIndia that one should earn a fortune or fame for themselves based on the quality of their food rather than using some name. Dhaba owners like Ashwani Saini and Ram Kumar among others said that they never changed the names of their shops to take advantage during any Muslim festival.
All of them unanimously emphasised that even if they earn a profit to the tune of Lakhs per hour by giving their eateries an Islamic name, they will not make even a minor change in the banners revealing their real identity.
‘Our business is suffering losses due to fake names‘
A Hindu Dhaba owner located on Ambala-Dehradun road in Saharanpur district said that there were at least half a dozen dhabas owned by Muslims who were running their business under false Hindu names. According to him, following the administration’s orders, many shopkeepers had started using their real names but after the Supreme Court order, they reverted back to using false names for their eateries.
He said that because of these activities, shopkeepers who are doing business diligently in their real names suffer losses.
‘Khurshid renames his dhaba multiple time‘
In our ground report, we came across Manav Punjabi Dhaba in the Sarsawa area near Saharanpur. It was learned that a man named Khurshid owns this dhaba. Local people told us that he had initially named it Prayagraj Hotel but later renamed it Manav Punjabi Dhaba. Incidentally, there is another dhaba by the name of Manav Punjabi in the vicinity and it is owned by a Sikh man who has been running it for a long time near Sarsawa Toll Tax, about 15 km from Khurshid’s dhaba. Local people call Khurshid’s actions a duplication of the original Manav Punjabi dhaba.
‘Jahangir’s new Sheetal Chaat adjacent to Lakshmi Chaat‘
OpIndia spoke to Abhishek Pandit, a Bajrang Dal functionary in the Saharanpur district. He told us that the use of duplicate names by Muslims is not just limited to business purposes but is also being done in many places to reduce the sales of Hindus.
For example, Abhishek Pandit cited the name of Sheetal Chaat Bhandar located in Kailashpur. It falls on one of the busiest Kanwar Yatra routes in Saharanpur.
He told OpIndia that Lakshmi Chaat Bhandar in Kailashpur is owned by a Hindu who hails from the backward class. It has been very popular among the people for almost 20 years.
According to Abhishek, about 3-4 years ago, a new shop named Sheetal Chaat was opened next to this chaat bhandar to reduce its sales as it exactly mirrored the interior of Lakshmi Chaat Bhandar. It is said that the owner of this Sheetal Chaat Bhandar is a man named Jahangir. It is alleged that he made all possible efforts to break the customers of Lakshmi Chaat. However, Lakshmi Chaat still continues to remain the first choice of the local people because of its better quality.
‘They do not allow any Hindu to survive even in the fruit business‘
OpIndia team contacted a local social worker and BJP leader from Kailashpur, Rajesh Johri to undertake a ground investigation of Abhishek Pandit’s allegations.
Rajesh Johri described his area as Muslim-dominated and himself as a victim of extremism. He said that bones were hung in front of his house following Imran Masood’s victory. According to him, Abhishek Pandit’s claims about Lakshmi and Sheetal Chaat are correct.
Rajesh Johri also mentioned the Kanwar route falling in the Kailashpur area. Several retailers selling fruits on roadside carts can be seen on the Dehradun-bound road. According to him, most of the fruit retailers here belong to the Muslim community. He told OpIndia that Hindu shopkeepers are not even allowed to compete in terms of setting rates for fruits.
He also claimed that the conditions of Kailashpur have become livable for Hindus under the present government, otherwise, it used to be worse in the previous governments.
‘Most of the commission agents in the fruit-vegetable market belong to the Muslim community‘
OpIndia visited the mandis of Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, and Saharanpur. Most of the agents selling vegetables and fruits here belong to the Muslim community. Some of them also owe money to vegetable traders from other states.
A vegetable trader from Madhya Pradesh alleges that a Muslim trader from Saharanpur mandi has not paid him for the vegetable consignment for several years. About 3 years ago, when he approached him to ask for his money, he was threatened and sent away. Out of fear, this trader from Indore City requested anonymity.
‘Appeals are made from the Mosques to boycott the Hindu shopkeeper‘
Machendra Puri is the Mahant of Balaji Dham temple which is located in the Hindan Vihar area in Ghaziabad. He claimed that there is only 1 Hindu-owned shop in this Muslim-dominated area. He added that during meetings held inside the Mosque, announcements are made to not buy goods from the Hindu shopkeeper.
According to Mahant Puri, the Hindu shopkeeper is not able to leave the place and go anywhere because he owns a house there. For the Hindu shopkeeper’s safety, OpIndia is not making his name public.
Meanwhile, Mahant Puri has demanded an investigation into the real reason that forced Hindus from the Hindon Vihar area to migrate to eastern areas.
