Amid reports of demographic changes in various areas of Uttarakhand, the government of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has started taking action. The police have started a ‘verification campaign’ to verify the people living in the state. Earlier, CM Dhami met DGP Abhinav Kumar and other senior police officers, and directed them to take action against demographic change, conversion, and love jihad in the state.
Regarding the verification campaign, DGP Abhinav Kumar said on Saturday (7th September 2024), that there has been no census for population information after the year 2011, but there is a belief among some people, especially in the hill districts, that the demography there has changed due to the settlement of people from outside in the last few years. Therefore, this month-long campaign has been started.
According to the TOI report, the DGP said that a month-long verification campaign has been started in some areas to check the anti-social elements settled in the state. After its completion, a conclusion can be reached about the demographic change. If there is any such case, then this campaign will provide information about it.
In fact, during the last census in 2011, the total population of Uttarakhand was about 1.10 crores. Out of this, about 84 lakh population was Hindu, which was 83% of the total population. At the same time, the population of Muslims was 14.06 lakh i.e. 13.9% and Sikhs were 2.34%. Notably, in the 2001 census, the Muslim population in the state was 10.12 lakh.
Regarding love jihad cases, the DGP said that two adults are free to choose their life partners. However, if someone forms a relationship with the intention of converting the other’s religion, then the police will take action under the existing laws. If there is no such intention, then the police will not harass anyone. He said that both the issues are a priority for the state police.
Recently, some Hindu organisations have said that the population of Muslims has increased massively in some hill districts like Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital, Pauri Garhwal and Tehri Garhwal. They say that this is part of a wider conspiracy to change the demography of Devbhoomi and it is being carried out in a planned manner.
In fact, there were recent communal tensions in some hilly areas like Purola town of Uttarkashi, Dharchula and Nandanagar area of Chamoli. Love jihad played a big role in this. Regarding this, Hindu activists have also raised the question of increasing presence of outsiders in the state. After these protests, CM Dhami took action and ordered this verification campaign.
