Amid communal tension in Uttarakhand, civil society bodies write to President

The Hindu had earlier this week reported how Muslim shop owners and residents in Uttarkashi were being threatened to keep their shops closed

 Amid communal tensions flaring up in Uttarakhand, a group of over 200 social justice organisations and NGOs on Wednesday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu, condemning the role of the government in the “hate-filled” campaign under way in the State and seeking immediate action to protect lives and properties. 

The State has been seeing communal tensions for the last few weeks, as the State government continues its drive of evicting illegal encroachers, which activists have said disproportionately affects Muslim neighbourhoods. Amid this, the alleged abduction of a minor girl in Purola district, for which a Hindu man and a Muslim man have been arrested, has also led to tensions rising. 

The Hindu had earlier this week reported how Muslim shop owners and residents in Uttarkashi were being threatened to keep their shops closed and a Hindu ‘mahapanchayat’ is scheduled to take place on June 15. Devbhoomi Raksha Abhiyan, a right-wing group, which has been at the centre of calls for boycott of Muslim-owned shops, has called for the ‘mahapanchayat’. 

With residents, trade union members and local businessmen gathered at several places in Uttarkashi to stage protests on Wednesday, the police remained on their toes to maintain the law and order situation in the town. In Chilyanisaur block, incidents of hate speech were also reported followed by no action from the police. 

Superintendent of Police (SP) Uttarkashi Arpan Yaduvanshi told The Hindu that no arrest had been made even in the case of posters being pasted at shops in which people from the minority community were asked to vacate the shops. “Investigation is on in this matter,” he added.

The organisations that have appealed to the President now include several Dalit and Adivasi welfare outfits, and other prominent human rights organisations such as Teesta Setalvad’s Citizens for Justice and Peace, and other activists and outfits from over 20 States and Union Territories. 

The outfits cited public speeches of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami validating the idea of “land jihad” in April this year and the subsequent move of the administration to order clearing of purported encroachments in the towns and forested areas. “Violent incidents and hate speeches have taken place in Dehradun, Tiuni, Chakrata, Purola, and Imlikheda in the months of April and May this year,” their statement added.