‘I didn’t go’: The last Muslim man in Indian town hit by religious strife

The 15 Muslim families in Nanda Nagar fled after they were attacked by neighbours. Ahamad Hasan decided to return.

Nanda Nagar, Uttarakhand — Every morning at 8am, Ahamad Hasan pulls up the brown shutter of his dry-cleaning shop on the banks of the Nandakini river, which runs through the remote Himalayan town of Nanda Nagar in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.

He neatly hangs dry-cleaned clothes in plastic covers on the pink walls of his shop. Then the 49-year-old waits for customers.

Until September 2024, by lunchtime, he would have had between 20 and 25 customers come by, leaving their sherwanis, suits, coats, pants and winter wear. Some would sip a cup of tea with him while discussing politics and jokes, sharing their smiles and sorrows. Most of the customers were Hindu, a few, Muslim.

But on this day, fewer than five Hindu customers visit his shop by noon. And he knows there’s no point waiting for a Muslim customer.

Hasan is the last Muslim man in town.