Abdul Bari Masoud | Clarion India
NEW DELHI — Hindutva forces are attempting to create an Uttarakhand-like situation in the Congress-ruled neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) has said.
These attempts are being fuelled by the Congress government’s inaction and Islamophobic speeches by state ministers. These communal speeches alienated Muslims and escalated communal violence in Himachal Pradesh last month, according to an APCR fact-finding report titled ‘Creating The Muslim: Outsider; Hate Speech, Migrant Vulnerability, and Faltering Law & Order in Himachal Pradesh.’
“In September, Himachal Pradesh witnessed escalating communal tensions sparked by Hindutva groups protesting against the Sanjauli mosque in Shimla. The protests turned violent, with clashes between protesters and police resulting in injuries. The controversy centred around the mosque’s construction, deemed unauthorised by Hindutva organisations. Hindutva organisations demanded the mosque’s demolition, citing illegal construction. In response, the Muslim community offered to demolish the unauthorised section voluntarily, in compliance with a court ruling. However, tensions continued to rise and Hindutva groups advocated for the mosque’s complete demolition. The protests took a violent turn on September 11, with protesters clashing with police and attempting to breach barricades in Sanjauli. The Himachal Pradesh government deployed additional security forces to maintain law and order. From Sanjauli, the violent protests against Muslims spread to the entire Himachal including Shimla’s Nerwa and Kasumpti, Mandi, Chamba, Bilaspur, Una, Palampur, and Nagrota Bagwan of Kangra, Hamirpur, Sirmaur and other districts,” read the report which was released here on Tuesday.
The report was unveiled at a press meet in the presence of prominent activists, lawyers, journalists, and concerned citizens. It chronicles the harrowing series of events across various regions in Himachal Pradesh where the unfolding events have sparked widespread concern and debate.
Of late, Himachal Pradesh is experiencing a surge in Islamophobia, which is deplorably a spillover from the neighbouring Uttarakhand where the state-sponsored hate campaign against Muslims is spearheaded by none other than Hindutva poster boy Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
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