Muzaffarnagar: In the wake of the police order, directing shops and eateries along the route of the Kanwar Yatra to display the names of the owners, which was later modified to include the “voluntary” element, Muslim owners in Muzaffarnagar are complying but unwillingly.
Mohammad Hasan, a sheermal seller with a roadside shop in the Khalapar market, says, “This is the first time that people are being asked to display their names for their shops to be identified.”
“Hindus and Muslims buy goods from each other’s shops. One is incomplete without the other. But this government order has only one purpose — to separate brother from brother,” the 68-year-old adds.
“Even after installing nameplates… if customers come, how will you stop them? We did not oppose the administration’s order. We did as they said,” Hasan argues.
Dozens of shopkeepers in the Khalapar market have installed name plates on their shops. Even fruit vendors have written their names on their carts and stalls.
This story was originally published in theprint.in. Read the full story here.