Each year, on the occasion of Shab-e-Barat (night of forgiveness), Muslims visit the graves of their loved ones to seek forgiveness for the deceased. However, Mohammad Aman never imagined that this time he would be visiting the graves to pray for his younger brother and father, who fell to bullets earlier this month.
Aman, 21, lives in Gafoor Basti, located in Banbhoolpura, Haldwani, with the region seeing deadly clashes on February 8-9 between its Muslim community and police after municipal officials tore down the Abdul Razzaq Zakariya madrasa and nearby Mariyam mosque at Malik ka Bagicha in the area.
The conflict in Haldwani, according to observers, is indicative of deep religious rifts in the country, with critics accusing the government of demolishing mosques to allow for the “erasure of Muslim history without the need for bloodshed”.
Aman’s father, Mohammad Zahid, 45, was allegedly shot twice in the chest by police. “The clashes were going on when my father went outside to buy a packet of milk. But he was shot,” Aman said.Moha
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