It has been over a month since Rabiya Basri (Bashiran) in Satara took her cart out to sell fruits, which is her family’s only source of income.
In the aftermath of the anti-Muslim violence that erupted in Maharashtra’s Satara on 10 September due to alleged objectionable social media posts, a Muslim youth named Nurul Hasan lost his life, and ten others were left with serious injuries.
Muslims in the violence-hit Pussessawali village of Satara allege that they are being forcibly evicted from rented houses owned by Hindus. Small-scale businesses owned by Muslims are facing adverse impacts.
Furthermore, Muslim vendors are being denied permission to open their shops and take their carts out in the locality to sustain their businesses.
Rabiya Basri is a fruit seller who operates a small fruit cart with her husband to support their household. However, since the outbreak of violence in Pussessawali village, which resulted in the death of one Muslim man and numerous injuries, she is fearful of taking her cart out.
She faces a daily loss of 500-600 rupees whenever her shop remains closed.
The money that she and her husband had saved to purchase a permanent shelter was also ‘looted by the rioters.’ Up until now, they have been residing in a temporary makeshift house, commonly known as a ‘kholi.’
Basri explained, “On the day when the Hindu mob attacked the mosque, we ran here and there to seek shelter and protect our lives. Someone stole the money we had saved to build our house.”
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here