By Mariyam Usmani, TwoCircles.net
The city of Samastipur in Bihar witnessed horrific incidents of communal outbreak on Maha Shivratri. What should have been a normal business day for the Muslim shopkeepers quickly turned into communal turmoil when a group of 20-25 hoodlums stormed into the local market and targeted Muslim-owned shops with threats and abuse.
“My chicken shop was open as usual when they rushed in, hurling anti-Muslim slurs and forcing us to shut down,” narrated Mohammad Imtiaz, one of the survivors of the attack.
The incident occurred during the peak hours of the festival’s fair, and Muslim shopkeepers soon realized they were being selectively targeted. Although there were over 16 meat shops in the area — mostly owned by Hindus — eyewitnesses alleged the attackers only went after those belonging to Muslims. The “deliberate” act, they continued, followed a “well-known pattern” of right-wing extremist aggression.
“They did not just threaten to ruin our shops; they also mistreated us,” Imtiaz added. “Why did they ignore the open chicken and mutton stalls of Hindu shopkeepers? It is obvious — they wanted to harm our businesses and disrupt our lives simply because we are Muslims. They cannot tolerate our success and happiness.”
The mob, allegedly composed of Hindutva extremists, began recording videos and taking photographs of the shops with an aim to spread them on social media. The vendors were allegedly given no chance to resist or reason with them.
Fearing further violence, all meat shop owners shut down their businesses, keeping them closed for the next two days. Imtiaz pointed to the “growing culture of hate speech and state-sponsored islamophobia” as the driving force behind such incidents.
“On Maha Shivaratri, only two customers bought chicken from my shop. They were non-Muslims. What happened was horrific. The rise of hate speech and the absence of legal repercussions empower such people to spread their hatred toward Muslims.”
A deliberate intention?
In the Morwa Bazar area, three to four Muslim shopkeepers faced similar threats. They stressed that the attackers had a clear goal: to create unrest and instill fear and insecurity among the Muslim community. Notably, they said, the mobsters were not locals from Morwa Bazar.
This story was originally published in twocircles.net. Read the full story here.