COMMUNAL VIOLENCE ERUPTS IN HARAYANA

WebDesk August 2, 2023 2 minutes read

After Manipur violence, this time against Muslims, has gripped another Indian state, Haryana, where four people including an Imam were killed and several police personnel were injured in the ongoing clashes in the state. Indian authorities imposed a curfew, suspended internet service and deployed thousands of paramilitary forces to parts of State after deadly communal clashes spread to Gurugram. The violence began when Hindus and Muslims clashed with each other in Haryana’s Nuh district during a religious procession by a Hindu nationalist group Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. After the news of the religious violence in the Muslim-dominated Nuh district spread, stone-pelting incidents erupted in Sohna, Gurugram, Faridabad and Palwal. Protestors blocked the road and dozens of vehicles and a shop were set ablaze by angry mobs. Tensions later spilled over to Gurugram, where mobs torched a Anjuman mosque and killed a Muslim cleric. The reason behind the interruption of the religious procession run by Hindu groups was that there was a rumour that Bajrang Dal leader Monu Manesar, who was booked for murdering two Muslim men, would be part of the procession, triggering anger in other religious groups. There were also allegations that provocative slogans against Muslims were being raised during the Hindu religious procession, which led to an angry response by the mob. Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, in a post on the social media platform X, condemned the violence in Nuh. Opposition leaders have hit out at the BJP-led Haryana government in wake of “intense communal tension” in Nuh. Randeep Singh Surjewala, a leader of the opposition Congress party, has blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government for “failing to control the law and order situation”. Lawmaker from the regional Indian National Lok Dal party Abhay Singh Chautala said, the state government had failed to take preventative action despite security concerns. Communal violence in India is not new, but observers say that religious polarization has risen under PM Modi, further deepening fault lines against minorities and heightening tensions.