Sanjauli protest: Locals firm on migrants’ verification

On September 11, Shimla found itself gripped in a communal frenzy, a rare occurrence in this generally peaceful city. A sizable crowd, comprising people associated with some Hindu outfits, local residents and others, gathered in the Sanjauli area of the capital, demanding the demolition of the “illegal mosque” in the locality.

Raising religious slogans, the crowd marched towards the controversial structure, pulling down the barricades put up by the police on the way. The city has, of course, seen protests, but the nature and scale of this demonstration was altogether different.

The communal tension was triggered by a small scuffle between individuals of two communities, in which a local resident was injured. The incident led to a protest by local residents outside the mosque, demanding its demolition on the grounds that it was unauthorised. Soon, the local protest snowballed into a major resentment against the minority community, as well as the government and the Municipal Corporation for not taking the desired decision on the mosque within a given time-frame. This resentment resulted in the September 11 protest, with some Hindu outfits and people from other parts of the state joining forces with the local protesters.

From Sanjauli, the protest spread to other parts of the state. Much of the focus in these protests was on the illegal construction of mosques and verification of the migrants coming into the state for earning their livelihood. To calm the situation, the Muslim community voluntarily offered to demolish the illegal portion of the Sanjauli mosque if permitted, and it even removed some unauthorised portions from the mosque in Mandi. And then, the government called an all-party meeting and gave assurance to people that it would bring a street vendor policy to check and verify the antecedents of the migrants coming to the state. Nevertheless, the protests spread to other parts of the state, though these were not as intense as in Sanjauli and Mandi, suggesting there was something else as well behind the protests.

One of the less-stated factors behind the protests seems to be the unease over the “growing Muslim population” in the neighbourhood. Women having residences around the mosque in Sanjauli have expressed their sentiments of generally feeling unsafe as hundreds of men from the minority community gather in and around the mosque. Several others claim that the population of Muslim migrants has increased substantially over the past few years in the city and the state, and that they have totally monopolised vocations like tailoring, hair salons and fruit vending. For the majority, the proof of this assumption lies in the much bigger gatherings at the mosques on Fridays and on major Muslim festivals.

Incidentally, the Muslim community has been living for decades in several pockets in Chamba, Nahan, Paonta Sahib, Chopal etc. Kashmiri Muslims, popularly called Khans, have been part of the city’s social fabric for decades without any trouble. The current protest is directed more at the migrants coming from Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. Wary of their antecedents, and even “designs”, a majority of the people want a strict verification system in place. The demand is being supported even by local Muslims. Speculation is rife that many of these migrants are living here with fake identities. Even a minister admitted that one of the accused in the brawl that triggered the entire row was found to have come here with a fake name.

Much of the mistrust among locals about the identity of a migrant will end with a strict verification process. Beyond that, both communities will have to work together and find ways to restore and maintain peace and communal harmony that Shimla and the state is known for.

‘Eating into jobs, living with fake identity’

• With population of Muslim migrants increasing substantially over past few years in city and the state, they have totally monopolised vocations like tailoring, hair salons, fruit vending etc, residents here say.
• The current protest is directed more at the migrants coming from Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh.
• A majority of people want a strict verification system. The demand is being supported even by local Muslims. Speculation is rife that many migrants are living here with fake identities