Rising religious intolerance: Hindu residents demand expulsion of Muslim couple in UP colony
Lucknow: In a disturbing display of communal intolerance, Hindu residents of a posh residential colony in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, have staged a sit-in demanding the expulsion of a Muslim couple who recently purchased a flat in the area.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the couple, Dr. Iqra and Yunus Chaudhary, both medical professionals, have been targeted simply for their identity after moving into the colony.
The Hindu protesters, both men and women, have called for the Muslim couple to sell the property and demanded that it be sold to another Hindu family instead. Their objections were framed around unfounded and discriminatory claims of safety concerns. One resident expressed that their women would be unsafe if the Muslim family continued to reside in the colony.
A large banner carried by the protesters read: “Dr. Ashok Bajaj hay hay! Apna Makan wapas lo (Down with Dr. Ashok Bajaj! Take your house back),” referring to the Hindu doctor who sold the flat to the Muslim couple. The protesters insisted that the Muslim family should be removed, and some even offered to repurchase the flat from them.
Arvind Agarwal, one of the protesters, stated that when the colony was established, there was an informal agreement among the residents that no non-Hindu families would be allowed to buy property there. “There is an atmosphere of fear and insecurity among the residents now,” Agarwal told journalists, further underscoring the deep-seated biases fueling the protests.
Sonia Gupta, a resident whose flat is adjacent to the new owners, said, “The sale of the flat was done without informing the residents, and we are not happy about it,” she said, revealing how the community’s opposition to the couple’s presence was driven by religious intolerance rather than any genuine concern.
This incident highlights the deeply ingrained bias and animosity that continues to plague Muslims in India, a sentiment that has been exacerbated since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister. The protests are not merely about the sale of property but are symptomatic of a wider, systemic pattern of discrimination and exclusion faced by Muslims.
