Hindutva groups’ threats, boycott calls drive Muslims out of Pune, Maharashtra
Mumbai: In a disturbing wave of targeted communal intimidation and socio-economic boycotts, several Muslims have been forced to flee Pune district in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
According to Kashmir Media Service, a team of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) members found a palpable climate of fear, shuttered businesses, disrupted lives, and displaced families in the Paud and Pirangut villages in Pune. These Muslim families have been living in these villages for over many decades.
A team of PUCL and APCR conducted a fact-finding exercise in both villages after reports of illegal posters calling for a boycott of non-native Muslims on the pretext of an alleged desecration of an Annapurna Devi idol on May 2, in Paud. At the BJP rallies, open threats were given to the Muslims of the village.
The posters, along with threats and harassment, created a communal atmosphere, PUCL says, prompting them to submit a memorandum to Pune Rural Superintendent of Police Sandeep Singh Gill. The Muslim-owned businesses like bakeries, scrap shops, salons, and chicken shops continue to remain closed. “Despite repeated complaints to the police, we’ve received no protection to reopen our businesses,” said owner of Roshan Bakery in Paud, during a press conference. The owner further added, “Our family has lived here for 40 years, yet we’re labelled outsiders because my father’s village is in Uttar Pradesh. We were warned not to reopen our bakery or face consequences.”
Besides Roshan Bakery, two others – New Sangam and New Bharat – have been padlocked, costing around 400 workers their daily wages.
Hindu Rashtra Sena member Dhananjay Desai, who has earlier faced trial in the killing of a IT professional Mohsin Shaikh in 2014 and was subsequently acquitted for want of evidence, has been once again accused of orchestrating threats from a farmhouse near Vitthalwadi village in Pune. The hate campaign has also targeted religious spaces. Posters outside two mosques restricted namaz to local Muslims, deterring worshippers from nearby Kolvan village.
PUCL condemned the economic boycotts as “unconstitutional”. The Indian constitution, the human rights group emphasises, guarantees that an individual can conduct business anywhere. Civil rights groups are preparing legal action to address the violations.
