Team Clarion
MUZAFFARNAGAR – Even after a decade, the victims of the Muzaffarnagar riots have still not been able to return to their native villages in the western Uttar Pradesh district, as many survivors have been compelled to sell their houses to those who were involved in the violence.
According to victims’ accounts given to Hindi daily, Dainik Bhaskar, they are left with no option but to sell their houses at extremely low prices as their erstwhile co-villagers are unwilling to accept their return.
The communal violence that occurred in Muzaffarnagar and Shamili, in August-September 2013 resulted in the deaths of 62 persons and displacement of more than 60,000 people, mostly Muslims.
Forty-year-old Gulfam, who is living in Loi village along with 150 other victim families, said that he was forced to sell his house after the local people coerced them to sign on a stamp paper in the presence of a notary. Many people were forced to follow suit. Consequently, houses belonging to the victims were bought by the locals at reduced prices, ranging from 30,000 to 1.45 lakh.
“We don’t have the courage to go back to our homes. No one in the village wants our return. In both districts, there are 50 such villages,” he said.
According to the Bhaskar report, there are still 20,000 families taking refuge in other villages and nondescript locations, leaving their homes behind. There are more than 8,000 houses stand in ruins. These houses are now being owned by people who were hostile towards the original occupants.
Recounting the horror of the violence, 58-year-old Nafedin said, “We shudder to think about those days. Misfortune befell us on the night of September 7 when we had to flee along with children and women as the violence escalated… We were given the dead bodies of our kith and kin. No one enquires about the situation of the ones who were raped. Many fought legal cases until they had money, which they received as compensation. For the last two years, there has been little progress in these cases. Pathetically, even lawyers asked us to stop going to courts”.
Nafedin is also currently living in Loi village, which is 37 km away from the Muzaffarnagar district. Earlier, he used to live in the Phugana village.
Shoukeen, 43, lives in Kakra village, located 22 km away from his native village Loi. He said that he sold his house belonging to his five brothers for a meagre amount of Rs 1.80 lakh.
Mohabbat Ali, who fled his village Kutba, said that he was asked to return to his village by a retired army man, three-four months after the violence…I was in a dilemma as the army man’s daughter was among those who were involved in the violence… She had opened fire,” he said and added that he sold his house to the army man for only Rs 30,000.
