A labourer was confronted by a mob on the road and he was asked his name. When the mob found out that he was a Muslim he was thrashed severely
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Hundreds of Muslim families dwelling in Gurugram slums fled their homes and hearths after being subjected to large-scale violence and threatened with dire consequences by Hindutva miscreants following communal clashes in the Nuh district of Haryana.
Clashes erupted in Nuh district on Monday during a Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) religious procession causing violence in other parts of the state including Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwal, and Sohna etc. In Gurugram, several shops belonging to Muslims were vandalised and set ablaze. The Hindutva mob also targeted migrants in slum areas of the millennial city. Some of them were beaten up mercilessly and all were threatened with dire consequences if they did not heed the warning to vacate the areas forthwith.
“There were about 800 families in slums of Sector 70, over 4.5K people. Now there are just 12 families, about 90 people. Sobbing, crying for help,” tweeted journalist Ankita Anand.
She also tagged photos of some Muslims being thrashed and threatened.
“Marks of hatred. These are not just physical. This is a reflection of degrading humanity. Three men were thrashed and threatened. Why? They didn’t like their names apparently,” said Anand.
These migrants are working as laborers, housemaids, daily wagers, and watchmen, and have other low-paying jobs in the city. Most of them have left their homes while the remaining ones are living in fear. Some of them fear starvation.
Pleading for help, 25-year-old Shamim said: “Last evening, some people came and asked all Muslims to leave. We don’t have money to go back and even have debts to pay to the local shopkeepers. It’s okay if something happens to me, but I have a one-year-old son. It is my sincere request to the government, district administration, and local residents to protect us. Help us, please.”
Shamim, living in a locality where dozens of Muslim families are settled, was fearful because a housekeeper from his area was beaten up by a mob on Tuesday afternoon.
Another migrant labourer, Hussain, has a one-year-old son named Alishan. “I am petrified that they will come and beat me and my wife, and my son will cry seeing that. My wife is also scared and has been crying for the past two nights. We can’t go back because we have no money in the village either. How will we survive?” he asked.
Hussain recently got a job as a food delivery agent.
Safia (40), the mother of Hussain, said: “Around 60 people came around 7 pm yesterday. They didn’t speak to us. They spoke to the landlord and told him to ask all the Muslims to leave. Everyone has left and only 15-16 families remain. There were over 100 families living here. We can’t leave because we don’t have money to pay for the fare and the food on the way.”
Another person, who supervises housekeeping operations, said that “only four people came to work today. A labourer was confronted by a mob on the road and he was asked his name. When the mob found out that he was a Muslim he was thrashed severely. We got him here and gave him first aid. He has left for his village in West Bengal this morning”.
“We are also scared. We will go out on the road and somebody will thrash us. We can’t do anything because our village is far away, in West Bengal. If you can help us, we will be grateful,” he added.
Gurugram police said that they were aware of the migrants fleeing their homes and are now taking confidence-building measures.
“We have received some reports of migrant workers being asked to vacate their premises. We have sent district and police officials to the spot and are taking confidence-building measures. I would like to assure them of protection. There will be overnight deployment in sensitive areas and around religious places of both communities — mosques as well as temples,” Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Nishant Yadav was quoted as saying.
Some of the women migrants even pleaded for help to get out of the area after their men were beaten up by goons from the Bajrang Dal.
“We want nothing. Please take me to Delhi. I don’t want to live here,” said a woman breaking down before the camera inconsolably.
