Muzaffarnagar: Fields Scarred by Riots Were Left Without Workers

“We are scared of working in the Hindu villages. Riots have left deep scars in our hearts,” said a Muslim family.

The alluvial lands of Western UP are witnessing good harvest this year. The rainfall in the area has had a positive effect on cultivation.

Despite India’s poor agricultural policies and diminishing ground water levels, farmers have found a friend in this year’s bountiful monsoons. Some farmers say that they last witnessed such rains only in 1978 and they believe that harvest will be significantly above average. But farmers of Muzzaffarnagar- popularly known as the ‘sugar bowl of India’- are facing another kind of problem: a shortage of labour.

In the town of Kandhla, while speaking to a Muslim family about appointing labour, Anil Kumar (or Munnu) says:

Jowar has already been harvested. Rice is waiting for its harvest, after which we have to harvest the sugarcane crops. We also have to make arrangements for cultivating winter crops (Kharif). A farmer needs labour for such a huge workload.

Anil belongs to Bahavadi village of Shamli Dehat and the family whom he used to employ had to leave their home during the riots in 2013.

As per government’s records, around 50,000 people were displaced during the riots. FIRs were filed for 540 incidents. There were a significant number of incidents for which FIRs were not even filed.

When these riots took place in September 2013, sugarcane crops were in the fields, ready to be harvested. According to the local police, most of the violence took place in these fields. Because of this, small Muslim farmers and farmhands avoid going to these fields.

One such displaced family settled in Kairana. They told The Quint, “We are scared of working in Hindu villages. Although nobody said anything to us in last 3 years, riots have left deep scars in our hearts and instead of searching for labour opportunities in those villages, we want to work elsewhere.”

This fear led to scarcity of workers in the areas that were affected by riots. Those left are charging more than their usual fee. According to the farmers in the region, the riots not only caused a destruction of social structure, but also resulted in distancing the Muslim workforce from the farmers.

According to a report, only 5 percent of the population in the districts of Muzzaffarnagar, Shaamli and Baghpat are upper caste, and they own 26.73 percent of the land. The other 60 percent owns only 20 percent of the land.

According to government records, Lisad, Laank, Bahavadi and Fugana were among the villages that saw the worst of the riots. In a discussion with The Quint, Hindu families from these villages claim that they tried to bring the Muslim families back to their villages.

But after spending 2 years in refugee camps set up by the UP government, most Muslim families prefer to settle in villages that have an existing Muslim presence: villages like Kairana, Kaandhla, Budhana, Gadhi Daulat and Loni.

For employment, they travel to Sonepat, Karnaal and Panipat. The fear instilled in them during the riots has discouraged them to go back to their villages either for employment or settlement.