'Dissolve Nuh as District, Relax Arms License': Demands From Hindu Mahapanchayat

The Mahapanchayat comes two weeks after communal violence broke out during a religious procession in Haryana's Nuh.

A Hindu Mahapanchayat in Haryana's Pondri village in Palwal district on Sunday, 13 August announced its decision to resume the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's (VHP) Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra on 28 August, The Quint has learnt.

It was decided that the yatra will resume from Nalhar in Nuh and then pass through Firozpur Jhirka’s Jhir and Singar temples in the district.

Apart from this, the 'Sarva Jatiye Mahapanchayat', organised by a community group called Sarv Hindu Samaj listed nine demands, including call for a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the communal violence that broke out in Nuh earlier this month.

Here are the list of nine demands:

1. Nuh Violence should be probed by the NIA and not by Haryana Government.

2. A compensation of Rs 1 crore for the kin of deceased in the communal violence, who they called "their people" and Rs 50 lakhs for the injured must be provided. They further demanded for recovery of damages during the violence from the accused.

3. Nuh district should be dissolved, one of the demands read.

4. Nuh must be made a cow slaughter-free district

5. Terming cow smuggling the root cause of all quarrels in the area, the committee demanded a paramilitary force headquarter be set up in Nuh to ensure security.

6. The government should provide arms to the people of Nuh and Palwal for self-defence, it said.

7. Panchayat also demanded that the Haryana government should transfer cases related to the Nuh violence to Gurugram or other districts so that "proper justice can be ensured".

8. The Mahapanchayat also said that all foreigners, including Rohingyas should be "removed" out of Nuh district.

9. A resolution was passed remembering those who were killed in the 31 July violence in Nuh.

These demands were made by a committee of 51 people, including sarpanches, and Hindu outfit leaders during the mahapanchayat, The Quint has learnt.

Why it matters: This comes two weeks after the yatra was disrupted after communal clashes broke out in the district on 31 July, spilling over to other districts including Gurugram and Sohna over the next few days. Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, were killed in violence that erupted following the disruption.

The Quint has learnt that hundreds of people from across Palwal, Hathin, Mindkola, Mewat, Hodal, Sohna, Gurgaon took part in the mahapanchayat.

The big point: The mahapanchayat was originally planned to be held in Nuh district's Kira village. However, permission was denied for it in view of the prevailing law and order situation.

“Permission has been granted on several conditions. Hate speech is prohibited. Our team will keep an eye on each and every person and action will be taken against people for any wrong action," Lokendra Singh, Palwal Superintendent of Police told news agency ANI.

But, despite the "no hate speech" condition, NDTV reported that some speakers in the mahapanchayat issued "open threats" in Palwal on Sunday.

According to the news channel, a speaker reportedly said, "if you raise a finger, we will cut off your hands".

Meanwhile, Haryana Gau Rakshak Dal's Achary Azad Shashtri called it a "do or die situation" and asked youths to pick up arms, India Today reported.

Shashtri was quoted as saying, "We should immediately ensure getting license of 100 arms in Mewat, and not guns but rifles because rifles can do the long-range firing. It is a do or die situation. This country's division was on the basis of Hindus and Muslims. It’s because of Gandhi that these Muslims stayed back in Mewat."

(With inputs from Parvej Khan from Haryana)