"The lack of decisive action from Congress leadership allowed the situation to spiral out of control," observed a fact-finding report carried out by Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) and released on 22 October 2024.
The report, titled 'Creating The Muslim Outsider: Hate speech, migrant vulnerability & faltering law & order in Himachal Pradesh' has laid down the pattern of Hindutva surge and anti-Muslim sentiments, especially against Muslim shopkeepers amid objections to a mosque in Sanjauli.
The protests underpinning the escalating communal tensions sparked by Hindutva groups may have begun in September but there were antecedents laid down prior to it.
A little background to the current situation are the protests that took centre stage in September against the Sanjauli mosque in Shimla.
Hindutva organisations demanded the mosque's demolition, citing illegal construction. In response to this, the Muslim community offered to demolish the unauthorised section voluntarily, in compliance with a court ruling.
However, tensions continued to rise and Hindutva groups advocated for the mosque's complete demolition.
The protests took a violent turn on September 11, with protesters clashing with police and attempting to breach barricades in Sanjauli.
APCR presented its fact-finding report from Himachal Pradesh in Delhi.
(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)
From Sanjauli, the violent protests against Muslims spread to the entire Himachal including Shimla’s Nerwa and Kasumpti, Mandi, Chamba, Bilaspur, Una, Palampur, and Nagrota Bagwan of Kangra, Hamirpur, Sirmaur and other districts.
APCR visited locations such as Mandi, Sanjauli, Palampur, Kullu and Solan where protestors also clashed with the police and shops were vandalised.
From Where It Began: A Key Timeline of Events
In the Sanjauli Mosque issue, the Congress government's inaction was seen as enabling the communal tensions to spread, the report stated.
Vikramaditya Singh and Anirudh Singh, both ministers in the Himachal Pradesh Congress government, "made some significant Islamophobic statements during this conflict."
While Anirudh questioned the citizenship of Muslim workers in Himachal Pradesh, Vikramaditya stated that all vendors will now have to display their IDs outside their shops. The decision was rolled back after significant criticism.
On 17 June, Savej Qureshi’s shop in Nahan town of Sirmaur District in Himachal Pradesh was attacked, looted, and vandalised by a Hindutva mob. A WhatsApp status message of his younger brother, Javed Qureshi, showed Javed slaughtering an animal on Eid, triggering rumours that he had killed a cow. The violent assault occurred in the presence of the police, raising serious questions about the law enforcement’s role and effectiveness in preventing such acts.
On the same day, Hindu Jagran Manch posted a video in which vigilantes seized two trucks in Mandi in central Himachal Pradesh, alleging cows were smuggled in them.
On 30 August, ACPR was found out, an altercation between some Hindu and Muslim men left some Hindu men being injured and an FIR was filed. This preceded the tensions behind labelling the Sanjauli mosque 'illegal.'
An FIR was filed against the complaint of a shopkeeper, Vikram Singh who alleged that Mohammad Kulnavaj and his men injured Singh and his friends Jaipal and Rajeev Sharma. Kulnavaj and six others were arrested on 3 September and were granted bail by the Shimla district court on 12 September.
Himachal Pradesh’s Minister of Rural Development Anirudh Singh and his Congress party colleague Harish Janartha also raised the mosque issue in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly on 5 September.
APCR stated that a journalist working in Sanjauli told them, on the condition of anonymity, that a rumour was spread that the Muslim men after hurting Hindu men took refuge in the Sanjauli mosque. After that the Sanjauli mosque became the target of Hindu far-right protests.
How Tensions Escalated Further in Shimla
The call for the 11 September protest was given by Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Hindu groups protested the mosque construction, demanding action. Protesters chanted slogans such as “Mulle Katue nahin chalenge” “Masjid ko girana hoga” "Himachal Ne Thaana Hai, Devbhoomi Ko Bachana Hai" "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" “Jai Sri Ram."
The district administration issued prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which barred the assembly of more than five people and the carrying of lethal weapons and arms but protesters clashed with police, breaking barricades and pelting stones.
Police booked 50 people for violence, including leaders of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, panchayat chiefs and their deputies, former councillors, and shopkeepers
On 13 September, Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukkhu chaired an all party meeting and put out a statement to appeal for peace and harmony in the state.
On 14 September, a Himachal Bandh was announced by the protesters in response to police action against Hindu Far-Right protesters.
On 19 September, a delegation of Himachal Muslims met Congress general secretary KC Venugopal in Delhi as protests continued. Congress party’s national chairman of the minority department and Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi also accompanied the delegation.
On 26 September, triggering another controversy around the mosque at Shimla’s Sanjauli, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Shoaib Jamai released a video saying the buildings surrounding the mosque were of the same height. On the same day, minister Vikramaditya Singh had said every restaurant and fast food stall in the state will have to display the owner’s ID, like Uttar Pradesh.
There was also a Sadbhavna March taken out by the concerned citizens and led by the CPI(M) on 27 September in Shimla wherein locals appealed for peace in the state.
On 5 October, Shimla municipal commissioner (MC) court ordered the demolition of the top three unauthorised floors of Sanjauli Mosque in Shimla and gave a two month deadline to the mosque committee to execute its orders. The next date of hearing is on 21 December.
How Communal Fire Spread to Mandi, Solan, Kullu
Simultaneously in Mandi, multiple protests took place on 10th September, 13 September and 28 September against the irregular construction of the mosque in Jail Road area of Mandi district.
During the protests, slogans such as “Mulle Kazi nahi chalenge,” and “Masjid ko Girana hoga” were raised by Hindu far-right protesters.
On 13 September, the Municipal Corporation court in Mandi had declared the mosque structure illegal, stating that the recent construction in the structure was carried out without the necessary approvals under the Himachal Pradesh Town and Country Planning Act.
On 17 September, delegation of a Hindu organisation handed over a memorandum to Mandi deputy commissioner Apoorv Devgan, seeking an archaeological excavation of the mosque site.
On 20 September, the Mandi Municipal Commission cut the electricity supply and water connection of the Jail Road Mosque, deeming it illegal.
On 28 September, Hindu seers were called to Mandi to tour street to street with Hindu-far-right protesters to convince Hindu landlords not to rent their properties to Muslims.
Then on 29 September, a meeting of representatives of the Muslim community was held also in the Balh area of Mandi.
Meanwhile in Solan, a violent protest rally was taken out on 16 September by the Solan Vyapar Mandal along with Hindu far-right outfits. The protesters claimed that their protest was against the “Muslims who have come from outside.”
The APCR's fact-finding team went to Solan on 26 September and found that the shops of Muslims were still marked with a red cross.
Slogans such as “Solan main rehna hoga, toh jai shree ram kehna hoga” were raised by protestors. The Hindu outfits also read Hanuman Chalisa outside the Solan mosque in Mall road.
The police on 17 September registered an FIR against Hindu far-right protesters under section 189(2), 190, 191(2), 299, 353(2) of BNS.
Kullu and Palampur also did not remain unaffected.
On 14 September, same day as Himachal Bandh, various Hindu outfits in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu raised objections over a Jama Masjid in Kullu’s Akhara Bazar. Similarly, a rally was taken out in the Palampur market by Hindutva organisations on on the same day. Several shops of Muslims were vandalised in this rally.
In Kullu, outfits alleged the mosque had been illegally constructed. Couple of metres away from the structure, the Hindu outfits recited Hanuman Chalisa. The members of these groups demanded the removal of Jama Masjid, which has stood for decades in Kullu, claiming that there were unauthorised additions to the mosque's structure.
Further, at the centre of the dispute is a discrepancy over land ownership. The Hindu far-right outfits claimed that the mosque, despite its long-standing presence, is still registered in the name of the Khadi Board.
The Kullu Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Vikas Shukla claimed that the Jama Masjid in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh is not illegal.
Furthermore, APCR also spoke to the police, during during one of their off-the-record conversation with the police, a senior police official from Sanjauli said that they didn't know how to handle communalism because there had been no such previous instances in Himachal Pradesh. Meanwhile, the communal tensions continue to have an impact on the local Muslims.
“They call us outsiders, a specific community, which is code word for discrimination against Muslims. I don't like it. We are not outsiders or a specific community. In fact, I have to go to two weddings next week. Both of them are Hindus. We are a part of society here," Anwar Ali, general secretary of the mosque committee in Mandi told APCR.
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