In light of the recent communal violence which broke out in Haryana's Nuh last week, several panchayats in three districts-- Mahendergarh, Rewari and Jhajjar-- have passed resolutions prohibiting any person from the Muslim community from entering their villages.
The Quint accessed close to 15 letters written between 3-4 August, signed by the panchayats' sarpanches, who unitedly wrote to the police and district administrations of the respective districts.
However, a week later, two villages in Jhajjar district withdrew the resolution on Wednesday, 9 August, The Quint has learnt.
Haryana Minister of State Social Justice & Empowerment Om Prakash Yadav told the media on Wednesday that strict action will be taken those who have issued the resolution.
While Nuh remained the centre of the clashes that broke out on 31 July during a religious procession organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the violence spilled over to other districts in the next few days. The violence also claimed the lives of six and left several others injured.
What Does The Resolution Say?
A letter written by the gram panchayat of Mahendergarh's Saidpur, dated 3 August said, "In view of the communal violence in Nuh, the panchayat as well as villagers have taken a decision that 'mischievous elements' or 'anyone from the Muslim community' will not be allowed to conduct any trade or other activities in Saidpur".
Another letter accessed by The Quint, penned by sections of the Hindu community of these villages, carried an appeal to deny houses, shops and establishments to the Muslim community on rent.
Saidpur Sarpanch Vikas Yadav told The Quint that his village was the first to issue the letter after which others followed. "Around 30 letters were issued in the Atali block in Mahendergarh itself and rest are from Rewari and Jhajjar," Yadav said.
The Quint accessed copies of almost identical resolutions passed by village panchayats of Silapur, Bahila, Tajpur villages in Mahendragarh and Zainabad, and Chimnawas in Rewari district, besides other panchayats.
One common line in all the letters was: "Woh log (Muslims) din mei gaon me recce karne ke liye aate hai or raat ko chori ko anjaam dete hai...(During the day, they (Muslims) come and do a recce and at night they come and steal)
The letters from Mahendergarh, which were addressed to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SGM) of the district, also stated that Muslims living in these areas must supply their identification documents to the police.
"We don't intend to hurt anyone's religious sentiments and this should not be misunderstood," the letter read.
The gram panchayat of Zainabad village in Dahina block of Rewari district on 4 August passed a similar resolution, addressed to the in-charge of Dahina Police post.
The resolution in Hindi, a copy of which was accessed by The Quint, carried the subject line: “Samaajik suraksha va shantipriya mahaul banaye rakhne hetu (With an aim to ensure social security and a peaceful atmosphere).”
'Done To Protect Our Village'
Saidpur Sarpanch Vikas Yadav told The Quint that the resolution was passed due to the recent events in Nuh "that left several of our Hindu brothers and sisters affected".
"The villagers were worried after watching the videos from Nuh. We organised a panchayat meeting on 1 August and decided not to allow Muslims to maintain peace," he said.
Around 800-900 families reside in Saidpur, out of which all belong to the Hindu community, Yadav said. "Most of the Muslims come to our village for cattle trading, or daily-wage jobs as a carpenter or electrician," he added.
The village has witnessed incidents of theft of cattle and other things in the past, Yadav said, adding that the step is being taken to ensure that such incidents don’t happen in the future.
The Quint could not independently verify whether these incidents had taken place.
However, Yadav said that the letter was not submitted to the SDM in Mahendergarh. "According to law, it is not allowed to single out a community. It is illegal. But we just drafted a letter for peace of mind and safety of the villagers," he told The Quint.
Despite several attempts by The Quint, Mahendergarh's Sub-Divisional Magistrate Harshit Kumar was unreachable for his comments. The story will be updated once we receive his response.
Yadav also said that in the future, the panchayat will ensure that anyone who does not reside in the village or belong to the majority community would have to undergo a check before they are let inside for work.
"We will ask the person to show us their identity proof and after we verify the background, we will let them inside our village to do work," Yadav said.
Tajpur's Sarpanch Rajkumar told The Quint that his village drafted the letter since all his neighbouring villages had done the same. "We don't mean harm to any community," he added.
However, neighbouring village Kunjpura's Sarpanch Narender Yadav said he did not write any letter. "We have a few Muslim families in the village who have been living here for generations. We have had no such case of animosity and the Hindus and Muslims stay like brothers together," Narender Yadav said.
'In The Interest Of Muslims'
In the letter issued in Zainabad village in Rewari, a part of the resolution, said that a public announcement was made in the village on 3 August, asking all tenants to deposit their identity proofs with the Panchayat which will then be sent for police verification.
The Quint reached out to Zainabad Sarpanch Bhavna Yadav for her comment but was told by Rajvir Singh Yadav, who introduced himself as her father-in-law, that the resolution was handed over to Dahina police station on 4 August.
According to Rajvir Singh, “all villagers were unanimous” that the panchayat pass this resolution. He said that the resolution was also “in the interest of the Muslim community”.
“The manner in which sentiments of the Hindu community are deeply hurt after the Nuh violence, villagers could attack them if they come,” he said.
However, a police official at the Dahina station confirmed that they did not receive any letter from the village.
"The resolution banning the entry of people to the village on the basis of religion is illegal. But, as far as verification of ID proofs of tenants is concerned, it is a routine exercise the police does, but the panchayat doesn’t have the right to ban entry of people on the basis of their religion,” the police official added.
Several Panchayat leaders, however, claimed to The Quint that once the situation improves, the panchayats will allow people from the Muslim community to enter the villages.
Two Villages Withdraw Letter; Govt Says Strict Action Will Be Taken
Five days after issuing the resolution, two villages in Haryana's Jhajjar district-- Kablana and Mundakheda-- withdrew the order on Wednesday after the district administration took cognisance of the situation.
In a video message accessed by The Quint, Kablana's Sarpanch said, "This panchayat respects all religions, communities and castes. We don't have any enmity with anyone and welcome all to our village irrespective of their religion".
"If it was portrayed as though we were sidelining a particular community, we are withdrawing the letter with a written statement," Mundakheda's Sarpanch said.
Shakti Singh, District Deputy Commissioner Jhajjar said, "Constitutionally, such a ban cannot be imposed. Whoever did this is wrong. But, I have also learnt that the panchayats have withdrawn their statement in written".
According to Singh, the panchayats said that the resolution was passed due to a misunderstanding in the village. "Having said that, the matter will still be investigated and necessary action will be taken," he added.
Speaking to the media, Haryana Minister of State Social Justice & Empowerment Om Prakash Yadav condemned the panchayat's decision to ban entry of Muslims. "Every Indian has rights irrespective of their religion and caste. One must not spread hatred against a community and no one can break our social fabric".
Yudhvir Singh Sehrawat, general secretary of the All India Jat Mahasabha, has been a vocal critic of the communal mobilisation in Nuh and Gurugram.
When asked for his comments on the resolutions passed by the panchayats, he said "I am not fully aware of this issue. I only know that they said that there should be no tensions between two communities. But if it is true, then it is completely wrong. People are being manipulated to instigate such issues".
"One should not look it at as a Hindu-Muslim fight. It should be seen as injustice to humanity as a whole. People should not aggravate the issue for their own benefit," he told The Quint.
Raj Singh Kandela, a Khap leader in Haryana's Jind district told The Quint: "Everyone is a citizen of India and we all have rights...It's not that Muslims are bad. There are many in the Hindu community too that have gone wrong. What the panchayats have said is wrong)"
(With inputs from Parvej Khan in Haryana)
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