Homes of 'Hindus' Marked with “Om” by RSS Workers
Local BJP MLA Forcibly Occupies Land around Mosque
UPDATE:
After this story broke, journalists poke to, and questioned, Kavita Jain, who apart from being an MLA is also the Haryana State Minister for Women and Child Development. At first she denied outright that land around the Mosque in Dewarhu village had been illegally occupied. When pressed further she said, "It may have been a Mosque before Indepedence. That does not make it a Mosque today," she is quoted in The Inquilab daily of April 7, 2016 as saying.
Meanwhile, Sabrangindia spoke to the former Sarpanch of the village, Haji Juma Sabiq who said that while the immediate tension(s) had somewhat eased the worry over the possible attempts to capture the Mosque and the land, remain.
Muslims living in the Dewarhu village of Sonipat tehsil in Haryana live nail-biting fear after questionable efforts to mark out Hindu homes with the ‘Om’ symbol ostensibly by activists belonging to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in the village.
The Inquilab daily, Mewat edition reported on April 5 that Kavita Jain, an MLA (member of the legislative assembly) belonging to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recently forcibly took possession of the land around the Purani Masjid, still used by local Muslims for their worship. The report states that Raju Narayan from the local Gadhiar caste was among the local activists belonging to the RSS that have marked out all Hindu homes with the sign ‘Om”. Reportedly, Jain had sought use of the Idgah in the village for a community centre that had been declined. Sabrangindia’s inquiries revealed that of a total of eligible 1500 votes in the village, 500 belong to voters from the Muslim community.
Such a marking out of homes with religio-political symbols has invariably signaled a possible physical attack thereafter. This was visible and marked in post Babri Masjid demolition Bombay in 1992-1993 but specifically in the Gujarat of 2002 where electoral rolls and even company registration lists were used to earmark homes and businesses by exclusion prior to vicious mob attacks.
Photos have been shared with Sabrangindia by the Inquilab editorial team
