Delhi and Haryana are still on edge like Manipur. The communal disturbances set off from Monday after Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad took out provocative Shobha march on Monday at Nuh district. The district is in Haryana barely 100 kilometres away from prime minister’s residence.
Later the violence spread to Gurugram, a fast-growing satellite city to Delhi.
Early on Tuesday, two hundred strong Hindutva mob defied curfew and went on rampage spree. They entered the Masjid at Sector 57 in Gurgaon and attacked the three people sleeping there. They stabbed Imam Saad multiple times before setting fire to Majid.
While two escaped injured, the mob rage claimed the life of Imam Saad. He was only 19-year-old when communal frenzy unleashed gory violence.
Imam Saad was employed as assistant Imam of the Anjuman Jama Masjid in Millennium City, a suburb of Gurgaon for the last six months. He belonged to Sitamarhi, Bihar.
In a viral video tweeted by journalist Meer Faisal, he is heard praying for peaceful India, where Muslims and Hindus could dine together.
The video was shared by his brother. He is heard in the video saying:
अंजुमन मस्जिद के इमाम साद, जिनको कल हिंदुत्व की हिंसक भीड़ ने मार डाला
“Hindu-Muslim baith ke khaye thaali mei
Aisa Hindustan bana de ya Allah”
“Hindu-Muslim baith ke khaye thaali mei
Aisa Hindustan bana de ya Allah”Imam Saad called for peace and coexistence of Hindu Muslims.
Last night he was killed by Hindu Mob in Anjuman Masjid Gurgaon. pic.twitter.com/XJ0Szm6Uh5
— Meer Faisal (@meerfaisal01) August 1, 2023
“The day will come when walls will be razed down. Hindu and Muslim will eat the meal together. Oh, Allah do realize an India like this”, he is heard singing in the video.
He represents a new generation of Muslim Ulama with strong plural nationalistic loyalties while proudly asserting religious identities.
According to Gurgaon Police Commissioner Kala Ramachandran, around forty people attacked the sleeping people and later set the Masjid on fire. The police so far have made five arrests in this regard.
According to his brother, Imam Saad was supposed to return home that evening. But communal hazard took away the precious life of a youngster who prayed for religious harmony.
How the violence started
A Shobha March was conducted by Bajrang Dal and Viswa Hindu Parishad at Nuh district. The march was to be attended by Monu Manesar, charged with the murder on two Muslims meat vendors in February.
This led to tensions and soon the entire region was engulfed in violence. Later the violence spread to Gurugram and Sohna, where Imam Saad was brutally murdered.
The police are indicted for not taking harsh measures against hatemongering and disturbance to peace through aggressive rallies.
The state’s abject failure to rein in Hindutva mobs is breeding communal violence in the Mewat region.
Mewat region, where Nuh district falls, had reported maximum cow vigilante murders. The BJP government ruling the state is promoting violence without taking strong measures against culprits.
In 2019 Asansol’s Imam Imdadul Rashidi lost his young son to a mob when the area was hit by riots following a Ram Navami procession. The next day, at the funeral, he publicly forbade any retaliation and said that he forgave the assailants. This brought peace to the riot-hit area. Here the Imam looks back at the events and shares his reflections and feelings about it all.
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