Haryana violence: How tensions have forced migrants to flee Gurugram, Nuh

Tensions continue to grip Haryana’s Gurugram after the ripples of the communal violence that first broke out in the Nuh district were felt in the Millennium City this week. The clashes have killed at least six people in Haryana, including two Home Guard jawans and a young cleric. Migrant workers from the minority community in some areas now live in fear after they were asked to leave Gurugram. Some Hindu labourers in Nuh are also trying to return to their hometowns after the deadly clashes. How has Haryana violence spread fear among migrants? Let’s take a closer look. Migrants in Gurugram told to leave On Tuesday (1 August), a group of youth from Palra village allegedly went to slums near a housing society in Gurugram’s Sector 70A, along with landlords, and asked residents to leave by 4 pm, reported Times of India (TOI). Out of the 1,000 families that live in these slums, around 700 are from a particular community, the report added. Sana Khatoon, a domestic worker, told TOI, “My daughter begged me to come home, saying some men had told the slum-dwellers to leave by 4 pm or they will set our homes on fire. I rushed home, gathered my kids and informed other family members”. As per the newspaper, several families left the slum by 4 pm. Although the police reached the area an hour later, a mob of around 30 people came back riding pillions around 6 pm. According to a resident, the mob “barged inside” their homes and told them to leave by 4 am on Wednesday (2 August), reported TOI. Speaking to the news agency PTI, Rehmat Ali, an auto-rickshaw driver who lives at a slum in Sector 70A, recalled, “Some people came on motorcycles on Tuesday night, threatening us that if we do not leave, they would set fire to our slum. Police have been present here since night but my family is scared and we are leaving the city”. “We can come back when the situation improves,” he added. Ahila Bibi, another migrant, told PTI that she did not want to take the “risk”, adding she plans to return later when the condition is better. A locality in Gurugram that once housed 100 Muslim families from West Bengal, now has only 15 left, according to NDTV’s report on 2 August. “Last evening, some people came and asked all Muslims to leave. We don’t have money to go back and even have debts to pay to the local shopkeepers. It’s okay if something happens to me, but I have a one-year-old son. It is my sincere request to the government, district administration and local residents to protect us. Help us, please,” 25-year-old Shamim Hussain told the news channel. As per NDTV, a housekeeper in a Gurugram locality was thrashed by a mob on Tuesday afternoon after they asked him his name. Many people, mostly from the Muslim community, who were residing in slums in Wazirabad, Ghata village, Sector 70A and Badshahpur, have started returning to their native places, PTI reported citing the police. Some living in Manesar, Teekli and Kasan are also considering going back to their hometowns. A senior police officer confirmed to PTI that some migrants, who were mainly employed as drivers, gardeners, street hawkers, servants and domestic workers, are forced to return due to fear. However, he claimed the situation is “normal” in Gurugram, adding that the security officials, including Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel, are deployed across the district to prevent any untoward incident. [caption id=“attachment_12953422” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] RAF carried out a flag march in Gurugram’s Badshahpur on 2 August. PTI[/caption] “It has come to our knowledge that some workers are returning to their native places but the situation in Gurugram is normal. Our confidence-building exercise continues with RWAs and slum area residents. They should not fear, and we assure them of their safety and security,” Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav told PTI. ALSO READ: Haryana violence: How social media posts fuelled communal hate before the clashes Migrant labourers leave Nuh Migrant labourers were trying to leave Nuh on Tuesday, a day after the violence erupted in the Muslim-majority district during a religious procession organised by Hindu far-right groups, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal. “I have been working here for the past three months as a shop assistant. On Monday, our shop owner suddenly asked all of us to leave. We somehow managed to spend the entire night on the street,” Dharampal Gujjar, a resident of Neem Ka Thana in Rajasthan, told TOI. He said even his employer has now fled due to the communal unrest and he is also trying to go back to his village. As per the newspaper, several people with some bags were seen walking towards Alwar or Sohna to leave the Nuh border on Tuesday. The police say Nuh has about 10,000 migrant labourers. Most of them are from Uttar Pradesh or Rajasthan’s Alwar and Bharatpur districts, reported TOI. [caption id=“attachment_12953432” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A curfew was imposed in Nuh after communal violence broke out in the district on 31 August. Reuters[/caption] Jagdish, who works as a daily wager in Nuh , told PTI that he had been living in Nuh for the last several months, but is now contemplating going back to his hometown in Madhya Pradesh as he is feeling “scared” there. “About 400 Hindu families have been forced to leave the city,” he further claimed. Sudhir Kumar, a labourer hailing from UP’s Kanpur, told TOI on Tuesday that his family was “worried” and “begging” him to return. Recent developments According to Haryana Police, assailants on motorcycles hurled Molotov cocktails at two mosques in Tauru in the Nuh district on Wednesday night, reported PTI. No injuries were reported. Meanwhile, the curfew in Nuh was temporarily lifted between 10 am and 1 pm today (3 August). Internet services have also been restored in Nuh, Faridabad, Palwal, Sohna, Pataudi and Manesar from 1 pm to 4 pm. The police have assured that Gurugram remains peaceful, except for three “minor” incidents of arson and vandalism in Sohna, Pataudi and Basai, as per Indian Express. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar told reporters on Wednesday that 116 people had been arrested in connection to the violence in the state. “The conspirators are being continuously identified,” he said. “Those found guilty will not be spared. We are committed to the safety of the public,” the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said. With inputs from agencies