“Do you see that school there?” a resident points at a government school named “Rajkiya Prathmik Vidhyalay”. “My father studied there as a child. He died at the age of 80. This school is older than my father,” says the middle age resident.
She continues, “If we are living illegally, then why did the government allow government schools and hospitals to come up? Were they not aware?”
(Photo: Twitter/@meerfaisal01)
She is one of the many 50,000 Muslim residents who fear a directionless life after the Uttarakhand High Court directed the removal of encroachments from 29 acres of railway land in Haldwani on December 20, 2022.
In a special report by Clarion India, residents including little children speak about why they are being targeted.
“The railway line is about 2.19 km and most Muslims reside in that stretch. Now tell me how is the state government not targeting a single community?” asks another resident.
On December 20, residents of Haldwani district received a shock when they came to know that the land their ancestors have lived and died on was being snatched away in the name of encroachment by the Indian Railways.
The High Court in its order gave the residents one-week time to evacuate the land failing which force (bulldozers) will be used.
At the end of December 2022, videos of many praying residents started to surface on Twitter. They were praying for a miracle. That the order to bulldoze their homes is canceled. That they have a roof on their children’s heads at the peak of harsh north Indian winter.
“We will make sure the Prime Minister listens to our pleas. Our schools and colleges are here. We have siblings,” cried a little girl surrounded by her friends. They too had welled-up eyes.
Residents are angry. They have many questions. “If the land is being claimed by the Indian Railways then how come there are government structures such as schools, colleges and hospitals? How can the government grant us documents such as Aadhaar cards, and ration cards at this address? We have been regular at paying our bills such as house tax, electricity bills etc. Why did the government asked us to pay bills when they knew this was not their land? Was the government not aware that this land belonged to the Indian Railways?” asked an angry resident.
“Are we not citizens of this country? Is the Constitution of India not for us? Just because we are Muslims, they are torturing us,” she said angrily.
Uttarakhand is under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government with Pushkar Singh Dhami as its chief minister. The right-wing party has been known for its animosity towards the Muslims of this country. Interestingly, Haldwani is the only constituency that was won by a Congress party worker named Sumit Hridayesh.
The residents have challenged the high court’s order and submitted a plea to the Supreme Court. The apex court will hear the matter on January 5.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices S A Nazeer and P S Narasimha posted the matter for hearing after advocate Prashant Bhushan mentioned the matter.
Ever since the High Court order was passed, many have come on the streets, praying, taking candlelight marches, and appealing to the Central as well as the state government to take mercy and let them reside peacefully.
