In yet another incident that highlights growing intolerance towards minorities in India, shop owners from Kashmir were brutally assaulted by a mob of Hindutva extremists during the Geeta Jayanti Mela in Haryana’s Kurukshetra.
The incident that took place on Saturday, December 7, has ignited significant outrage after the video of the attack circulated widely on social media on Sunday.
Viral video
The footage shows a group of people wearing saffron serves and waving large saffron flags as they marched past the shops, using loudspeakers to announce that attendees should refrain from purchasing items from Muslim sellers.
The aggressiveness of the Hindutva group increased when they targeted the Kashmiri business owner’s store, vandalizing his merchandise and tossing clothing out onto the road.
One member of the group was recorded using derogatory remarks, stating “These Muslims steal your daughters,” and accused the Kashmiri sellers of being “Bangladeshis”.
One local man is seen trying to shield the Kashmiri sellers and pleads with the menacing crowd not to harm them. However, this plea was met with further fury from the assailants, who continued to shout inflammatory remarks.
Recent incident
This incident marks the second assault on Kashmiri sellers within a month. Earlier, two Kashmiri traders were harassed in Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur district by a local woman claiming to be the wife of the village sarpanch.
A video of this incident shows the woman threatening the traders to either leave Himachal Pradesh or chant “Jai Shri Ram”, a Hindu religious chant. “We are Hindus and we have our Hindu community selling the same things. Why would Muslims come from somewhere else and do business here?” she is heard saying. She also urged villagers behind the camera to boycott businesses from Kashmir.
Such attacks reflect a troubling trend of right-wing extremism targeting minorities, especially Muslims. These consecutive incidents have raised concerns about communal harmony and safety for vulnerable communities in India.
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