Living in fear, say Uttarakhand traders amid calls for ouster

Fear and uncertainty has gripped shopkeepers in an Uttarakhand town after a traders’ union cancelled registrations of 91 shopkeepers – most of them from the Muslim community – belonging from other states and telling them to close their shops and leave.
Tensions rose in Dharchula town of Pithoragarh district in February a couple of men from Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district were arrested for allegedly abducting two local minor girls under the pretext of marriage. The girls were also rescued. The accused were charged under Indian Penal Code Sections of 363 (kidnapping), 376 (sexual assault), 354 (use of criminal force to outrage modesty of woman) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
As protests continued, Dharchula Vyapar Sangh (DVS)— a local traders’ body that represents over 800 traders in the town — cancelled the membership of 91 traders, mostly Muslims, and its members have stopped them from opening their shops over the past three days. The body has also asked landlords to oust such “outsiders”.
While the district administration has assured full protection to the store owners, Muslims shopkeepers say they “are living in constant fear”.
A Muslim shopkeeper, who did not want to be identified, said he has been running his shop in Dharchula town for the last 20 years after moving from Uttar Pradesh. “We are living in constant fear. They won’t stop until they force all Muslims to leave the town. They have been doing it under the nose of the police, and administration without any fear.”
“I came to Dharchula before 2000… My kids were born and did their schooling here… Since the February incident, Muslim traders have been threatened and asked to leave several times or face consequences. Some shopkeepers have already left for their hometowns. Hindu landlords don’t want tenants to vacate but representatives of the traders’ union have been pressuring them to,” he added.
“We never took the side of the accused or sympathised with them. A criminal is a criminal. Those who have been spearheading the campaign against Muslims have vested interests and are politically connected. Maybe they want political mileage,” he said.
Furkan (28), a mobile shopkeeper whose father brought him to Dharchula when he was just 3-year-old, said, “On March 8, two men turned up at my shop in an intoxicated state. They damaged the shutter of my shop and asked me to vacate the shop. There is communal tension in the town.”
A 30-year-old man from Badaun in Uttar Pradesh who has been running a mobile shop in Dharchula for over a decade said, “Though the administration has assured us of security and I have been opening the shop from Monday, the atmosphere is communally charged. Anything can happen anytime. They have come to me several times asking me to vacate the shop and leave the town. They also marked shops run by outsiders with ‘X’ signs. I live here alone and I know I am not safe here. But my family has been facing financial problems, so I can’t leave my work like this.”
Sajid (38), one of the shopkeepers who left to his native place in Bareily, said he was living in Dharchula for 22 years and opened a mobile shop in 2002. “Since the February incident, there has been an atmosphere of fear among the minority community. They have been coming to our shops, damaging them and hurling abuses at us. They have also beaten some of us. My family asked me to come back. So I came back. Nothing is precious than life.”
DVS secretary Mahesh Garbiyal, however, said that the call to remove traders from other states was taken after considering the sentiments of local residents.
“The incident in February was not the first one. Similar incidents have happened in the past too. Locals were agitated over the repeated incidents. Around 800 traders were registered with the union. We identified 91 traders and cancelled their registrations who came here after 2000. Most of them (around 80) are Muslims and rest Hindus. It was important as our area is close to the border and locals have migrated from the area as their livelihood is being snatched by outsiders,” he said.
A shopkeeper from the Hindu community, who came to Dharchula fromUttar Pradesh around 15 years ago, said: “Those who have been trying to disturb peace in our town should be identified and punished as per the law.”
Pithoragarh district magistrate (DM) Reena Joshi, meanwhile, maintained that the situation was under control in the area and they have lodged FIRs against those who have given hate speeches or tried to disturb peace.
“All shops are open. No trader has left the town under any pressure. A peace committee meeting has already taken place to ensure law and order. If anybody tries to take law into their own hands, strict action will be taken against them,” she said.
According to the police, four first information reports (FIRs) have been registered so far againstmembers of the traders’ unionfor attempts to disturb peace since the February incident. The latest FIR was registered on March 16, against six named and 40 unnamed people under IPC Sections 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs)147 (rioting), 153-B (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration, 504(ntentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
In May-June last year, communal tension erupted in Purola main market in Uttarkashi district over an alleged abduction attempt on a minor girl by two men, including a Muslim. While the two men were later arrested, shops and houses belonging to Muslims were targeted and posters threatening them to shut shops surfaced, prompting most of them to flee the area.