There is a chilling undercurrent in the aftermath of the communal violence in Nuh and Gurgaon. In Rewari, Mahendragarh and Jhajjar, several panchayats have issued near-identical diktats targeting Muslims, barring their entry in villages, demanding that their shops and businesses be shut down. In Gurgaon — the so-called “Millennium City”, showcased by the Haryana government for its cosmopolitanism and prosperity — medieval calls for boycotts have reportedly led to hundreds of Muslim families shuttering their shops and leaving for places from where they came, within the state and outside it. The prejudice behind these diktats is barely disguised: “People from the Muslim community indulge in roadside vends during the day and steal animals at night,” a sarpanch wrote to a sub-divisional magistrate.
There have been a few roll-backs of these unconstitutional notices. But these have been sporadic and perfunctory. Haryana’s Development and Panchayat Minister Devendra Singh Babli told this newspaper that such notices “are not permissible” and that “strict action” will be taken against those who have issued them. Some of the sarpanches, such as Krishna of Saharanwas village in Rewari, have retracted the notice after objections, insisting that it was meant only to “prevent violence”. But piecemeal gestures do little to assure those whose lives and livelihoods have been unforgivably disrupted. They do not dispel the fear that elected officials and the state machinery can act in partisan ways. To even begin to provide a sense of security, those occupying the highest political offices in the state must reach out to those who are feeling fearful and vulnerable — and be seen to do so too.
Earlier this week, the Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo motu cognisance of the demolitions of homes and shops by the administration in the aftermath of the Nuh violence, based on reports, including in this paper, of due process being flagrantly violated, notices not issued. The Division Bench was scathing in its observations: “… the law and order problem is being used as a ruse to bring down buildings without following the… law. The issue also arises whether the buildings belonging to a particular community are being brought down under the guise of law and order problem and an exercise of ethnic cleansing is being conducted by the State.” Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar must address the questions the Court has raised. He must reach out to those who live and work in his state and convey to them that the law is not a weapon but an assurance of protection of their rights and freedoms. This will require the CM to do his job, and not indulge in whataboutery. Else, this state of dishevelment may end up being his government’s dismal legacy.
