Noorpur is the only Muslim-majority village in the Hindu-dominated Tappal area, according to the police. The village comprises 80 percent Muslim residents while Dalits make up 20 percent of the population.
“This house is for sale” read a sign outside the homes of some Dalit residents in Uttar Pradesh’s Noorpur. The signs were put up by members of the Jatav community, who alleged that the majority Muslim residents of the village were harassing and discriminating against them. The Dalits also said that the police covered the sign with blue paint against their wishes.
Tensions started to flare up between the two communities on 26 May after a marriage procession was allegedly stopped by some Muslims as it was passing through the village’s mosque. Physical altercation soon followed, a report said in ThePrint
The Muslim residents of Noorpur said that they had just requested the marriage procession to avoid playing loud music while passing through the masjid since namaz was going on at the time but the request was not heeded.
The father of the bride in the 26 May wedding alleged that several members of the Muslim community appeared out of nowhere and began pelting stones at them and vandalizing the whole event.
The Dalit villagers, however, said the 26 May incident was not a one-off incident. They accused the Muslims of constantly discriminating against them, practicing untouchability, using casteist slurs, and even eve-teasing women of their community.
“This is the third or fourth wedding that’s been attacked. Ever since the masjid was established, Muslims haven’t let our baraat pass that path, the only way to our houses. We don’t feel safe in our houses so we put up these signs, but the police painted all over them, about two days ago,” said Om Prakash, to ThePrint father of brides Sonam and Sapna who got married on 26 May.
Noorpur is the only Muslim-majority village in the Hindu-dominated Tappal area, according to the police. The village comprises 80 percent Muslim residents while Dalits make up 20 percent of the population.
“It’s so difficult to go in the fields alone because Muslim boys chase after us calling us these names,” said 60-year-old Saroj Devi. “When they get married, they fire bullets in the air till 2 in the morning. We never say anything.”
The local police said that such a case of violence occurred for the first time in the village and also denied using paint over the “for sale” sign.
“There’s harmony in the village. Such things haven’t been reported earlier. The only thing is this issue has gained a lot of political attention and has been made into a Hindu-Muslim thing,” Station House Officer Samay Singh told ThePrint. While denying the paint allegations, he said that he took charge on June 1 and isn’t aware of any such incident.
Police deployment has also been beefed up in the area after the 26 May violence. A platoon of their armed division, Pradeshik Armed Constabulary, has been deployed to maintain peace. One sub-inspector and four constables have also been posted at the village.
On 3 June, AIMIM leader Nazim Ali had said that while namaz goes on in villages, they’ll continue to disallow Dalit marriage processions from passing through. Villagers have condemned this statement and said that there’s always been a sense of brotherhood between the two communities and blamed political parties for “playing with Jaatav emotions to make this a Hindu-Muslim issue while this is a Dalit-Muslim problem right now.”
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Mohammad Tahir, a local resident said “We’ve been living peacefully for decades and continue to do so. Muslim and Jaatav bhai both belong to an oppressed class. Right now, savarna parties that are all about upper caste politics are playing with Jaatav emotions to make this a Hindu-Muslim issue while this is a Dalit-Muslim problem right now.”
“These leaders say whatever they want because they don’t have to face the consequences of their words, we do. I strongly condemn what he said,” he added while condemning Ali’s statement.
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