Sanjauli, Himachal Pradesh: News that Muslim men had beaten up Hindu men in a brawl in Shimla, the state capital of Himachal Pradesh, led to a series of protests against Muslims in the state run by the Congress Party since 2022 and before that by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for five years.
The protests started on 1 September 2024, with calls to demolish a mosque in Sanjauli town—nine km from the brawl in a locality called Malyana—where the men were rumoured to have taken refuge and spread to at least 22 towns and villages.
People sat close to the mosque and recited the Hanuman Chalisa, a devotional hymn popular among Hindus, and slogans such as “Sanjauli mein avaidh masjid giraani hogi”, “Avaidh pravasi nahi chalenge” (The illegal mosque must be raised in Sanjauli, Illegal outsiders won't be tolerated) were raised.
At the protest, sitting next to the Hindu man who was injured in the brawl with the Muslims, a Congress ward councillor from Bhatta Kuffar, a locality in Shimla, Narinder Thakur, announced, “Everybody has decided that we have to boycott them.”
Elected for the first time in May 2023, Thakur, 42, said he had been a dedicated worker” of the Congress Party for the past 15 years.
Speaking over the phone to Article 14 on 19 October, Thakur said he discovered the mosque was an illegal construction from a WhatsApp message.
"The Hindu men who were beaten were known to me. They came to me and told me that this has happened,” said Thakur. “Then, we met with the locals and decided to protest in front of the mosque in Sanjauli."
“I asked the Commissioner to bring the file of the mosque,” he said. “The administration agreed it was illegal. Then I demanded its demolition.”
Thakur also claimed credit for forcefully evicting 100-150 street vendors “sitting on the roads illegally”.
“They have all gone back now,” he said.
On 21 October 2024, the mosque committee began demolishing the top three floors of the mosque in Sanjauli following the 5 October order of the Shimla municipal corporation court.
When the Hindutva organisations overtook his protest, Thakur told Article 14 that “people with vested political interests hijacked their genuine protest” in Sanjauli.
“Congress-BJP comes second. We are Hindus first. We can do politics only when we are alive,” he said.
Speaking derogatorily about Muslims, Narinder Thakur said that “many Muslims of Saharanpur engage in goondaism, violence, theft and sell drugs. They get funding to settle here and increase their population here.”
Thakur was referring to a false conspiracy theory about demographic change that Muslims want to increase their population in the hill state.
On 5 September, a major protest was organised in Sanjauli where anti-Muslim slogans such as “Mulle Katwe Nahi Chalenge” (A slur for Muslims —won't be tolerated) were raised.
After the protest, councillor Thakur addressed the media, saying, “You people also have mothers and sisters. We will not keep quiet if someone harasses our women. We are united for Sanatan and Hindu religion.”
Compiling the data from social media pages and newspaper reports, Article 14 calculated that at least 30 anti-Muslim rallies took place in Himachal Pradesh within 35 days from 1 September 2024 to 5 October 2024. We visited Shimla, Solan, Mandi, Kangra, and Kullu districts to gauge their impact and consequences.
Across the state, the Hindutva protesters demanded the demolition of mosques, the eviction of ‘outsider’ Muslims and also vandalised Muslim properties while raising anti-Muslim slogans such as “Mulle Katue Nahin Chalenge” (Muslims won't be tolerated), “Mulle Kaze.. Haye thuu! Haye thuu”(Muslims and Kazis (Islamic judge in a Sharia court), we spit on you).
Despite less than three per cent of the Muslim population in Himachal Pradesh, Hindu right-wing groups have been trying to spread fear against Muslim migrants, calling them “outsider Muslims”.
Many Muslims from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have migrated to Himachal Pradesh for better work opportunities.
On 23 November, Sushma Devi, a block development committee member in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district, was caught on camera telling two shawl sellers from Kashmir to leave the state. “We will not allow you to come to Himachal,” she said.
Sushma Devi was booked under sections 299 (insulting religious beliefs) and 196 (1) (to promote disharmony) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS). She later apologised in another video. "I accept my mistake and apologise if I intentionally or unintentionally said something wrong," she said.
In July 2024, Article 14 reported how fifteen Muslim shopkeepers were forced to flee from Nahan in the Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh after allegations of cow slaughter on Eid.
Under A Congress Government
Apart from Narinder Thakur, Himachal Pradesh’s minister of rural development, Anirudh Singh, along with his Congress party colleague Harish Janartha, also brought up the mosque issue during the Himachal Pradesh Assembly session on 5 September.
In a widely shared address from the assembly, Anirudh Singh claimed that individuals of Bangladeshi descent were residing in the mosque and called for verification of their identities.
Singh also praised the Congress councillor who raised the mosque issue, saying, “I am thankful to the councillors who had the courage to take a stand. I am also thankful to everyone who participated in that movement. I take full responsibility for that movement.”
The public works department (PWD) minister, Vikramaditya Singh, said every restaurant and fast food stall in the state has to display the owner’s ID.
"People expressed their concerns and doubts, and considering this, we have decided to implement a similar policy to that in UP, in which it has been made mandatory that vendors display their names and IDs,” said Singh. “Every shopkeeper and street vendor has to display their identification."
Singh was referring to the Uttar Pradesh Police’s directive issued on 17 July 2024 that said, “Hotels, dhabas, and shopkeepers selling food items on Kanwar Marg have been requested to display the names of their owners and employees voluntarily.” At the time, Article 14 found that the order had been coercively implemented against Muslims in UP.
On 22 July 2024, the Supreme Court stayed this order.
While there has been a rising tide of Islamophobia and violence against Muslims in BJP-run states in northern India like Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, the past year has seen Congress-run Himachal follow a similar pattern of anti-Muslim rhetoric and activity by Hindu right-wing organisations and extremists.
The state government has failed to put a stop to what appears to be a concerted effort to radicalise Hindus. Even the Congress leadership in Delhi has failed to effectively respond to polarise the state along religious lines even though communal harmony was one of the central tenets of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra from 7 September 2022 to 30 January 2023.
According to India Today, Vikramaditya Singh was also summoned to Delhi and reprimanded by the Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge.
On 13 September, the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, called an all-party meeting in Shimla.
Addressing the media, he said, "I have appealed to everyone to maintain peace and make no provocative statements, and that is why an all-party meeting. No one is allowed to take the law into their hands. We respect everyone. The land of Himachal has respect for all religions."
Hindutva Groups Operating Without Restraint
In another protest called by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), a right-wing Hindu organisation, in Shimla on 11 September, as hundreds of protestors pelted stones at police, the police resorted to lathi charges.
A day before the protest, Tushar Dogra, the state head of the VHP, said in an interview that it would be intense and that thousands would attend.
When asked if it could turn violent, he replied, “No one can control the crowd. Anything can happen…”
While in Shimla, the reporters of this article were questioned by the police for an hour near the Sanjauli mosque after a far-right Hindutva leader, Kamal Gautam, posted a photograph of Kaushik Raj on Facebook and Twitter, saying they were “suspects from a terrorist group” who had come from Delhi to Shimla.
The police took photos of their identity cards.
Devbhoomi Sangharsh Samiti, a year-old organisation based in Shimla, has been at the forefront of these protests.
The organisation's motto is protecting “Hindu values in Devbhoomi”.
Madan Thakur, 36, the organisation's co-convenor, said that 30-35 members were present in Sanjauli for the first protest on 1 September.
“We noticed that jamats (religious congregations) recently started coming to Sanjauli mosque. Then, when we learned about the fight in Malyana, we decided we had to take it forward.”
“Our organisation has 50-60 thousand people working in the entire Himachal Pradesh,” said Madan Thakur. “When this movement started, our people were responsible for organising these protests in their towns and villages.”
Madan Thakur is also the president of Devbhoomi Sawarn Sangathan, an organisation demanding an upper-caste commission in Himachal Pradesh—a commission specifically to address the problems of upper-caste people on the lines of a minority commission.
Thakur’s WhatsApp and Facebook display picture reads, “If you want a bright future for your kids and women, then economically and socially boycott Muslims and those supporting them.”
Thakur said that their organisation is right now conducting a door-to-door campaign appealing to people to boycott “outsider Muslims”.
“We have to clean our home, and to clean my home, I don’t need to get permission from the Constitution or any political party. Our mission is that the way these people were boycotted in Myanmar, we will do like that.”
“They can migrate to wherever they want. Our effort is to clean our home; we don’t want any filth. This cancer is spreading, and we have to stop it,” he said.
Thakur was referring to Rohingya Muslims who were forced to flee from Myanmar in 2017. The United Nations described it as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.
Devbhoomi Jagran Manch, a right-wing organisation based in Kullu, organised massive demonstrations against the mosque in Kullu on 14 September and 30 September.
They distributed pamphlets door-to-door asking people not to give their shops and homes on rent to outsiders.
“Do not rent your shops and houses to outsiders. Boycott outsider painters, shopkeepers, labourers, and barbers. Women are requested to give their clothes for stitching only to Hindu tailors. Keep a watch on the outsiders,” the pamphlet said.
The pamphlet also became viral on social media.
Article 14 spoke to the organisation’s president, Kshitij Sood, over the phone on 19 October.
“We distributed 1 lakh pamphlets from one end of Kullu at Sahaj Banjar village to the other at Palchan village,” said Sood, 32.
“Due to our pamphlet distribution, many Muslim tailors went back, and Hindu tailors started opening their shops. I cannot verify, but I have heard that these people spit on the clothes before stitching them and also use some powder in them that causes breast cancer in women,” said Sood.
"We cannot live with them who spit in our food and touch our women inappropriately while taking measures for stitching clothes,” he said.
When Article 14 visited Kullu, we discovered that Sood and his organisation put a board named Sri Ram Gali on the road leading to the Jama Masjid.
Another right-wing organisation leading the protests across Himachal Pradesh is Devbhoomi Kshatriya Sangathan Evam Sawarn Morcha.
Its leader, Rumit Singh Thakur, met Himachal Pradesh’s chief minister, Sukhvinder Singh Sukkhu, on 4 September 2024 and submitted him a list of demands, including demolition of illegal construction in the Sanjauli mosque, investigation of mosques and shrines on government land, strict law against unlawful construction of religious places, removal of street vendors who come from other states, and establishment of the Sanatan Board.
Himachal Pradesh’s rural development minister, Aniruddh Singh, and PWD minister, Vikramaditya Singh, were also present at the meeting, along with Congress Councilor Narinder Thakur, one of the first leaders to begin the protest.
Radicalising Hindus
In the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh, a crowd of hundreds vandalised the shops owned or rented by Muslims and marked them with a red cross on 16 September 2024.
Kushal Jethi, a 60-year-old Solan Vyapar mandal (traders association) president, called for the protest.
Article 14 met him in his big garment shop in the middle of Solan’s old market.
Outside his shop, hundreds of small saffron flags were adorned in anticipation of the Hindu festival Diwali.
“For a long time, we have been protesting against the outsiders. That is why we expressed our rage,” said Jethi.
Many of his claims were fueled with misinformation against Muslims.
“In the last 4-5 years, many outsiders have come with a criminal background. How can they pay huge sums as rent? Definitely, they are being funded,” he said.
With no basis for his claim, Jethi said, “There should be a verification. These Muslims can be Rohingyas with fake aadhaar cards.”
“Why would an Indian keep a fake Aadhaar card? Many keep Aadhaar cards with false Hindu names,” he said. “What if they are from some other religion? This should be investigated.”
Among the shops marked with a red cross in Solan belonged to Waheed Ahmed, a 48-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh who has been working in Himachal Pradesh for eight years.
When we visited his shop on 26 September, the red cross mark was still there in front of his shop.
“The crowd had already identified the Muslim shops. In their mind, there must be hatred,” said Ahmed.
There was a misinformation pattern in Shimla.
Balveen Khanna, 75, ran a jewellery shop opposite the Kashmiri mosque in the Lower Bazar, Shimla, for 50 years.
“We should stay in harmony together. But when we hear that Muslims spit in our food and pelt stones, we feel bad,” he said.
On being asked if he has seen Muslims spitting in food, he said, “I have seen this on television.”
Verification Of Outsiders
The Himachal Pradesh police have become stricter about verifying migrants in the state in line with the protesters' demands for verification of “outsiders”, six Muslims we spoke to said.
Article 14 spoke to a vigilante group in Mandi district called Him Samaj Seva Samiti, which held a verification camp for migrants in September in collaboration with the local police.
In a statement on 5 October 2024, SP Mandi Sakshi Verma claimed that they had verified at least 7,000 migrants within Mandi. It was unclear since when.
“We appealed to the police to conduct a verification drive of outsiders, making them aware of the threat if they increase in numbers. Then, the police conducted the drive with the support of our volunteers,” a volunteer said.
Within a day, the volunteer said that the vigilante group verified 100 such outsider workers by taking photocopies of their Aadhaar cards and registering their names, contact numbers, and complete addresses in the police register.
In Kullu, Article 14 met K,* a 35-year-old blanket vendor forced to admit his original Aadhaar card at Akhara Bazar Police Station and was given a copy in the name of verification.
The photocopy of the Aadhar card said he works as a vendor. It has the verification date and the stamp of the police post, and it is valid only until the end of December 2024, after which he has to reapply for verification. He told us that if he leaves Himachal Pradesh, his verification letter will be cancelled, and only his Aadhaar card will be returned.
In Palampur town in Kangra district, Aleem Ahmad, a 38-year-old tailor, said, “After the protests, the police have also started demanding a character certificate from the Panchayat or Municipality to which migrants from their home state, along with Aadhaar and other details. Now, the police also refuse to stamp the verification letter.”
Article 14 reached out to Shalini Agnihotri, superintendent of police, Kangra district, and Hitesh Lakhanpal, additional superintendent of police, Kangra district, through the landline numbers given on the official police website. However, they didn't respond.
This copy will be updated if and when they respond.
Like Kullu, Article 14 observed similar provocation tactics in Palampur, 142 km away. Three years ago, a temple was constructed at the mosque's street entrance on Captain Vikram Batra Marg.
How It Started
Article 14 found that the first mention of the Sanjauli mosque was on fringe right-wing websites.
A Himachal-based page called ‘Satya Soch Steek News’ posted about it on 3 June 2023: “A network of mosques has spread in Shimla. You also worship Allah.”
The post included a list of eight mosques, including the construction of a four-floor mosque in Sanjauli. Other users also posted this, but it didn’t gain much momentum.
It gained momentum when, on 30 July 2024, a month before the protests started, Madan Thakur, co-convenor of the Devbhoomi Sangharsh Samiti, posted on Facebook, “Congratulations to Sanjauli people. The mosque’s construction is complete in your area. Now, you won’t have to go to Mecca.”
On 10 August 2024, twenty days before the protests, Rumit Singh Thakur, president of the Devbhoomi Kshatriya Sangathan Evam Sawarn Morcha, also posted on Facebook, “There is a mosque being constructed in Sanjauli, and Hindus are sleeping.”
The post was shared 462 times and received 430 comments and 1.5k likes.
Earlier on 18 July, posting a photo of Muslims from the mosque, Madan Thakur wrote on his Facebook, “From where are these jamaats coming, and where are they going? They are coming here to work. Tomorrow, they will open their businesses on roads, befriend you and establish physical relations with the Himachali women of your homes.”
(Kaushik Raj is a freelance journalist based in Delhi. Srishti Jaswal is an award-winning journalist based in India.)
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