Nuh & Gurgaon, Haryana: F* and her husband M*, 64 and 65 years old respectively, wept, as they sat on a string bed and fanned themselves on a humid afternoon on 1 August 2023. There was no electricity in their deserted village, and they were distraught because that morning the police had picked up their four sons, aged 20 to 45, and a 17-year-old grandson.
The five men and the boy were among 146 Muslims arrested from at least four villages in Nuh, according to local lawyers, 12 hours after Muslims on 31 July attacked with stones and fired on an armed Hindu procession in Nuh, as the town and district of Mewat are now called.
The fallout of the attack and retaliatory violence by Hindus was evident when we visited Muradbas, a village of 2,236, 49% Muslim, in this backward, Muslim-majority district, 53 km west of India’s capital.
The roads of this working-class area of mud-and-brick homes, populated by labourers and small farmers, were empty: 22 Muslims had been arrested, many minors in an apparent violation of the law, when we visited. Every house reported at least one male member detained by the police, with all picked up from F and M’s home. Only older men remained. The rest, fearing arrest, had fled to other villages, towns or hid in fields.
The youngest to be arrested was wheat farmer Sheru Mohammed’s 13-year-old son, sleeping, said the family, when the police raided the village, 3 km west of the attack on the procession. “Our boys were not even allowed to wear clothes,” said Mohammed, 50. “They looked at me and did not do anything, but then they saw my son sleeping. They came back and picked him up.”
Between sobs, M said their sons and grandson worked in nearby brick kilns and were at work the day of the attack on the Hindu procession. “The police can speak to the owners and check the sign in sheet, they will find their names,” he said.
The attack on the Hindu rally on 31 July, which claimed four lives, including two home guards shot dead, set off a series of retaliatory attacks on neighbourhoods populated by the Meo, as local Muslims are called. Communal violence spread to Gurugram, Sohna and Palwal over the next two days.
Over the next two days, Hindu mobs murdered two Muslims—including a 19-year-old imam who recently spoke of peace between the two communities—burnt two mosques in Nuh and in the prosperous district of Gurugram, where multinational companies closed offices, as terrorised Muslims, from professionals to domestic servants, either stayed at home or fled the area. Most working-class Muslims who were threatened or left were from West Bengal or Jharkhand.
Despite orders prohibiting processions, Hindu fundamentalists took to the streets or gave incendiary speeches calling for Muslims to be evicted, boycotted or killed. State retribution followed, as officials demolished at least 45 Muslim properties, including homes and medical stores, on 5 and 6 August in Nuh. “The bulldozer is part of the ilaj (medicine),” said Haryana home minister Anil Vij.
The demolitions—following in the footsteps of similar demolitions in states governed, like Haryana, by the Bharatiya Janata Party— continued as this story was published, becoming the most recent instance of similar illegal actions nationwide (here, here, here and here), with the JCB backhoe excavator becoming a symbol of such demolitions.
In a 2 August interview to India Today, Bittu Bajrangi, a cow vigilante accused of inciting Hindus, demanded that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s “bulldozer policy” be implemented in Haryana. Three days later, the demolitions began, with no apparent notice, as the law requires.
The Exodus, Calls For Retaliation & Fake News
Women sat outside most homes in Muradbas, trying to comfort each other.
Atu-Ul-Khan, 35, one of the few men who stayed behind, accused the police of only detaining Muslim men. “You see, the village is empty,” said Khan, who had dropped his wife and children to another village to keep them safe. “Everyone has left in fear.”
On the street outside, we met S* who had tied the corner of her kurta in a knot in an attempt to keep it intact. About 11 hours earlier on 1 August, she alleged, the Haryana Police tore her clothes from the front and side, when they took away her three sons, one 18, the other two in their 20s.
“One of my sons has typhoid,” said S, who appeared to be in a state of shock, as she sobbed. “I had taken him to a hospital yesterday and had given him medicines. I don’t have a husband, and I don’t know what to do.”
On 4 August Vij said 102 first information reports (FIRs) had been registered after the violence that swept Nuh, 202 people had been arrested and 80 detained.
The villagers accused the police of using force and beating anyone who resisted arrest. Those who requested the police not to arrest their children were also beaten, they alleged.
Nuh’s superintendent of police Varun Singla was transferred on 3 August, two days after the violence. Assistant superintendent of police Usha Kundu said they were barred from speaking to the media.
According to S, her sons were sleeping in the verandah of her house at 5 am when the police arrived. She ran out and asked why they were being taken, she said. “I did not get a reply,” she added. “I clung to the police officials, requesting them not to take my children. That’s when they pushed me and tore my clothes.”
As Muradbas emptied out, Hindu fundamentalist groups gathered elsewhere in Haryana and in Delhi’s suburbs (here and here), many of which overlap, calling for Hindu unity, the removal of Muslim businesses and attacks on Muslims.
“Wherever you see them (Muslims), break their faces,” said Bajrang Dal leader Neeraj Vats, who went live on Facebook on 2 August calling for retaliation to the attack on the rally.
By 5 August, right-wing propaganda websites and news channels aligned with the ruling party were propagating incendiary fake news related to the Nuh violence, including allegations that Hindu women were dragged out of temples and raped, an accusation that the police strongly denied.
“No complaint of rape or sexual assault has been received till date,” said additional director general of police Mamta Singh. “This is false information, and I can say this because I was there the entire time.”
After police denials, most tweets based on false claims were quickly deleted.
Indeed, our reconstruction of events showed how social media—especially posts linked to the absconding Hindu vigilante Monu Manesar and another called Bittu Bajrangi—were at the heart of the events leading up to the Muslim attack on the Hindu procession.
Cow Vigilante Wanted For Murder Calls Hindus To Arms
On 31 July, the annual Hindu procession in question started from an ancient Shiv temple in Nuh called Nalhar Mahadev Mandir. Surrounded by hills, the temple is said to be hundreds of years old.
Speaking to Article 14, Deepak Sharma, the priest of the temple—currently a base for paramilitary and police forces—said a “huge crowd” gathered inside the temple for shravan maas, the start of a month dedicated to worshipping Lord Shiva.
Many among the crowd were armed with swords and firearms, as this video from the news channel Aaj Tak made clear. Guns were fired at least four times, the police stood by, and Bajrang Dal asked the reporter to stop recording.
Atu-Ul Khan of Muradbas said that he and Muslims from other villages had met a police official on 31 July to act against the processionists. “We saw them firing guns in the air,” said Khan. “The police official then asked us to leave immediately from the area, and we did.”
On 2 August, union minister of state and Gurugram member of Parliament (MP) Rao Inderjit Singh demanded to know how those in the procession were carrying weapons.
“Kisne hathiyar diye unko is procession mein le jaane ke liye? Koi talwar leke jata hai procession mein? Lathi-dande leke jata hai? (Who gave weapons to those in the procession? Does anyone go to a procession with swords? With sticks and lathis?” Singh told the Indian Express.
On 30 July, a day before the procession, Manesar the Hindu vigilante known for Islamophobic videos (here, here and here) and wanted for murder, put out a video, asking his followers to join a Hindutva rally in Nuh.
The prime accused in the murder of two Muslims from Rajasthan in February 2023, Manesar has not been arrested, even though he is active on Instagram, where he routinely shares videos of vigilantism, and has addressed press conferences.
The rally was a Hindu religious procession called a Braj Mandal yatra, scheduled for 31 July, one of many organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal since 2021 to mobilise Hindus. The yatra and the Shiv Mandal procession started together from the temple.
Muslims in Nuh told Article 14 they were angered after Manesar’s video was released, in particular because he had not been arrested for the arrest of the two Rajasthani men, Junaid Khan and Nasir Hussain. They were allegedly burnt alive by members of a Bajrang Dal unit led by Manesar, their vehicle and bodies reduced to ashes, as we reported.
Angry Muslims Mobilise In Mewat, Attack Procession
After Manesar’s video went viral, some Mewati Muslim youth responded by posting their own videos, demanding his arrest and warning the district administration not to allow him into Mewat.
Despite repeated requests and meetings, the Haryana police did not react, The Wire reported on 3 August. Responding to criticism that the police were either unprepared or complicit, Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala said the rally organisers had not given the administration an accurate idea of how many would attend.
The same day that Manesar released his video, Bajrangi, the other cow vigilante, from the Haryana town of Faridabad, released two videos (here and here) threatening violence in Mewat. “Baap to baap rahega, goli woli challengi, goli pe goli challengi... (The father will remain the father. Bullets will be fired. Bullet upon bullet will be fired…).”
These videos went viral and created further tensions.
A few hours earlier that day, Surendra Jain, VHP general secretary also delivered an Islamophobic speech at the Nalhar Mahadev Mandir.
“We have to change the face of Mewat,” said Jain. “This is not the land of those murderers… Mewat is not the land of ISI agents… Why are Muslims of India killing cows?... But Hindus are going to win no matter what”
On the day of violence, Bajrangi was present at the rally, and in a live Facebook post asked Hindus to gather in large numbers, collect stones and keep them in their cars. “The rally was peaceful, but these jihadis burnt a bus. They are trying to stop us… (collect stones). All brothers come out; we will show them…”
A bus was indeed burnt, after which the violence escalated, said eyewitnesses, but both sides said the other was responsible. A Hindu at the rally, speaking on condition of anonymity, accused Manesar’s men of burning the bus.
P* whose brother A* had joined the rally from Faridabad, narrated to Article 14, on condition of anonymity, his brother’s account of the Bajrang Dal rally.
“My brother had gone to join the religious rally, but when he reached the yatra, he was shocked to see guns held by many there,” said P, who alleged that the violence was provoked by Manesar’s group, after which the Muslims, who were already agitated, started hurling stones.
“No (Hindu) local was involved,” said Mustafa Badaf of Nuh. “This mob had come from Faridabad under the wing of Bittu Bajrangi. He had been sharing videos using provocative language. First, it was Monu Manesar and then him.”
“Everything was peaceful till 12:30 pm, but when the yatra left around 2 pm tensions began,” said Deepak Sharma, the village priest.
While OpIndia, a right-wing propaganda website, alleged that devotees were held hostage inside the temple, Deepak Sharma, the Nalhar Mahadev Mandir priest, said these were false claims.
“A lot of people who had come to offer their prayers could not leave due to the violence outside the temple,” said the priest. “But no one was held hostage inside the temple.”
On 2 August, the television news channel India Today released videos that showed the Bajrang Dal, VHP yatra and the main procession being attacked with stones hurled from surrounding hilltops by Muslims near the Nalhar Mahadev Mandir.
In a now widely shared video, a man identified as Ashok Baba, who calls himself a Bajrang Dal “activist” is seen shooting a rifle from the temple. A lawyer, Baba told OpIndia that he opened fire “in self-defence”.
The violence quickly spread to Nuh city, 3 km east of the Nalhar Mahadev Mandir. After the eruption of violence, Bajrang Dal leader Neeraj Vats ordered his supporters to attack Muslims elsewhere in Haryana.
‘These People Have Crossed All Limits’
Manish Sharma, 24, was upset, as he stood with his brother Mohit Sharma and other Hindus outside a mosque in Nuh city and talked about the destruction of his cloth shop, allegedly by Muslims. A pile of stones divided the Hindu neighbourhood from its Muslim neighbours.
“The violence was started by the Muslims,” said an angry Sharma, whose shop was the only one burnt in a line of others owned by Hindus. “Ye hamari dukan hai, isme se samaan loota aur phr aag bhi laga dee (This is my shop, they looted and burnt it),” he said, referring to Muslims.
Opposite Sharma’s shop was a burnt furniture shop, belonging to a Muslim. Its shutters were down, and it was not clear whether the owner had fled.
“These people have always been notorious,” said Mohit Sharma. “But this time they have crossed all limits.”
Hindu residents who had gathered outside Sharma’s shop accused Muslims of attacking their neighbourhood, vandalising shops and houses.
Apart from the Sharmas’ shop, the windows of two houses were broken, and the verandah of a small Shiv temple was filled with stones, its gate broken. Vinod Sharma, one of the residents, said Muslims hurled stones at the temple.
Vinod Sharma accused Muslims, especially those who had come from neighbouring villages, of attacking the procession. He said the rally was peaceful. “These Muslims had swords and pistols,” he said. “They even fired guns in the air. We had nothing to defend ourselves with.”
Told of evidence that the Bajrang Dal had weapons, the Hindu residents emphasised how the violence was started by the Muslims.
“The Bajrang Dal was defending the police, who were attacked by the Muslims,” said Vinod Sharma, who argued that Manesar was not to be blamed for instigating the violence.
“Monu Manesar was not even here,” said Vinod Sharma. “This was a religious rally and nothing else.” As the others nodded in agreement, Vinod Sharma said: “We don’t care about Manesar, this is about survival now.”
‘Do They Know The History Of Mewat?’
In Muradbas, the accusations of somehow being against Hindus, and by implication, against India, of being called jihadis or ISI agents, is a matter of concern and anger.
“They call us Pakistanis and anti-nationals? Do they know the history of Mewat?” Mohammed Abuzar, a resident of Muradbas said. “We fought the Mughals and the British. Mewatis are known all over the country for this.”
“They are rounding up our children, while our ancestors fought for this land,” said a sorrowful man in his late 60s, one of the few men who had not fled the village. “It is so sad, my heart is in pain.”
A similar sentiment was echoed by deputy chief minister Chautala, who said the people of Mewat fought for India’s independence and resisted the Mughals, something that finds mention frequently in historical accounts.
“Even a hundred years later, under the leadership of Ikram Khan, they gave trouble to Aurangzeb, the last of the great Mughals,” writes Hashim Amir Ali in his 1967 book, The Meo of Mewat.
Monu Manesar, The Teflon Vigilante
Muslims in Nuh blamed Manesar for instigating the violence and accused the Haryana police of failing to not just arrest him but let the yatra continue with his men, and those of Bajrangi, within the procession.
Manesar, whose real name is Mohit Yadav, heads a gang of Hindu vigilantes. He first came to public attention in 2019, when he released a video where he was seen shooting at alleged cattle smugglers.
Manesar, who gets his name from the Haryana town in which he lives, was associated with a district cow protection team, given semi-official status after the Haryana government passed a cow-protection law in 2015.
Manesar joined the Bajrang Dal’s Manesar branch in 2011 and is now the organisation’s district president. Thousands followed him on Facebook and YouTube (both accounts have been suspended), where he regularly railed against and boasted of “catching cow smugglers”, meaning Muslims.
Those who have followed Manesar’s rise note his proximity to politicians (here and here) and how rewards followed his deeds.
“It is important to understand that there is a meticulous kind of merit system, wherein a lot of younger men, who get recruited to the ranks of extremist organisations, like the Bajrang Dal and the VHP, have to constantly prove their allegiance and value,” said Sumedha Pal, an independent journalist who has chronicled the rise of the Hindu right.
While communal tensions in Nuh have risen over two years, protests against cow vigilantism escalated after Nasir and Junaid were murdered.
In response to questions about Manesar’s apparent immunity from arrest, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on 2 August that the Rajasthan police were free to act against him.
“We will extend all help. Rajasthan police are free to act against Monu Manesar,” said Khattar, the day Manesar gave an interview to the television news channel Zee News.
A day later, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted that the Haryana chief minister hoped to divert attention from his failure to check violence in Haryana.
“The chief minister of Haryana, Mr Manohar Lal Khattar gives a statement to the media that he will help the Rajasthan police in every possible way,” tweeted Gehlot. “But when our police went to arrest the accused of the Nasir-Junaid murder case, the Haryana police did not cooperate.”
Meanwhile, Islamophobic speeches and marches by right-wing Hindu groups swept through Haryana and Delhi, with no attempt by police to stop them, even though prohibitory orders banning the assembly of more than five people were in force.
*Denotes identities hidden on request
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the latest death toll.
(Nikita Jain is an independent journalist based in New Delhi.)
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