‘Ye khade Mussalman, tok ke dikha do’: Hry farmer leaders

Chandigarh: Days after violence hit Nuh district in Haryana, leaders of farm bodies and khap panchayats on Wednesday announced that they won’t allow anyone to touch members of the Muslim community, reports The Indian Express.

Referring to threats given to the Muslim community members, farmer leader Suresh Koth, a khap leader from Hisar, said: “Ye khade Mussalman, tok ke dikha do. Saari khapen jimmewar hain (The Muslims are here. No one can touch them. All the khaps are responsible (for their protection).”

These leaders had gathered in Hisar’s Baas village to announce their determination to counter the communal violence in the state.

The farmer panchayat, which was attended by nearly 2,000 farmers from Hindu, Muslim and Sikh communities, was the first such event at this scale in Haryana after the recent violence. The event has significance in the backdrop of threats to the members of Muslim community and alleged resolution by a few village panchayats against the entry of minority community members in their villages.

Communal clashes broke out between the Hindu and Muslim communities during the Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra, a procession organised by the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, on July 31 in Nuh district of Haryana.

The violence soon spread to neighbouring Gurugram. The death toll in the violence stood at five, including a Muslim cleric and two home guards.

The farmers took a pledge not to participate in any type of caste or communal violence apart from efforts to restore peace. They also demanded that action should be initiated against those who are provoking people by uploading videos on social media.

Earlier, on Monday several organisations had undertaken a process in Jind ton while raising slogans of “Hindu-Muslim-Sikh, Issai”.

Local farmer leaders on Saturday had called for a Sarv Dharam Sammelan in Jind’s Uchana town and passed a resolution to work for unity of “Hindu-Muslim-Sikh-Issai”.