Muzaffarnagar Muslim vendors singled out, 'forced to' display names

Muzaffarnagar, NT Bureau: Muslim shop owners in Muzaffarnagar district in western Uttar Pradesh have been coerced into displaying their names on the boards of their establishments.

Notably, the coercion happened due to a UP government ordering display of names on boards, which was then stayed by the Supreme Court (SC) on July 22. However, only Muslim vendors were forced into displaying their names on boards selectively beforehand.

The same was reported by Kaushik Raj and Alishan Jafri for the news website Article 14. The row intensified on July 17 when the Muzaffarnagar police account on the social media site X (previously Twitter) ordered that owners display their names on their eateries and shops.

Municipalities of Haridwar in Uttarakhand and Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh had followed suit by imposing similar conditions.

Cleric made demand first

The demand was made by right wing Hindu cleric, Swami Yashveer, who is based in Baghra town in Muzaffarnagar district. He had been lobbying for Muslims to display their names on boards since “Sawan” (monsoon) last year.

Yashveer had alleged that Muslims named their shops after Hindu deities to get business from Hindu pilgrims on the Kanwar Yatra route. The yatra will take place from July 22 and 6 August and attracts millions.

During the yearly monsoon pilgrimage, Hindu devotees visit “holy cities” along the Ganges River and collect “sacred water” and offer it to Shiva shrines afterwards.

Detractors claimed the demand that Muslims display their names on shops was rooted in casteist notions of ritual purity and pollution and was akin to apartheid. Moreover, article 15 prohibits discrimination on religious and other grounds, they reasoned.

On July 20, petitioners – including MP Mahua Moitra and activist Aakar Patel – filed a plea before the Apex Court challenging the order. On July 22, the SC stayed the order and extended the interim stay on July 26.

Employees from community sent on leave

Article 14 found that days before the initial SC stay, Muslim employees of Hindu-owned shops were asked to be sent on leave by the Muzaffarnagar police.

Moreover, the order to display names was selectively implemented against Muslims in Muzaffarnagar city localities like Vehelna Chowk and Shastri Market, besides Khatauli city in Muzaffarnagar district.

Mohammad Azeem (42) who has been running a paan and cigarette shop at Vehelna Chowk for two decades was forced to display his name on the board on July 9, which cost him Rs 1,200.

“People might see my name and stop buying from my shop,” Azeem said.

“I also fear that if any riots or communal conflict occur, it will be easy to target Muslim shops,” he added. Vakeel Ahmed, who runs a tea shop on National Highway 58, had a similar experience. He had changed his shop’s name from “Tea Lovers Point” to “Vakeel Sahab Tea Stall”.

However, cops said his “religion wasn’t clear” in the board, forcing him to change it to “Vakeel Ahmed Tea Stall.” The first board cost him Rs 1,200 and the second one Rs 2,300.

“During the Kanwar days, our business used to double,” Vakeel said. “But this year, since our name is displayed, we feel scared and will close our shop for ten days."

‘A form of untouchability’

Supreme Court advocate Shahrukh Alam told Article 14 that since the directions resulted in an explicit breach of rights, the police had to show under what authority they were issuing the order.

“It is not sufficient to say that it is being done to prevent law and order since it takes the illegal demands of some to ridiculous limits under the guise of preventing law and order issues,” said Alam.

“The argument that it is merely trying to make pilgrims aware of the vendor's identity (as opposed to their menus) is a form of untouchability that the State is instituting,” she said.