Chandigarh, March 29, 2023 (PPI-OT): A video of cow vigilantes including Ashok Chhabra, the state government of Haryana’s media coordinator, and a BJP worker closing down meat dealers’ stores in Krishnapur city of the Panipat district, amid the holy month of Ramadan has gone viral on social media. In the video, cow vigilantes and Ashok Chhabra can be seen threatening owners to close meat shops and Muslim restaurants in the name of Hindu festival Navratri. In a video, a person can be seen closing down a chicken meat store owned by Muslim Gafoori Khan. Khan wasn’t present when they were doing so.
They also shut down a Muslim hotel. In addition, they were seen threatening the restaurant cook, saying that it was necessary for all meat shops to be closed on every Tuesday as well. In a clip, Chhabra said that the buffalo meat will not be sold here (Bade wala toh nai bikega bhai). Meanwhile, another member said we should put a complete ban on buffalo meat here. Muslim shopkeepers were forced to close their meat shops. This is not the first time that Hindutva Bajrang Dal members have shut down meat shops in BJP-ruled states like Haryana; these incidents have been happening ever since the BJP came into power in India in 2014. Similar incident was witnessed in 2021 where the Bajrang Dal members closed down meat shops forcibly in Faridabad city of Haryana.
Meat shopkeepers mostly Muslim described to media how challenging it would be for them to survive if their meat markets were closed. They had to deal with many issues, such as how they would make money and pay the rent for their stores. Last year, in September, Hindustan Times reported that the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon city issued an order directing meat shop owners to close their establishments for nine days, from September 26, 2022, to October 5, 2022, in observance of the Hindu festival of Navratri. Moreover, a fine of Rs 5,000 was imposed for opening the shop during these days. In addition to this, in 2018, 400 shops of meat sellers were shut in Gurgaon amid Navratri by the members of Shiv Sena. Approximately 300 members of Hindu organizations were assembled to close meat shops at different places, as reported by the media.
National Conference leader in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, in a tweet criticized the ruling BJP for attacks on Muslims and their shops. He said that “it would be fine to ban every “non-Muslim resident” from eating in public during Ramazan as Muslims do not eat between sunrise and sunset then.” He said if majoritarianism is right for India, it has to be right for IIOJK. Danish, a BA LLB student from Haryana, said that an attempt is being made to end Muslim employment by shutting down meat shops and hotels by the cow vigilantes in Haryana.
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