2015 Ballabhgarh riot refers to the attacks on 400 Muslim villagers of Atali village
Ballabhgarh
Ballabgarh, is a large town, nearby Faridabad city and a tehsil (subdistrict) in Faridabad district of Haryana, India, and is part of the National Capital Region.Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
by locals, over the issue of land of
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
, allotted to the
Haryana Waqf Board
Haryana Waqf Board is a statutory board of the Government of Haryana in India.
History
Central Wakf Council was set up by the Government of India's Ministry of Minority Affairs, as an Indian statutory body in 1964 under Wakf Act, 1954 (now a su ...
. The riot left nearly 400 Muslims homeless and exodus of many families.
Background
The incident took place on 25 May 2015 in the village of Atali in Ballabgarh, Faridabad. According to the locals, the cause of the confrontation was a dispute over a 30-year-old mosque. In 2009, the Hindu community of the village claimed that the property belonged to the village Panchayat, while the Muslims insisted that the land belonged to the
Haryana Waqf board
Haryana Waqf Board is a statutory board of the Government of Haryana in India.
History
Central Wakf Council was set up by the Government of India's Ministry of Minority Affairs, as an Indian statutory body in 1964 under Wakf Act, 1954 (now a su ...
. In March 2015, the Faridabad court ruled in favour of the Muslim community. The Hindus however, continued to raise objections, with some advocating the demolition of the mosque because it stood adjacent to a temple.
Aftermath
A mass of 2000 people attacked the village using swords, bricks, and fire as weapons of choice. The mosque was torched and the Muslims of the village fled. Muslims believe that they were selectively targeted, citing instances such as the only shop burned in a vendor's market belonged to Muslim merchants and only the homes of Muslims were looted. An estimated 400 Muslims were displaced from their homes, many of them slept in the police station in the neighboring village of Ballabgarh.
The following day, Muslims began to protest at the Ballabgarh police station because no one had been arrested in relation to the crimes. One month later, still no charges have been brought upon those who committed the attacks.
Anti-Muslim violence in India
There have been several instances of religious violence against Muslims since the partition of India in 1947, frequently in the form of violent attacks on Muslims by Hindutva, Hindu nationalist mobs that form a pattern of sporadic sectarian ...