A Muslim couple was forced to sell the house after protests by Hindu neighbors

A Muslim couple in India were evicted from their newly purchased home by their Hindu neighbors who said they would not let them live there because of their religion.

Hindu residents of posh TDI City – a high-rise residential area in the northern city of Moradabad – began protesting on Tuesday night after news of the sale emerged.

This incident caused a lot of anger in India after the video of this protest was spread. It showed one of the residents Megha Arora saying that Dr Ashok Bajaj, a resident, sold his house to a Muslim family without consulting them.

“We cannot tolerate a Muslim family living in front of our temple. This is also a question of the safety of our women,” he said.

“We want the sale of the house to be canceled and we ask the management to stop the registration of the house in the name of its new owners, we will not allow people of other religions to come and live here, we will not allow them to move in.” to protest as long as they don’t leave,” he added.

Most of the residents also visited the district magistrate’s office to file complaints. Outside, they shouted slogans against Dr Bajaj and the Muslim couple.

The protests had the intended effect. On Friday, Dr Bajaj told the BBC that a decision, mediated by the city’s representative, had been reached and the new Muslim owners would resell it to a Hindu family already living in the community.

Dr. Bajaj, who owns an eye hospital in the city and has lived in the community for more than six years, said he sold the house to this Muslim couple who are doctors and whose families have known each other for 40 years. The Muslim couple, he said, is no longer free to enter the house.

He added that the anger over the sale was “unwarranted” and he did not expect it to become national news.

The protest started after he introduced the Muslim couple to his neighbors as an act of kindness.

The dispute over the sale of the house, he said, “came out of the blue” as there are other Muslim families living in the colony and that “we have always had good relations with our neighbors”.

“The controversy is changing the structure of the city. Our intention was not to create chaos with this transaction,” he added, adding that “there is no law” against this transaction.

The colony also does not have a residents’ association that would need to approve the sale, he said. “Now they are awake.”

This is not the first time that Muslim residents have faced controversy in Moradabad for buying homes in a predominantly Hindu area. In 2021, residents and hardline Hindu organizations protested after two Muslim families bought houses from Hindus.

A separate life existed in rural India for a long time when different races and religions lived separately. Urban centers were meant to be melting pots where people lived together, regardless of their differences. However, in reality, many urban areas continue to be segregated.

Discrimination against minority communities, especially Muslims, is common in many Indian cities where many housing societies insist that dietary habits such as vegetarianism are not allowed.

Muslims in states like Gujarat and Maharashtra often say they cannot buy or rent homes in Hindu areas. A few years ago, Bollywood actor Emraan Hashmi made headlines with his own name he refused a flat in Mumbai because of his Islamic faith.

Tanvir Aeijaz, a professor of politics and public policy at Delhi University, says denying a Muslim couple the option to buy the house they wanted is “discriminatory and unconstitutional”.

“It is a violation of their fundamental and legal rights. This is a violation of human right to equality and freedom and if such cases increase, they threaten the constitution of India.”

Professor Aeijaz says there are special rights to protect Dalits (who were known as untouchables) and women who are considered vulnerable groups, “but how come there are no rights to protect Muslims who are the most vulnerable group in India”? he asks.

This incident caused great anger in India as many took to social media to express their anger.

“Welcome to #NewIndia,” comedian Akash Banerjee wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “A doctor sold his house to another doctor… Why on earth would that lead to a protest/uproar in the luxury housing community of Moradabad?” he asked.

“As a nation we always pride ourselves on unity in diversity. We should be ashamed of these incidents,” wrote John Brittas, a member of Parliament from the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Those protesting the couple “were not nameless, nameless people”, one user wrote on X. “They were people who were fearless and unashamed to publicly express their racism and lsIamophobia.”

Critics say incidents of violence and discrimination against Indian Muslims they have grown up in the past decade under the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Anti-Muslim incidents of hate speech have increased, reported in most BJP-ruled states – Moradabad is also located in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh. The BJP has been denying these claims.

Professor Aeijaz says that the incident in Moradabad “shows that the religious divide is deeply entrenched, that it is working on the ground”.

But, he says he feels hopeful that things will change for the better.

“Hinduism is based on pluralism. Most people I meet understand that hatred is against their religion. And that gives me hope.”

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