Palpable fear among Jatavs in Bisada after UP lynching

Insecurity has also pervaded the Jatavs, another minority community in the area, following the assault in Bisada on Mohammad Ikhlaq and his son.

Insecurity has also pervaded the Jatavs, another minority community in the area, following the assault in Bisada on Mohammad Ikhlaq and his son on Monday.

Heavy police force was deployed in the village after the lynching of Mohammad Ikhlaq by a mob, at Bisada village in Greater Noida, India.(Burhaan Kinu/ HT Photo)

Bisada has a population of nearly 15,000. Of these, 360 are Muslims, about 300 Jatavs and the remaining are Rajputs.

Like the Muslims in the village, the Jatavs also live in the clusters of four to eight houses scattered on the periphery of the village.

Though the Jatavs have not yet migrated from the village, there is a palpable fear among the community members.

“We have been advised by our parents to return home before nightfall. Earlier, there was no such restriction and we would roam about freely in the village even late in the evening. If it happened with the Muslims, it can happen with us as well,” said Surender Kumar (name changed) in his late 20s.

Another resident in his late 20s, Vipin (name changed), said he had discussed the issue with more than four families in the community in the village after the attack on Ikhlaq’s house.

“The village has a history of clashes between the Jatavs and the Rajputs. But earlier it was limited to slapping and exchanging blows between the members of the two communities. But this time it was a mob lynching of a Muslim. The same incident can happen with us,” he said.

Two years back, a land row had resulted in a violent clash between the Jatavs and the Rajputs. There was no casualty, but it led to a rift between the two communities.

However, inter-dependence between the communities had started to melt some of the acrimony between the two groups. But Monday’s attack seems to have re-instilled fear among Jatavs.

However, Surender said they would stay put. “We have been living here for ages. My ancestors have lived here for generations. How can we think of leaving this place? But certainly, things are not going to be the same as they were before Monday night,” he said.