Protests are continuously happening in different areas of Himachal Pradesh.
New Delhi: Hindu society held a strong protest in Shillai of Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh on Saturday. Hindu Sangharsh Samiti had called for this protest. This protest was held on many issues including illegal mosque and infiltration and the protesters are demanding the government to abolish the Waqf Board. Hindu organizations say that illegal infiltration should be stopped and for this, verification of people of a particular community coming from outside should be done. Along with this, a demand has been made to the police-administration to take action against illegal mosques.
The demand to abolish the Wakf Board gained momentum
Hindu organizations say that mosques should be measured and verified in entire Himachal Pradesh and illegal constructions should be demolished after investigation. Apart from this, the demand to abolish the Waqf Board in Himachal Pradesh is also gaining momentum. Hindu organizations demonstrated in Sirmaur district on Friday regarding all these demands. Hindu organizations in Himachal Pradesh have decided to socially boycott illegal intruders living in the state. Hindu organizations say that without verification, shops will not be given to people coming from outside nor will any goods be purchased from them.
The dispute started from Sanjauli and spread to Himachal
Let us tell you that this whole story started from Sanjauli Mosque located in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, which has now become the story of every city. On 31 August, 2 groups clashed in Mahli, Shimla, after which 6 accused of fighting were arrested from Sanjauli Mosque. On 11 September, there was a fierce protest by Hindu organizations and the police lathicharged to control the crowd. Protests were started all over Himachal in protest against the lathicharge. On 13 September, a protest was held in Mandi demanding the demolition of the mosque. After this, there was protest against the illegal mosque in Bilaspur, Kasumti as well. On 19 September, a protest was held by Hindus in Nerwa, Shimla.
The entire controversy started from Sanjauli Mosque of Himachal Pradesh.
Sirmaur district has the highest number of mosques at 130
The Hindu side is constantly attacking the illegal mosques in Himachal. Hindu organizations are taking to the streets demanding the demolition of illegal mosques. Let us tell you that in the year 2021, there were 393 mosques in Himachal Pradesh, but now this figure has increased to 520. Of these, Sirmaur district has the highest number of 130 mosques where Hindu organizations staged a fierce protest on Friday. Hindu organizations claim that most of these mosques are illegal. This is the reason why the protest that started from the capital of Himachal Pradesh has now reached every city of the state and the demand for boycott of ‘outsiders’ is gaining momentum.
Demographic change is also a big reason for protest
The rapidly changing demography of the state is also considered to be a major reason for Hindus taking to the streets in Himachal. If we look at a statistic, the total population of Himachal in the 1971 census was 34 lakh 60 thousand 434 which increased to 68 lakh 64 thousand 602 in 2011. The growth rate of the population in 40 years was 98.37 percent. The Hindu population in Himachal was 33 lakh 24 thousand 627 in 1971 which increased to 65 lakh 32 thousand 765 in 2011. During this period, the growth rate of the Hindu population was 96.50 percent. Similarly, the Muslim population in Himachal was 50 thousand 327 in 1971 which increased to 1 lakh 49 thousand 881 in 2011, and the growth rate of the Muslim population in these 4 decades was a record 197.81 percent.
How demography changed in Himachal’s districts
Demography has changed rapidly in many districts of Himachal Pradesh. In these districts, the Muslim population has increased much faster than the Hindu population. See the statistics of demographic change in these districts:
- Between 1971 and 2011, the growth rate of Hindu population in Mandi was 94% while the growth rate of Muslim population was 202.04%
- Between 1971 and 2011, the growth rate of Hindu population in Chamba was 102% while the growth rate of Muslim population was 128.44%
- Between 1971 and 2011, the growth rate of Hindu population in Sirmaur was 110% while the growth rate of Muslim population was 203.67%
- Between 1971 and 2011, the growth rate of Hindu population in Kangra was 13% while the growth rate of Muslim population was 67.96%
Hindu organizations are preparing for a bigger movement
Many recent incidents added fuel to the fire in Himachal Pradesh. After this, the issue of illegal mosque started spreading among the people from Sanjauli to Mandi, Bilaspur to Nerwa. Now the situation is such that Hindu organizations are continuously protesting on the streets against the illegal mosque. Apart from demolishing the illegal mosque, Hindu organizations have many other big demands. The leaders of Hindu organizations say that if the government does not accept their demands, then an even bigger movement will be organized in the future.
