Dalits in UP threaten to adopt Islam if atrocities against them do not stop

Lucknow: In the wake of increase in atrocities on Dalits in Uttar Pradesh, the community has threatened to adopt Islam if violence against them does not stop. On May 9, the community has already displayed its resentment by holding a protest in Saharanpur. Around 50 families of the Valmiki community took out a procession in Moradabad yesterday, carrying idols of Rama, Ganesha and other Hindu gods. They took the idols to the Ramganga river and immersed them in the river as a symbol to say farewell to Hinduism.

The Valmikis said owing to continuous atrocities against them in the State, especially in places such as Saharanpur, more than 500 members of their community would be converting to Islam. The protesters also declared that they would re-build the Babri mosque in Ayodhya. Members of Bhartiya Valmiki Dharam Samaj, led by the outfit's national president Lalla Babu Dravid, shouted slogans against the ruling BJP and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, condemning his silence on the recent incidents of attacks on Dalits in western UP. “Incidents of attacks on Dalits have increased after Yogi Adityanath became UP CM.

Dalits have been targeted in Saharanpur, Sambhal, Moradabad, Meerut and other parts of the State. The perpetrators of these attacks are being shielded by the State Government,' said Mr Dravid. Meanwhile, in an effort to stop atrocities against the minorities,UP Minorities Affairs Minister Baldev Singh Aulakh has sought a detailed report from the Sambhal District Administration about the exodus of Muslim families from Nandrauli village after they were attacked and their houses burnt down ecently.

The Minister said that the CM has told the authorities that the exodus of any community should not take place in any part of the State. “The culprits should be punished, because the exodus of the minority community from the village is a shameful act. The Government will take all necessary action after it gets the report," he added. “Police has been asked to deal with the issue in a firm manner and provide round the-clock protection to minority residents of the village.

We are in touch with our party members in the area to talk to those who have left so far and bring them back to their homes," Aulakh said. “PM Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath believe in `sabka saath, sabka vikas'. Nobody is above the law," the Minister added. Around 55 Muslim families of Nandrauli in Sambhal, fled after being attacked and seeing their homes vandalised because of an inter-faith elopement on May 8. One Yasmeen's son had eloped with a married woman of the majority community from the village. (UNI)