Amrutha Avasarala, Pune
Dhaturia village in Madhya Pradesh decides to prohibit minorities from entering their village.
The village has collectively opted to bar minorities from entering, and banners were put up saying “Entry of Muslim and Christian traders in Dhuara Panchayat is banned,” and the traders were also stopped if they didn’t have Aadhar cards and proper identity.
The move was said to be taken to protect the women and children of the village from theft and any other criminal activities. Villagers were scared of traps like love jihad and took extreme steps. The traders could enter with permission from the panchayat office or by keeping the police aware of it.
Administration on Tuesday removed the banners from the village and in spite of this, traders’ Aadhar cards and identity details were checked before entering the village. Sarpanch, Bablu Yadav said that the decision was not taken by the panchayat but by the whole village unanimously and hence put up the posters.
“Our objective is to protect our women and children and to prevent thefts and other such activities. We are hearing of things like love jihad, and religious conversions, then there are thefts. We will continue to keep an eye on every visitor and check for their identity. They can sell products at designated places and not door-to-door after informing the police or taking permission from the panchayat. Thieves masquerading as retailers who conduct recce about the houses,” he said.