With four of his sons studying in different Madrasas in Gujarat and Mewat, Eid every year was a reunion time for Jalauddin and his family. But with the murder of teenager Junaid on Thursday, a couple of days before the festival this year, Eid will never be the same again for this family.
Seventeen-year-old Junaid was stabbed to death and his two brothers Hasib (21) and Shakir (23) injured when a group of people attacked them inside a crowded train following a dispute over a seat. The incident took place at Ballabgarh railway station in Haryana on Thursday evening.
While Junaid was studying at a Madrasa in Nuh, Hasib and two of his brothers had been studying at separate Madrasas in Gujarat for several years.
Recalling the good old days, Hasib said that Eid was the only time of the year when all the brothers would spend time with each other. “Now with Junaid gone, it does not feel like Eid today [Monday]. The Eid now will be marked by his haunting memories and pain every year,” said Hasib, choking with emotion.
But the pain and mourning is not confined to this one family in Khandawali village in Faridabad. It feels like the entire village has lost its loved one.
“The usual hustle-bustle on the eve of Eid was missing at the nearby Ballabgarh market the previous night after the moon was sighted. A shopkeeper told me that the turnout was low this year with several villages around being Muslim dominated,” said Saddam Hussain, one of the villagers.
Nassir Khan, another villager, added: “Even the children did not burst crackers and no one in the village bought new clothes this time around. The traditional fervour associated with Eid is missing. Even those visiting their relatives in the village have actually come to express sympathy to the family.”
The villagers said the streets swarmed with revellers and children all through the day on Eid, but wore a deserted look today, and the shopkeepers had also downed the shutters.
Wearing a black band around his arm, Ushman Khan, a customer executive with a private company in Faridabad, said there was a sense of fear, and many of his Hindu friends who usually visit him on the occasion of Eid had preferred not to come to the village. Ushman said the village youth, in a meeting on Sunday, had decided to wear black arm bands, against the advice of elders, in a silent protest against the incident.
“The elders did not want us to do so, but the youth decided to wear black bands as a mark of resentment and protest against the brutal murder. We are not happy with the response of the government towards the incident and the investigation in the case.
“It has been four days, but only one person has been arrested. No government representative has visited us,” said Ushman, adding that the Muslims were too scared to proudly proclaim their identity.
Around 300 young Muslim men from several villages in the region visited the family under the aegis of Mewat Yuva Sangathan on the occasion of Eid to express their sympathy.
“It is a serious matter and not an isolated incident. Similar incidents are happening across the country. Be it [Mohammad] Akhlaq, Pehlu Khan, DSP Mohammad Ayub, Dingerheri gang-rape or the murder of Junaid, the Muslims are being targeted across the country. We plan to hold a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar later this week and devise a strategy for the next course of action,” said Javed Khan, one of the members of the Mewat Yuva Sangathan.
