They started taking measurements of the house. So we asked them 'what is the matter?'
So they told us it would be acquired for 'safety' reasons.
'We will demolish the house and provide compensation.'
We don't have any power.
We are working class people. And we are unemployed.
Now how will this powerful man respond? There will be difficulties.
Due To Security Reasons, Muslim Homes Near Gorakhnath Temple Will Be Vacated
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Gorakhpur: Homes of Minority Near Gorakhnath Temple To Be Emptied, Compensation To Be Provided
Everyone is unemployed. Can the Baba (Yogi Adityanath) hear us as well?
We are hopeful that Baba (Yogi Adityanath) will do good by us.
As far as our homes are concerned, they are priceless.
Generations have gone by.
So we don't want to give our homes away so easily to Baba (Yogi Adityanath).
He should think about us.
We don't want to give our homes away for any price.
We have bond of a hundred years with our homes. Our emotions are rooted here.
Our sisters and daughters have had their marriages here.
Our parents have had their funerals from this place.
How can we give away this land and this home away?
For the last ten years, I have been on medication for depression, blood pressure and diabetes.
Hearing all this, I'm afraid that my children may have to go through another tragedy.
That their father has passed away.
The Gorakhnath Temple of Gorakhpur.
The Head Priest of the temple is Uttar Pradesh's Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
This temple, which has a global significance, has been a center of belief for millions of Hindus.
But in the last few years of the Yogi Adityanath regime, this temple has been surrounded by controversies, often making headlines.
Right now, the controversy involves the Muslim families that reside in the localities at the periphery of the temple.
Allegedly, the Muslim families that have been living around this area for decades are being asked to vacate their homes.
'Security concern,' is the reason being given behind this move.
Namaskar. This is Mukul Singh Chauhan.
Right now, we are in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh
Right behind the Gorakhnath Temple.
The same Gorakhnath Temple which is headed by the state's chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
On 27th May, the houses that are located southeast-west of the temple, were measured by authorities.
These houses belong to people from the Muslim community.
There are 11 houses.
They undergo a measurement exercise along with a graveyard.
On 28th May, the people living here are given a 'consent letter'.
The 'consent letter' did not contain any details regarding who had compiled it.
There are neither any stamps on it nor any evidence to ascertain its validity.
The people are then made to sign this letter, which says that in keeping with the security concerns of Gorakhnath Temple
the people shall willingly give away their homes to the administration.
This is what is written in the consent letter.
We are now in Gorakhpur to understand how these people signed that document.
Was there any pressure on them by the adminstration?
How does it happen that some day officials from the administration arrive at your homes and conduct measurements of the land
and then tell them to sign consent forms stating that they are willingly giving up their properties to the administration?
We are here to get answers to those questions and investigate what this entire matter is exactly.
On 27th May, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate and the Lekhpal (accountant officer) arrived suddenly.
Some police officers accompanied them.
They started taking measurements of the house. So we asked them 'what is the matter?'
So they told us it would be acquired for 'safety' reasons.
'We will demolish the house and provide compensation.'
Reporter: And what about these forms that were signed on the 28th?
On the 28th, the Kanungo (revenue clerk officer) and the Lekhpal arrived.
They pressurized us and didn't even show the entire letter properly.
And we signed them.
And then we saw that the letter was something else.
When we realized, we changed our minds.
And now we don't want to give our homes to the government at all.
We have been living in these houses for more than a 100 years.
And we have small businesses here.
Reporter: As Mr. Javed has suggested, that on the 28th, the Kanungo and the Lekhpal arrived and put pressure on the people
Reporter: What is your name? And could you tell us what this entire issue of pressurizing is?
My name is Musheer Ahmad.
They pressurized us by saying that 'you can't have a face off with the administration'.
They started to remind us of how Mukhtar Ansari's house was demolished and what Azam Khan had to go through.
They put such pressure on us and got our signatures.
They told us that this document has no value.
The District Magistrate also said the same saying that this document doesn't have the sign of a higher officer or the DM.
At that time, we became a bit relaxed. Whatever has happened has happened.
But today, we are reading in the newspaper again about new statements being made that our houses are going to be acquired by the government for protection.
We don't want to give away our houses. We have a bond of a 100 years with this place.
Our sisters and daughters have had their marriages here.
Our parents have had their funerals from this place.
How can we give away this land and this home away?
We have hope with the Baba (Yogi Adityanath).
The people who came to get our signatures told us that Baba (Yogi Adityanath would give us a good offer.
So I said to them, 'It isn't written here that we will get a good offer.'
'You're only saying this. Baba (Yogi Adityanath) hasn't written it himself. So make us meet him and I'll sign.
Everyone had signed. Only I was left.
Later when I came, I was told that everyone had signed and that if I didn't, somebody higher would come and get the signature done.
So I signed it.
I didn't sign on one of the papers. I sent my son later on.
He was told the same thing. He became worried that they might pressurize me later on.
He told me that since everyone has signed, you should as well. Leave it to Allah.
Aside from this, we have high hopes with Baba (Yogi Adityanath).
The administration says that they are doing this due to 'security reasons.'
Has there ever been a situation in the past when these security concerns were raised before?
There has never been a security issue. There is a police station right here and another one inside the boundaries of the temple.
We don't have any power.
We are working class people. And we are unemployed.
Now how will this powerful man respond? There will be difficulties.
Discussing further on this issue, we spoke to Manoj Singh, a veteran journalist and editor of Gorakhpur News Line.
Whenever the government or the administration has to acquire land for development or security purposes, this is never the process.
This process has been done in an abnormal fashion.
Usually what happens is that the families are given all the necessary details and meetings and discussions take place,
And after several days of this process being conducted, their agreement, details of compensation and even rehabilitation is agreed upon.
After all this, the process is taken further.
We spoke to Mr. K. Vijayendra Pandian, District Magistrate of Gorakhpur.
Reporter: I am a reporter from The Wire.
We wanted your comments on the issue of the land transfer matter pertaining to the Goraknath area.
Could you tell us about the process of how this is taking place?
The residents are saying they aren't ready to give up their properties.
If they aren't ready, then they can refuse. How many aren't ready?
In our conversation, nearly all families said they don't want to give up their land and houses.
Okay, then..
With the elections close, there is unnecessary politics being played in this matter.
Every year there is a security audit here, conducted by the central and state team.
The suggestions provided by them have to be implemented and an 'action taken' report has to be given.
This time, the suggestions, which are based on the threat perception included the establishment of a structure.
At the entry point, a vehicle frisking point and a control room had to be established.
And a room for a CO level officer along with a barrack. All of this were part of the proposals.
We were looking for land to establish all this. The other lands had already been allotted for fire stations and other establishments.
We placed this proposal in front of the local administration and local residents.
We needed the space, so that a car entering through the gates could be screened.
They were giving up 4-5 of these areas for the security of the temple.
Reporter: There are 11 houses.
At the entry point, there are 3-4 houses who were ready to give the lands. They were to be compensated according to the government scheme.
Understand this, this is a government scheme. It has nothing to do with the temple.
It is a government scheme to protect terrain and provide security according to the yearly plans.
We are in a democratic country. Those who want to give their lands can do so securely,
Otherwise, end it there itself. If they don't want to give, then they don't have to. We will look for land elsewhere, what's the big deal?
There are too many questions and too little answers.
When the Temple and its Muslim neighbors have been living with next to each other for ages, how did security suddenly become a concern?
These people, who have been settled here for decades, have been struggling with the methods of the administration.
Here, some work in the flour mill or own a cellphone repair store.
Their shops are right under their homes.
But even as the fear of losing their homes and their businesses looms large on their faces.
Can they speak openly about the injustice that they face?
The apprehension, which is evident on their faces, silently answers that question.
We have been thinking about this only. When the Baba (Yogi Adityanath) comes, we'll get to speak to him.
We will get to tell him what is in our hearts to him.
I am also not well. My husband isn't with us, my eldest son is working to keep his family fed. I have three of my sons with me in this house.
None of them are employed. The Baba (Yogi Adityanath) should hear us as well.
We are hoping he'll do right by us.
We have a lot of hopes with Yogi ji, that he will hear us out and take a good decision.
And that our homes will stay intact. We are hanging to this hope.
He will do right by us. We have high hopes with him.
It's astonishing how, despite this clear injustice, the people continue to hope for a solution by Yogi Adityanath.
But it may not be so difficult to understand why that is.
In the last 4 years, Adityanath has fearlessly pushed forward anti-Muslim politics.
And has strengthened his image as a Hindutva leader.
In such a situation, the minorities living in the very constituency of this leader, cannot legally challenge him or face him off in any way.
Rehman Manzil: 1945
But if these people are actually evicted under the pressure of the government, then it will be a blot for a democratic country that upholds law as the highest principle.
We spoke to the families in Gorakhpur.
And tried to determine what this entire matter is.
The people here say that they are hopeful that the Chief Minister of the state and Chief Priest of the Gorakhnath Temple, Yogi Adityanath, will speak to them.
And resolve their issues. This is what they are hopeful about.
They say, that in the past when they've had any trouble, they have approached Yogi Adityanath who resolved their issues.
Therefore, even now, in this issue, they are hopeful something similar may happen.
But this entire issue raises several questions.
Can officials from the administration and police force arrive at one's home and conduct measurements on any given day?
Then to be asked to sign a consent letter which has no officials name or stamps.
And ever since then, no official from the administration has made any communication of any kind with these people afterwards.
And now these people are living in the fear of losing their homes at any given moment and no one from the administration is speaking with them.
Several questions remain answered.
For these answers, we will have to wait and see what follows.
Reporting with my colleague, Seraj Ali, this is Mukul Singh Chauhan.