Report documents a pattern of targeted attacks on Muslims in Uttarakhand

A fact-finding report released by the Association of Protection of Civil Rights has documented dozens of attacks across Uttarakhand since late 2023, stating that Muslim communities in districts including Uttarkashi, Srinagar, Gauchar, Kashipur, Haridwar, Nainital, Dehradun, Udham Singh Nagar and Haldwani, as well as settlements inhabited by Van Gujjars, were subjected to arson, stone-pelting, vandalism, threats of eviction and forced displacement in what it describes as a pattern of targeted communal violence.

The report records that Muslim-owned homes, shops and religious sites were disproportionately affected during the violence, which frequently followed Hindutva rallies or the circulation of rumours framed around Muslim religious identity, while local administrations repeatedly failed to take preventive steps despite visible build-ups of tension.

It notes that in several locations, police personnel were present but did not intervene effectively, and that the registration of first information reports was either delayed or selectively applied, reinforcing allegations of institutional bias.

According to the findings, Muslim residents were often booked under preventive sections in the name of maintaining law and order, while individuals accused of delivering inflammatory speeches at public gatherings were rarely subjected to prompt legal action, even when video evidence was publicly available.

Data cited in the report indicate that prohibitory orders and preventive detentions were imposed disproportionately on Muslim residents following communal incidents, whereas organisers of rallies linked to Hindu right-wing groups faced few comparable restrictions, a disparity the authors describe as a recurring feature of discriminatory policing.

The report also highlights what it terms the growing use of collective punishment, with administrative notices threatening demolition, sealing of properties or eviction being issued without prior notice or hearings, actions it argues bypass constitutional safeguards and deepen marginalisation.

Beyond the immediate violence, the findings detail severe social and economic consequences, as many Muslim families temporarily fled their homes due to fear, with women, children and daily-wage workers bearing the brunt through loss of livelihoods and disruption to education.

Situating Uttarakhand within a broader national context, the report warns that the state reflects a wider trend of normalised targeting of Muslims through the combined use of majoritarian mobilisation and administrative power, and it calls for independent judicial inquiries, accountability for hate speech and strict adherence to constitutional protections to prevent further escalation.