DEHRADUN: Around 20 Kashmiri traders, long-time seasonal residents dealing in world-renowned shawls, garments, and dry fruits in Mussoorie, have been forced to return to Jammu and Kashmir.
Their departure follows aggressive protests by Hindu organisations in Uttarakhand, escalating tensions in the popular hill station.
The palpable shift in atmosphere across the country after the recent Pahalgam terror attack has reportedly resonated even in the serene 'Queen of the Mountains,' reaching the quiet valleys of Mussoorie.
These approximately 20 Muslim businessmen, primarily from Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir, pursue this seasonal trade as their ancestral profession. They were compelled to abandon goods worth lakhs of rupees locked inside their warehouse before their abrupt departure.
One of the affected traders, Mohammad Iqbal from Kupwara, shared his harrowing experience with TNIE, detailing the fear and lack of support they faced.
"What is our fault that this is happening to us?" Mohammad Iqbal asked, his voice heavy with emotion. "Is being from Kashmir our only crime? Our Prime Minister says Kashmir is our part and we are Kashmiris, yet despite this, why are we being killed? Recounting the events after the Pahalgam attack, Iqbal said.
"Seeing the sensitivity of the situation, we went to the Kitab Ghar police outpost in Mussoorie to ask for help. Even the police told us to leave, saying, 'We cannot save you'. We asked for time until morning, but we were not allowed to stay," he added.
Mohammad Iqbal, whose father has worked as a daily wager with the Indian Army for 30 years, broke down in tears while recounting this.
The 20 traders, split into groups of 12, five, two, and one, "somehow spent the night," Iqbal said. "As soon as morning broke, we left for Dehradun ISBT."
He further stated, "The Mussoorie Kotwal (Station House Officer) also told us the same thing: 'Leave this place immediately and go'." Iqbal asserted that in all these years, they have never even had an argument with anyone, focusing solely on their business.
"We are proud to live in India," he stated, "but our own people are killing us. Where is the humanity in this?" In a voice filled with anger, Iqbal said.
"If the perpetrators of the Pahalgam atrocity were to come before me, I would not fear the consequences of what I would do to them."
The Kashmiri shawl traders claim two of their companions were beaten and the incident filmed and circulated online, prompting panicked calls from their families back home and forcing them to abandon their decades-old business practice.
Narrating his ordeal to TNIE, Javed Ahmed Chopan from Kupwara said, "After the Pahalgam attack, Hindu organisations in Mussoorie beat two of our companions. Not only that, they made a video of the beating and viralized it on social media. When our families saw that video, they immediately asked us to return."
He added, "We have been doing our ancestral shawl work peacefully for the last 19 years, going to Mussoorie in summers and Dehradun in winters. Now, who will give us a livelihood?"
Nasir Khuehami, J&K Students Association convener, lamented the release of alleged attackers despite an FIR request.
He told TNIE, "I regret that where justice was to be served, at that very place justice was denied. What precedent are we going to establish?" Citing police sources, he added, "Police have argued that the accused involved in the assault have apologised, so they have been released."
Mohammad Shafi, originally from Kunamposhpura village in Kupwara, who has been engaged in this ancestral shawl business in Mussoorie since 1988, spoke to TNIE with a choked voice. "We are poor businessmen, we don't have money to buy shops, so every year we set up our business by putting up stalls on the roadside here," he said.
"I didn't even have money left to go back. Somehow, I managed to borrow from my companions to pay the fare and return." He highlighted his biggest worry: "My two sons and one daughter are studying. The biggest question before me is how I will pay their fees now."