Maulana Shibli shows the notice issued to him for black band protest.
| Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP
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An eerie calm prevails across the surrounding areas of Sarwat village in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar, where the authorities have issued notices to at least 300 people and asked them to furnish a bond of ₹2 lakh each for wearing black armbands during Friday prayers to protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
The Lok Sabha passed the Bill on Thursday, and Parliament on Friday (April 4 ) cleared it after a nearly 14-hour debate in the Rajya Sabha.
Constant surveillance
In Muzaffarnagar, shops have opened, and people have returned to work, even as they are worried about the police’s constant surveillance during Friday prayers. Founded in 1633 near Sarwat, most people in the predominantly Muslim locality run small businesses like clinics, restaurants, tea stalls, or sanitary stores.
On April 4, the residents wore black armbands during Friday prayers to protest against the Bill, a move that prompted police action. By the next day, 24 people were issued notices asking them to furnish bonds of ₹2 lakh each after appearing before the court on April 16. Later, Superintendent of Police (City) Satyanarayan Prajapat said that at least 300 people, who were identified through CCTV footage, had been served such notices for “disrupting peace”.
‘Symbolic and peaceful’
Sitting on a charpoy at his well-lit one-bedroom house, Maulana Shibli, who manages the Ayesha Mosque and sells medicines for a living, said it was supposed to be a “symbolic and peaceful” protest.
“Everybody here planned to wear a black band on their arms, and we were strictly told not to raise our voices or shout slogans. Even though the police were around, no one stopped us,” he said.
City Magistrate Vikas Kashyap issued the notices based on a police report. Police also say that more people are being identified.
One of the notices, which named five persons, read, “The opponents as mentioned above can disturb the peace by inciting the public and sending wrong messages.”
Fakruddin, 55, has gone back to his scrap business. Sitting outside his shop checking call logs, the father of five children believes dissent is no longer a topic for Muslims.
“I just wore a black shirt for namaz that day, and I was sent a notice, we’ve been told that we are disturbing peace in our neighbourhood when we quietly went to the mosque, prayed for five minutes and returned home,” he said.
‘Where does it end?’
“It is our democracy, and we should have the right to speak up, to be able to have a space… every time a person from Muslim community speaks up, either they are thrown in jails, or there’s bulldozer action, and now, we’re being asked to furnish a bond… where does it end?” he said.
Published – April 10, 2025 12:49 am IST
