A group of Hindu inhabitants from Kundikala village in Surguja district in Chhattisgarh, India, swore they would not engage in commercial activity with Muslims, with a video of their oath-taking having gone viral on social media.
The video that surfaced on social media this week showed a large crowd of people with their right arms raised to take an oath to not engage with Muslims in any economic activity. The oath takers were heard declaring that that they would not engage in buying and selling of products with Muslims. They also pledged they would boycott working as labourers for and would not sell or lease their lands to Muslims.
According to The Wire, Surguj collector Sanjeev Jha said that local officials gathered information about the cause of the incident and it surfaced that there was a skirmish between Kundikala’s villagers and New Year’s Eve revelers from the neighbouring Aara village.
Jha revealed that following the brawl, some people from Aara allegedly ambushed a Kundikala resident’s house and attacked his family, including a minor girl.
The police took prompt notice of the incident and arrested the purported assailants, who were later released on bail, according to local Indian media.
The bail seemingly fuelled Kundikala villagers to protest outside their village and later take the oath that was seen in the viral video.
Responding to the incident, Surguja Superintendent of Police Amit Kamble revealed that the man responsible for arranging the oath-taking was identified, while further investigation was underway. Kamble stressed that authorities had not found the man to be affiliated with any political party.
