Already struggling with jat-dalit conflicts and honour killings ordered by the khaps or caste councils, the Haryana administration now faces an communal situation in a Jind village where Muslim residents have been prevented from burying their dead.
Trouble erupted in Morkhi village after Hindu residents refused to allow the burial of 95-year-old Mauji Khan, who passed away early on Thursday morning, at the designated kabrastan (Muslim burial ground).
After several hours of trying to reason with the dominant community, the infuriated mourners placed Khan’s body on a charpoy and carried it all the way to Jind city where they staged a noisy protest before deputy commissioner Abhay Singh Yadav’s office.
They threatened to stage an indefinite dharna along with Mauji Khan’s body unless the were allowed to perform his last rites respectably.
Sub divisional magistrate Satyavan Indora, who was asked to inquire, found that while part of the old burial ground had been acquired for the widening of a drain, much of what remained was under illegal occupation by local farmers.
It was only well past sunset that the newly elected sarpanch of Morkhi, Sandeep Kumar agreed to surrender a patch of panchayat land as an alternate burial ground for the village Muslims.
But as old Mauji Khan still awaits his final burial, there is palpable tension in the village with many residents “unhappy” with the compromise. Officials said police have been asked to keep a close eye on the situation to preempt any further trouble.