Author:
Publication: Deccan Herald
Date: October 5, 2004
URL: http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/oct052004/n15.asp
Hindu organisations are up in arms
in Haryana against the government's decision to create a new Muslim dominated
district in the state.
Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash
Chautala has announced creation of a new district, named "Satyamewapuram."
It will come into existence from November 1 as the 20th district of the
state.
The new district has been carved
out of the Mewat region of Haryana which is a Muslim-dominated region.
The announcement which has come just a few months ahead of the coming Assembly
elections in the state is fast acquiring political overtones with Hindu
organisations protesting the move.
These include the Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(VHP), the RSS, the Arya Samaj, 'Sanatan Dharma Sabha' and the 'Haryana
Gaushala Sangh.' These organisations are planning elaborate awareness campaigns
and protest marches, blockades and dharnas.
The VHP north zone chief, Kailashji
has warned that the government move would create communal tension in the
region. "It is unfortunate that the government is creating the new district
on religious grounds. It is a dangerous precedent and might disturb communal
harmony in the state," he added.
A "maha panchayat" of the Hindu
organisations last week had unanimously resolved to oppose the creation
of the new district. The VHP had organised state wide protests two weeks
back against the move and had also handed over a memorandum to the Governor.
Seeking to tide over the protests
from Hindu bodies, the Chief Minister has shrewdly decided to name the
new district as "Satyamewapuram." Announcing his decision at Nuh, which
will be the headquarter of the new district, Chautala said the creation
of the district would help in the speedy development of the backward Mewat
region. He said the people of the Mewat region would no longer have to
travel to far-off Gurgaon, within which the Mewat region falls, for any
work.
The Congress has reacted in a subdued
manner to the creation of the new district. The former HPCC chief, Birender
Singh has termed the creation of the new district as the victory of the
Congress' efforts to create a separate Mewat district. He said the party
had been in favour of the new district as it had set up a Mewat district
congress unit way back in 2001.
