Clean Streets With Closed Doors? Muslims in Indore ‘Face Boycotts and Targeted Exclusion’

Indore: Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, which is often celebrated as the cleanest in India, is facing a growing unease that has nothing to do with sanitation. The city is witnessing rising social tension as reports of alleged discrimination and boycott calls against the Muslim community often come to light.

After targeting comedian Munawar Faruqui in the past, Eklavya Singh Gaur, son of BJP MLA Malini Laxman Singh Gaur, has made a new appeal. He has urged traders in Sitalamata Bazaar to remove all Muslim salesmen and asked Muslim tenants to vacate their shops within two months.

He claims that the market encourages what he calls “love jihad”, alleging that Muslim salesmen misuse their work to obtain women’s phone numbers.

However, many traders have rejected the allegation. Balwant Singh Rathore, a shopkeeper in the market, said, “I believe that no one’s livelihood should be snatched away. My partner is a Muslim, and together we run a shop.”

On September 27, 2025, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Digvijay Singh tried to visit Sitalamata Bazaar but was stopped, citing “security reasons”. He later met Additional DCP (Zone-4 Indore) Dishesh Agrawal at Sarafa Police Station regarding a memorandum submitted by Congress.

Outside the police station, Hindutva activists displayed bangles to Singh and accused him of supporting “jihadis”. Across the market, saffron flags were raised and posters declared it a “jihad-free market”.

The Congress had earlier (on September 15) submitted a memorandum against Gaur, demanding strict action and registration of an FIR. The party said the appeal was an attempt to destroy Indore’s long-standing culture of harmony. The police are accused of not actingnon that complaint so far.

Tensions have also spread to the Kankeshwari Mela ground over a fair contract. BJP MLA Ramesh Mendola had awarded the contract for the fair to one Mahesh Paliwal, who later handed it to a Muslim youth named Firoz. The Hindu Jagran Manch objected to this, saying it hurt religious sentiments and demanded immediate action.

On September 24, Mendola’s supporter and expelled BJP councillor Jitu Yadav (Jatav) said, “When contracts related to fairs and such religious and cultural events are given to non-Hindus, it creates resentment in the society, which can never be accepted. Firoz took the contract in the name of Mahesh Paliwal and then gave permission to people belonging to the Muslim community to set up shops and rides in the fair.”

Yadav said he checked all IDs at the fair and removed shopkeepers belonging to non-Hindu communities, allowing only a few Hindu women to keep their stalls. He added that the contract was taken back from Mahesh alias Guddu.

Both episodes have stirred concern in Indore, a city once known for its openness and shared traditions. The growing exclusion of Muslim traders and workers is being seen as a sign of deepening divisions in the city’s social life.