Hearing the term “unauthorized colonies”, the very few things which flash our minds instantly are poor sanitation, poor management and infrastructure, frequent electricity cuts and over population. One of the integral problems of unauthorized colonies, which mostly is unnoticed is the issue of illegally acquiring the land. As there is no proper documentation in such colonies and no proper legal framework in play, negative social elements take advantage of this and create a big menace.
Jamia Nagar, an unauthorized colony with Muslim majority population, which is hardly at a distance of 18 kms from the Supreme Court of India, the apex judicial body in the country has been a recent victim of few goons who are trying to acquire land illegally.
A very recent incident which came into light was that at Shaheen Bagh. Being a social worker, I tried following the issue and contacted a few residents. Finally, I came to know that a person named Wasi Ahmad owned the property since last twenty years and a year back he rented it out to a person, who ran a two wheeler repair shop in the rented premises.
Initially he shared a very healthy relation with his owner. But a few weeks earlier to the incident he was provoked by few people to illegally acquire the land. Being from a poor economic background he was initially reluctant but he did make an attempt. The owner, Wasi Ahmad when approached to him for the monthly rent, he refused, to which he asked him to vacate the shop. In response, he refused to vacate the shop, and even to the extent that he threatened and dared him to take any action.
Wasi Ahmad, a small business owner who had migrated from Bihar to Delhi in search of quality education for his children found himself in a very distressed helpless situation. Finally, he decided to raise the issue among the local residents to which the residents responded positively and supported him. People tried to settle the issue by talking to the tenant but it all went in vain. Later it came to notice that there was a big gang operating behind the scene. When all talks went in vain, the local residents decided to gather and vacate the shop by force.
On Friday, September 11, there were people with hockey sticks and other weapons sitting in the shop, sending the message that any attempt to regain the shop will cost them huge.
On Sunday, September 13 all locals united for truth and justice. More than 200 people united and went to the shop at 2 pm and asked to vacate the shop. In response, there were around ten goons who started to attack people with hockey sticks. One of the locals was seriously injured and was immediately taken to AIIMS hospital. This angered the locals, and they threw all the items from the shop and vacated it. They then handed it to the true owner Wasi Ahmad.
This incident comes as an eye opener for two different sides. One for the tenant, who got carried away by few negative elements and now no one, can trust him to rent their property. This is further going to aggravate his poor economic situation. The other side is that of the land owners like Wasi Ahmad, who rent out their property. It’s important for the people who rent out their property to have proper police verification and documentation done, which would help the police in case of some adverse situation.
At the end, the local residents of Shaheen Bagh have set an example that even in such fragile times; people are willing and will stand against any social evil. Their display of unity is a new hope and a big lesson for the goons who time and again try to create menace and disrupt the social harmony. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people who supported and to the SHO, Jamia Nagar and the Police officials and to the media for their kind cooperation and support.
Ahmad Tufail
Seoul, Korea
Note: This article was published in local online news portal on Sep 18, 2015.
(http://www.okhlatimes.com/local-news/south-koreabased-shaheen-bagh-resident-on-people-power180915.htm)
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