Kashmiri Vendors Harassed in Yamunanagar Village; Forced to Chant Slogans in Viral Video

A case of alleged misbehaviour and religious intimidation has surfaced from Kalawad village under the Chhapar police station area in Haryana’s Yamunanagar district, where two Kashmiri youths who had come to sell shawls were reportedly harassed by local youths. A video of the incident has gone viral on social media, triggering widespread criticism.

The youths, identified as Nazir Ahmed Khwaja and Imtiaz Ahmed, had arrived from Kashmir on Monday afternoon and were moving from village to village selling shawls and bedsheets. According to reports, when they reached Kalawad village, some local youths questioned their identity, made objectionable remarks, and allegedly pressured them to chant slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai.”

In the viral video, a young man is seen threatening the Kashmiri vendors and warning them not to return to the village, saying their clothes would be snatched if they were seen again. During the exchange, one of the vendors is repeatedly heard asserting that he is an Indian citizen and refusing to chant religious slogans.

Following the circulation of the video, tension briefly prevailed in the area. However, some villagers intervened and managed to defuse the situation, after which the two Kashmiri youths left for nearby villages.

The video was shared on social media platform X by a user named Ashraf Hussain, who strongly condemned the incident and questioned the justification of forcing religious slogans on poor vendors trying to earn a livelihood.

Responding to the matter, Chhapar SHO Vedpal said the police received information about the incident informally, but no formal complaint has been filed by either side so far. He added that due to the absence of a complaint, no police action has been initiated at this stage.

Notably, a similar incident involving Kashmiri cloth vendors being forced to chant slogans and threatened was reported last month in Batta village of Kaithal district, where videos had also gone viral and sparked public outrage.