Muslim man commits suicide after house demolished in Uttar Pradesh

A Muslim tailor, Aziz, died by suicide after his house was demolished and his sewing machine confiscated by officials in Lucknow city’s Akbar Nagar locality in Uttar Pradesh. After losing their home, Aziz and his family were forced to live in a tent. To support his family, Aziz took up tailoring. However, authorities seized his sewing machine, prompting Aziz to take his own life. He is survived by his wife and six-month-old daughter. 

Last month, officials started a militarized demolition drive of shops and homes in the over 50-year-old predominantly Muslim locality, which houses over 10,000 residents with approximately 2,000 homes and businesses. 

Decades-old mosque and madrasa demolished in Delhi

Civic officials in Delhi demolished the 52-year-old Faizyab Mosque and its adjoining madrasa located in a prominent area of the city. The mosque’s caretaker, Deen Mohammad, explained that his late grandfather built the mosque in 1972 on their ancestral land, and it was later registered with the Waqf Board,  a federal body that administers land used for religious purposes. 

Javed Ahmed, president of the Waqf Welfare Forum, reported the demolition was part of a larger scheme to gradually remove mosques from prominent locations. 

“Earlier, authorities turned many centuries-old mosques, shrines, and graveyards of Delhi into ruins overnight. Now, even those mosques with valid documents and original custodianship are not being spared,” he said. 

Uttar Pradesh government proposes life imprisonment for love jihad

The Uttar Pradesh government, led by Hindu supremacist Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has decided to enforce stricter punishments for “love jihad” offenses, with the penalty now extending to life imprisonment. The “love jihad” conspiracy, which has been repeatedly debunked, claims Muslim men have an agenda to seduce and convert Hindu women. 

As per the existing law, the punishment for such cases of an imposter marrying someone with a concealed identity ranges from one to ten years while religious conversions done only for marriage are held invalid. When the revised law comes into force, the guilty will be subjected to life imprisonment.