Muslim couple forced to sell house after protests by Hindu neighbours

A Muslim couple in India have been hounded out of their newly-purchased home by their Hindu neighbours who said they would not allow them to live there because of their religion.

Hindu residents of the posh TDI City – an upscale residential bloc in the northern city of Moradabad – began protesting on Tuesday night after news of the sale became public.

The incident resulted in a huge outrage in India after a video from the protest went viral. It showed one of the residents Megha Arora saying that Dr Ashok Bajaj, a resident, had sold his house to a Muslim family without consulting them.

"We cannot tolerate a Muslim family living right in front of our local temple. This is also a question of the safety of our women," she said.

"We want the sale to be revoked and are asking the administration to cancel the registration of the house in the name of its new owners. We cannot allow people from another faith to come and live here. We will not allow them to enter and continue to protest as long as they don't go away," she added.

Many of the residents also visited the district magistrate's office to lodge a complaint. Outside, they shouted slogans against Dr Bajaj and the Muslim couple.

Discrimination against minority communities, especially Muslims, is common in many Indian cities where many housing societies insist on food habits such as vegetarianism to keep them out.

Muslims in states like Gujarat and Maharashtra have often said they are unable to buy or rent homes in Hindu neighbourhoods. A few years ago, a Bollywood actor Emraan Hashmi had made headlines for alleging he was refused a flat in Mumbai because of his Muslim faith.

Tanvir Aeijaz, professor of politics and public policy at Delhi University, says denying the Muslim couple the choice to buy the house they wanted is "discriminatory and completely unconstitutional".

"It's a violation of their fundamental and legal rights. This is a violation of a person's right to equality and freedom and if such cases increase, they endanger the constitution of India."

Prof Aeijaz says there are special rights to protect Dalits (formerly known as untouchables) and women who are considered vulnerable groups, "but how come there are no rights to protect Muslims who are the most vulnerable group in India"? he asks.