Shafee Ahmed Ko, siyasat.net
Hosur, Krishnagiri (TN): Bordering Hosur town in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu are some Muslim-dominated hamlets that present a typical scene of poverty, malnourishment, illiteracy and unemployment. Men crush stones nearby while young boys migrate to other cities for jobs. Young girls commute to Hosur town for daily wage jobs – some are lured with gifts while some others are physically assaulted by non-Muslim youths on and off.
Hosur, a town and a municipality in Krishnagiri district in the state of Tamil Nadu, has population of 84,314 (2001 Census). Tamil is the official language and is spoken by the majority of the people. Telugu and Kannada are also spoken in Hosur due to its proximity to the borders of states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
Poverty, unemployment
This correspondent visited some of the Muslim populated hamlets near Hosur town. Achath Palli, Basalur, Berki, Athimugam, Marson Palli, Chigar Palli, Mathigiri are the hamlets where Muslims live in abject poverty. At one hamlet there 200 to 300 Muslim houses.
The men work as manual stone crushers with hammers. They work from dawn to dusk with lunch break of two hours. They get Rs.100 to Rs.120. In monsoon they lose this job too, and suffer from accute poverty. The elderly persons remain as passive dwellers inflicted with sickness, malnutrition and counting days. Many young boys have migrated to other cities in search of job. Women are house makers, shabbily dressed, sick and fragile. Young girls visit Hosur town for daily job.
Exploitation of young Muslim girls
Each house has at least 3 adolescent girls. They are deprived of minimum possible education. They visit neighbouring town Hosur to work as manual labourers on weekly wages, deprived of Provident Fund, free medication etc. that are their rights under labour Acts.
There were reports that these girls become easy prey to gifts, and souvenirs such as mobile phones and simulated cheap ornaments mostly from rich non-Muslim boys and exchange sensuality and their parents feign inadvertence on such acts. The news that the Muslim girls are being gang rapped is quite appalling and shocking.
One of the advocates in Hosur claims that many of the Muslims boys are targeted by the police and booked under false theft cases. They are unable to come out on bail as they have no money. The advocate says, “This is one of the reasons that the boys do not wish to remain in the village. The advocate further says, “A Muslim boy who came out on bail is absconding for past two years fearing police harassment.”
Education
This correspondent found a village school and it was roughly 150 square feet, filled with fifty to sixty boys and girls from age group of 6 to 12. There is no single window for ventilation. There is only one entrance and no emergency exit nor any toilet. When asked, the villagers said the place was rented by them. They refused to send their wards to the government school that is far away from the village, and there are bushes on the way infested with snakes. There were some cases of snake bites.
The area, however, has some mosques, Dargahs and madrasas such as Yahub Dargah, Denkanikottai, Madrasa e Iqra Kalaikutta, Madras e Jamia Madinatul Uloom, Madras e Siddiquia, Madras e Aqsa Seeta Raman Nagar and Makka Masjid Dargah.
Suggestion
Ambur, Vaniyambadi, Visharam, Ranipet etc have number of shoe factories owned by Muslim elites. There is an acute shortage of labourers. These industrialists may set up prototype shoe factories in Hosur and employ these unfortunate and hapless women. Some textiles factories can be set up with some women entrepreneurs in the affected areas. Nationalized banks are keen to adopt such villages. All it means that, “Where there is will there is a way.”
