Eid al-Fitr was observed across India on March 21. After a month of fasting, it is a festival of shared joy and collective celebration. For residents of West Delhi’s Uttam Nagar, however, the day was overshadowed by anxiety and fear. Doors stayed locked. Public movement dwindled. Prayers were conducted under stringent police presence, with identity checks and a ban on outsiders entering the area. Over the past few weeks, several Hindutva vigilante groups had issued open threats of violence against Muslims in the neighbourhood.

Tensions began escalating after Holi on March 4, when a local dispute between neighbours over a water balloon ended in the death of 26-year-old Tarun Kumar Butolia in Uttam Nagar’s JJ Colony. According to his family, a young girl from their household threw a water balloon that accidentally splashed a Muslim woman passing by, triggering a confrontation. Later that evening, Tarun was allegedly beaten by a group of individuals; he died of his injuries on March 5. Neighbours said both families had long-standing animosity. Members of the accused family contended that Tarun’s relatives instigated the brawl and struck the first blow. According to the police, eight people sustained injuries and 14 individuals were arrested.

Over the following week, the incident acquired a communal dimension as several Hindutva influencers amplified narratives around Tarun’s killing and called for “bulldozer justice”. The bulldozers came. On March 8, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) demolished a portion of the accused family’s home.

On March 15, several Hindutva groups organised a rally under the banner of “Sarv Hindu Samaj”. Videos circulating on social media showed protesters issuing open threats and invoking calls for “Khoon ki Holi”. In one clip, a young man declared: “Hum unhe bilkul Eid manane nahi denge. Hume UP wala Yogi model chahiye, ya phir hume khuli chhoot dein, hum unhe batate hain” (We will not let them celebrate Eid at all. We want Uttar Pradesh’s Yogi model, or give us free rein and we will take our revenge on them). In another video, a protester said the only way to deal with Muslims was to throw a slaughtered pig outside their homes and mosques. The Delhi Police had not, at the time of writing, arrested any of the individuals making these statements, despite their being identifiable in the footage.

‘Where do we go?’

The neighbourhood—now heavily guarded and under constant patrol—has a mixed population of Hindus and Muslims, many of whom have lived there since the 1980s. Kamlesh Devi, now in her seventies, has lived in the area since 1970. She said the tension had been stoked by outsiders. “All of us in this neighbourhood maintained cordial relations. We would attend each other’s weddings and celebrate festivals together. How could we not? One is bound to share one’s joy with others,” she said. Residents, she added, stood to gain nothing from the violence.

The worst-affected area remains Block C of the JJ Colony. It is heavily barricaded, with the police restricting movement and prohibiting media entry. Nearly a quarter of the homes stand locked. Several Muslim families have left. Some residents attribute the departures to the festival season, but many houses remain empty because families fled amid fears of violence—households that would ordinarily have observed Eid in Delhi. “Look at the house in front of mine, all four floors, and even the house beside it is empty. All of them belong to Muslim families who have celebrated Eid with us here before,” Kamlesh Devi said.

Naseem Bano is among the few Muslims who stayed for Eid. “There was an unfortunate incident, but to magnify it into such a major issue was unnecessary. During the monsoon, our lanes overflow and water enters our homes, yet no one bats an eye. Now politicians, police, and the media all have time for us because it’s a Hindu-Muslim issue,” she said. Naseem’s two sons returned from different cities to celebrate Eid—the only time of the year the family reunites. “Our ancestral village is near Lucknow, but I have lived here for more than 35 years. Both my sons were born and raised in this area. This is home for them, not Lucknow. Where do we go?” she asked.

Political fallout and police silence

The incident drew political attention across the country. Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti urged the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister to intervene. In a post on X, she wrote: “Right-wing fanatics and lumpen elements in Uttam Nagar, New Delhi, are openly baying for the blood of Muslims and how rivers of blood will flow tomorrow on Eid. Understandably, this has caused considerable panic and anxiety amongst many Muslim families who have fled to escape the impending violence.”

Lok Sabha MP from Kishanganj and the Congress’ Mohammad Jawed wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, describing what he called a pattern of targeted hostility against minorities. “When threats are issued so openly, and yet go unchecked, it erodes public confidence in law enforcement and emboldens those seeking to disturb communal harmony,” the letter stated. MPs from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and the Nationalist Congress Party endorsed the appeal.

The social activist and Act Now for Harmony and Democracy founder Shabnam Hashmi said the police had failed to act against identifiable individuals spreading hate. “I saw a video of a hate monger saying he will rip the burqas of women and intends to rain violence on Eid. Why are these individuals, who are easily identifiable, not being arrested?” she asked. If the police detained even a handful, she argued, it would deter others. But the responsibility went beyond the administration: “When sitting Chief Ministers—and even the Prime Minister—indulge in making such statements, a sense of impunity is perpetuated across institutions,” she said.

Hashmi also pointed to what she described as a broader political failure. “Most politicians’ mindsets are now communal. They fear that if they go and urge peace, they will lose Hindu votes. A significant political decay has happened over the last ten years,” she said. Communal violence was not new to India, she argued, but the hatred was now part of a larger, state-sponsored design to polarise the country.

As the festival passed without violence, residents of the JJ Colony showered flower petals on police officials. The Delhi High Court has directed the police to maintain heavy deployments until Ram Navami.

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