Muslim traders in India ousted from markets after Hindu nationalist campaign
Banners declaring ‘jihadi-free bazaars’ fuel economic boycott in Indore as traders lose livelihoods and warn of deepening segregation
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — Muslim traders and salesmen in the central Indian city of Indore are facing an organized economic boycott after Hindu nationalist groups and trade associations endorsed calls to expel them from local markets.
Banners across the city’s cloth bazaars now proclaim “jihadi-free markets,” openly thanking political figures linked to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for promoting the exclusion.
According to Maktoob Media, the boycott began after Aklavya Singh Gaur, the son of a ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator, urged Hindu traders to terminate their Muslim counterparts. Market associations quickly supported the demand, erecting posters thanking him and warning shopkeepers against employing Muslim staff.
The move has left dozens of Muslim workers suddenly unemployed and fearful of returning to their shops. Mohammad Shakir Hussain, who had worked in the market for nearly 20 years, said he was shocked at how quickly trust evaporated. “My Hindu and Muslim customers both trusted me. After one speech, I am suddenly unwanted. How do I go back to a place where I am seen as a threat?” he said.
Other salesmen share similar experiences. Bablu, who spent more than five years working at a saree shop on daily wages, said his income disappeared overnight. “I used to earn enough to support my family. Now shop owners are afraid to keep me, and I have no job,” he explained, adding that even sympathetic employers fear retaliation from Hindu colleagues if they retain Muslim staff.
Some traders say they will never return to the old markets. “If markets don’t want us, we will build our own. We cannot beg for dignity,” Hussain said, calling on wealthier traders to support small businesses that could employ displaced salesmen.
Arbaz Sheikh, a shop owner, echoed the sentiment: “It is time we stand on our feet rather than on their shoulders. This extermination doesn’t seem to end.”
Others described how communal pressure forced them to shut shops despite longstanding Hindu-Muslim partnerships. Mohammad Nizamuddin, once a stable earner, said the boycott looked “premeditated” as traders quickly complied without protest. “They started implementing the order as soon as the call was made. That shows how eager they were to throw Muslims out,” he said.
Business leaders warn the segregation will damage Indore’s economy. Senior trader Haji Rashid pointed out that the city’s markets thrived on Hindu-Muslim cooperation, and breaking this unity risks destabilizing the trade ecosystem.
Already, Seetla Mata Market has seen a sharp decline in customers since Muslim workers were removed.
Rights groups have condemned the Cloth Market Association’s endorsement of the campaign, describing it as an attempt to normalize “economic apartheid.” Opposition politicians also criticized the BJP for stoking communal divisions.
Congress legislator Chintu Chaukse argued that most traders did not want to terminate Muslim employees but were compelled by intimidation. “Everyone here wishes to live in harmony. It is the BJP whose only motive is to sow and reap hatred everywhere,” he said.
Analysts say the Indore boycott reflects a broader Hindutva-driven push to marginalize Muslims not just socially and politically but also economically, raising fears of parallel markets divided along religious lines.
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