Pappu Khan, a Meo Muslim from an Alwar village, once had a strong bonding with local Hindu families. Pappu is a common name among Hindus. His father’s name is Roop Singh, his grandfather was Bhoop Singh and his great-grandfather’s was Chand Singh.The 50-year-old grew up in a Meo family deriving its cultural roots from Hindus, but the lynching in the name of cow protection has changed it all. The Meos and the Hindus, who once lived together in harmony, are now suspicious of each other.“Nobody could differentiate between Hindus or Muslims because of our common language, traditional attires and even similar rituals. That harmonious Alwar is now passé. Cows and lynching have taken over the cordial human relations people valued here since long,” said Khan, from Nasopur village near Ramgarh.Ramgarh BJP MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja is seen here as a dividing force. “Ahuja targets the Meos in the name of cow protection,” Khan said.Fear stalks Meo Muslims, especially the dairy farmers who are worst affected by the new socio-political order. They take caution even while walking next to their own cattle.In Alwar, cow vigilantes threaten, humiliate and loot people at will. It began with the lynching of Pehlu Khan and Ummar Khan in 2017 and continued till Rakbar Khan at Lalawandi village of Ramgarh in July this year. They were transporting cows when the gau rakshaks attacked them.“In our own country, we are branded as residents of ‘mini Pakistan’ or ‘Redcliff line’. BJP has never tried to take us along politically or culturally. Party leaders like Ahuja and Alwar MLA Banwari Lal Singhal back gau rakshaks,” said Kamal Khan, from Nangla Banjeerka village in Ramgarh assembly constituency.Hazipur and Nangaliya are among many nondescript Meo Muslim villages nestled in the Aravalli hills where their families rely on dairy farming. “We buy cows from Hindu cattle traders. We tell them beforehand that transporting cows will be their responsibility. Many Hindu villagers help us and sit in the trucks that transport cows,” said Hajar Khan, from Hazipur village where the Meo community has over 500 cows.The villagers have been demanding the government issue a license as a protection against the cow vigilantes.Villagers in Lalawandi, Alawada, Kishangarh Bas, Nagauwana, Hazipur, Kathumar and Bhiwadi echoed similar fears. Despite good monsoon, corps in many villages in Alwar have been destroyed by cows. “We sit in biting cold with a torch and a lathi at night. Cows let free on the roads enter our farms and destroy crops,” said Kamal Khan of the Nangla-Banzirka village in te district.Many in the community said candidates would no longer matter to them in this election, only parties do.

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