At noon on July 31, hundreds of devotees streamed out of the ancient Shiva temple in Nalhar village, in the Muslim-dominated district of Nuh in Haryana. They had just offered water from the Ganga, considered holy, to the shivling (a representation of Lord Shiva) in the temple, located amidst the picturesque Aravalli hills, and were set to proceed towards the Radha-Krishna temple in Singar village, around 50 kilometres away. The devotees were part of the Brijmandal Jalabhishek Yatra, a religious procession organised by the right-wing Vishva Hindu Parishad.
Soon after they began the second leg of their journey, the devotees were attacked by a mob. As stones were thrown at them, and vehicles and shops were set ablaze, the devotees ran back to the temple in terror. They sat huddled inside for five hours, as the mob surrounded the temple, which is believed by many to date back to the time of the Pandavas.
