For several weeks now, some Muslim-owned shops in Aarla have opened to empty streets, say their owners. Longtime customers have stopped coming. At least one shopkeeper says he is preparing to down his shutters for good and leave in search of work.
This is the result of a social boycott, claimed Aabid Dange, whose family has been at the centre of the crisis. “No one comes to our shops anymore. We have had almost no business for weeks… I am planning to shut my grocery shop and leave the village in search of work,” he said. “We were attacked because we are Muslims, but instead of receiving justice, we are the ones paying the price.”
