Targeting of Indian Muslims alleged in row over naming eateries by religion

Anger over police orders to display business owners’ names during a Hindu festival in BJP-governed Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand states.

Muzaffarnagar, India – For nearly two weeks now, Islah*, a Muslim, has been forced to close his restaurant situated along a highway in Khatauli town of Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district in northern India.

The venue, which seats about 100 people at a time and serves vegetarian food to people of all religions, is under pressure to display the names of its owner and staff members following a controversial order issued by the district administration earlier this month.

On July 2, police in Muzaffarnagar mandated restaurants and roadside vendors to prominently display their names to help Hindu devotees decide which food outlets to avoid as they observe the holy month of Shravan, during which millions of pilgrims walk along the Ganges River, collecting its holy water.

The pilgrimage, which lasts two weeks, started on July 22 and will end on August 6. Most devotees do not eat meat or fish during this journey. But critics said the move was intended to stop the pilgrims from visiting eateries owned by Muslims.

Similar orders were issued by the police in neighbouring Uttarakhand – both the states governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which, since coming to power in 2014, has been accused of persecuting the minority Muslims. BJP denies the charge.

“My restaurant is named after my father, and neither my name nor my father’s name indicates whether we are Christian, Muslim or Hindu,” Islah, 31, told Al Jazeera. “That’s why I have been directed to add names like Ali, Alam or Ahmed to clearly identify that the owner is Muslim.”

Islah said he has a