A judicial inquiry commission has revealed startling findings about the demographic changes in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh. According to the report, only 15 percent of Hindus remain in Sambhal today, compared to nearly 45 percent at the time of Independence. The rest have migrated over the decades, leading to a major demographic shift.

The findings were submitted to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath by a three-member judicial commission, constituted after the Sambhal violence of November 24, 2024. The panel included retired Justice Devendra Kumar Arora of the Allahabad High Court, retired IAS officer Amit Mohan, and retired IPS officer Arvind Kumar Jain.

What the Report Reveals

The commission’s report describes several disturbing factors:

• Foreign Weapons Found: Made-in-USA firearms were recovered during the riots.

• Planned Violence: The report alleges that rioters were called from outside Sambhal with the intent to target Hindus.

• Religious Conversions & “Love Jihad”: The commission notes incidents of conversions and social activities linked to communal tensions.

• Historic Conflicts: Sambhal has seen recurring clashes between Pathans and Turks, with Hindus repeatedly targeted since 1947. This time, however, old rivalries also led to Turks and Pathans clashing among themselves.

The report claims that Hindus survived largely due to police presence in Hindu-dominated localities.

Political and Religious Angle

The violence was triggered during a court-ordered survey of a mosque in Sambhal. A local petitioner had claimed that a temple was demolished in 1526 to build the mosque. The first survey took place on November 19, but violence erupted during the second survey on November 24, leaving at least five people dead.

Amid the tensions, Sambhal MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq made controversial remarks, declaring:
“We are the owners of this country, not servants or slaves. The mosque was there, the mosque is there, and Insha-Allah the mosque will remain till doomsday. We will not let what happened in Ayodhya happen here.”

Earlier Findings by Civil Rights Groups

Before this judicial report, another 114-page fact-finding report was released jointly by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) and Caravan-e-Mohabbat. Prepared by activist Harsh Mander, advocate Ahmed Ibrahim, and researcher Prakriti, it highlighted issues with the survey process and documented the aftermath of the violence.

The Toll of Violence

At least five people were killed in the November 24 riots, which erupted following the mosque survey. The judicial report now raises deeper concerns, not only about the violence itself but also about Sambhal’s changing demography and rising communal fault lines.