The story so far: On September 4, in Kanpur’s Rawatpur area, a few young men put up a lightboard at the entrance of a lane in Syed Nagar on the procession route with the words, ‘I Love Muhammad’, written in English. It was put up as part of celebrations around the Prophet’s birthday. Some Hindu groups claimed it was in contravention of rules of religious processions in the State. A scuffle ensued and after FIRs were filed against 15 unidentified people and nine identified persons, the row spread to other cities of Uttar Pradesh before brimming over to other States. It soon developed into a debate on the right to freedom of religion.

What happened?

While Kanpur witnessed little violence, Bareilly saw protests as well as the use of bulldozers on the private properties of some of those all

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