Not far from Delhi and close to Sonipat, a bumpy road leads to the village of Dewarhu. Dewarhu doesn’t stand out in rural Haryana — the same modest structures, some painted in happy colours; men in kurta-payjama, people with weathered faces; a few buffalos here and there. Looks, however, can be deceptive. As of last September, every Hindu house in Dewarhu carries a marking of an om or a swastika symbol. It’s common to see these markings since they’re considered auspicious. But in Dewarhu, they have a sinister edge to them. They weren’t painted by the house-owners, but appeared last September. Whispers in Dewarhu suggest the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha’s workers are behind these markings, but this is not confirmed. What is certain, however, is that the village has transformed from a place where a quirky hybrid of Islam and Hinduism thrived, to one that is now festering with communal tension.