Even as communal tension is rife in West UP, one Jat-dominated village in Shamli district, adjacent to Muzaffarnagar, has been keeping vigils to ensure that its remaining three Muslim families stay unharmed.

These Muslim families refused to leave their village homes for relief camps ever since clashes erupted last Saturday between Muslims and Hindus, mostly Jat community members, over the killing of three youths. More than 40 people have died in the ensuing violence and thousands have abandoned their homes in neighbouring villages and towns for the safety of relief camps.

In Lauk village, one of the worst hit by the communal violence, at least 14 Muslims have been reported dead so far. With a population of about 15,000, the village is dominated by the Jat community. Muslims, numbering about 2,000, have all but deserted their homes after more than 100 residences were set on fire by a mob of nearly 200. Among the handful who have chosen to stay back are octogenarian Nizamuddin and his wife Nabiyan.

“We were born in this house and will die here. If our neighbours want to kill us, we will not say anything,” Nizamuddin told dna. “We have shared grief and happiness and we have celebrated Diwali and Eid together. These Hindus are nothing less than my brothers.”

“Rioters do not have any religion or caste,” said his wife Nabiyan, who hesitates on seeing the dna photographer’s camera. She has never had her picture taken. “I have been staying in this house ever since I got married at the age of 14. I wish to die here.”

Akbari, 60, whose only son left for a relief camp after violence broke out, echoes Nabiyan. “Humein toh jeena aur marna isi gaon mein hai (I wish to live and die in this village),” she said. “The villagers are like my family. Since Saturday night, my neighbours have been protecting me and taking care of my livelihood needs.”

Another 60-year-old, Yusuf Ali, said that the violence was the worst the village has witnessed in his living memory. “People are blaming Hindus, especially the Jat community, for the killings. But the same people are protecting us here,” said Ali, whose three sons left for relief camps set up by the district administration.

The village’s former sarpanch, Satyender Malik, told dna that villagers have been guarding the three Muslim families who have stayed back. “It is very unfortunate that some anti-social elements managed to kill the village’s communal harmony. But we are making all possible efforts to protect those who have refused to leave.”

A freelance writer, Ravi, claimed that he and his friends have been on 24-hour patrols for the three families. “We have been on around-the-clock vigils for the three homes. These families are like our own, and you never know when an outsider might come to kill them,” said Ravi.