Bagh artist wants MP govt’s assurance on law and order

International award winning craftsman and expert in Bagh printing technique Yusuf Khatri is dismayed by the fact that no one from the Madhya Pradesh government has bothered to assure him that the communal incidents that rocked Bagh from January 6 to 9 won’t be repeated.

International award winning craftsman and expert in Bagh printing technique Yusuf Khatri is dismayed by the fact that no one from the Madhya Pradesh government has bothered to assure him that the communal incidents that rocked Bagh from January 6 to 9 won’t be repeated.

Yusuf Khatri’s family in Bagh. (HT file)

An anguished Khatri had told Hindustan Times on January 25 that he was thinking of quitting the country in the wake of the attack and inaction by the local police.

Khatri, whose brother Daud Khatri and son Abdul Kareem were attacked and an attempt was made to set his factory on fire during the communal incident, said that chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and home minister Babulal Gaur should assure him that they will get full security and there will be no repetition of communal incidents that took place in Bagh.

“I love my country. I was born here and want to die here. But someone has to assure me that there will be no repetition of what happened and we won’t be made victims again. If we get this assurance I will stay back, otherwise, my decision to move to the US remains firm,” Khatri said.

The Khatri family are one of the pioneers of making products with Bagh print and have been in the town for the last 50 years. The family, including Yusuf’s mother has received seven national and international between them.

Khatri said that the entire family was very saddened by the repeated communal incidents in Dhar, and that is why they had decided to shift base to Santa Fe, New Mexico, US.