BJP leader’s move against halal township seen as intolerance towards Muslim developers

A township project in Karjat near Mumbai has attracted criticism after its promotional video described it as a halal lifestyle community designed exclusively for Muslims, and the advertisement has triggered widespread debate on social media amid mixed responses, with some pointing out that since Muslims are often denied housing or refused rentals in Hindu-dominated areas, societies like this function as an alternative.

The controversy gained traction when National Human Rights Commission member and Bharatiya Janata Party functionary Priyank Kanoongo shared the video on his social media account on September 1, and he urged the Maharashtra government to take legal action against the developers, according to The Siasat Daily.

The project, promoted by Sukoon Empire, emphasised facilities tailored to the Muslim community, including prayer spaces, community gatherings and an environment where residents could live with like-minded people, and the advertisement portrayed this as an alternative to compromising one’s principles in wider society.

However, the framing of the township as a religiously exclusive space has been called divisive, and critics have described it as an attempt to promote segregation in the name of lifestyle choices.

Social media reactions have revealed a sharp divide, as some voices condemned the idea and equated it with communal separation, while others defended it as a response to the housing discrimination many Muslims face in urban India, where restrictions on renting or owning homes often exist on the basis of religion.

Supporters argued that such projects arise from the exclusionary practices already present in housing societies, and they maintained that creating an alternative space was a measure of necessity rather than choice.