The Maharaja Bhoj restaurant did everything it could to escape the boycott. It changed ownership and its name and even went so far as to let go of all its Muslim employees, including suppliers. Located in Muzaffarnagar, in Uttar Pradesh, India's biggest state, the establishment is located along the route of the Kanwar Yatra, a Hindu pilgrimage honoring the god Shiva, which takes place every year between the end of July and August.

Increasingly popular with young Hindu men, it is constantly marred by violence along its course, which starts in the sacred city of Haridwar, in the neighboring state of Uttarakhand, at the foot of the Himalayas, where devotees draw water from the Ganges to take back with them to their local temple. For days on end, millions of pilgrims from poor backgrounds take to the roads, carrying the water in containers slung over their shoulders with bamboo sticks. They travel on foot, on motorcycles or in trucks whose loudspeakers blare nonstop music. Many are under the influence of cannabis and strike terror as they go. Some establishments even opt to close their doors during the peak of the religious procession for fear of being vandalized.

On July 17 of this year, citing "order and security," Muzaffarnagar police asked restaurant owners to display their names and those of all their employees. The unstated aim is to let customers know whether the business is run by Muslims − who account for 14% of India's population, or over two hundred million people − or Hindus.

The measure was defended by the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, the fanatical monk Yogi Adityanath, who himself hails from the ranks of the Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian People's Party, BJP), the political group of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pilgrims "are very careful about what they eat," police said, claiming that the decision had nothing to do with religion. During this period, devotees generally observe a strictly vegetarian diet and avoid eating both garlic and onions.

At Maharaja Bhoj, which was previously owned by two brothers, Shameem and Waseem Ahmad, arrangements had already been made. Muslim restaurateurs in Muzaffarnagar have been the victims of discrimination for several years. "The police spent their time harassing us and, as a Muslim, I was no longer able to run my establishment," said younger brother Shameem, 27, candidly. So, on June 1, before the start of the pilgrimage, the Ahmad brothers sold their business to a Hindu friend, Neeraj Kumari.

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