Protests erupt in Himachal Pradesh over illegal mosque controversy

A massive rally was organized on Thursday (6th September) in front of the Sanjauli Masjid in Himachal Pradesh, where workers of the BJP, several Hindu organizations, and city residents demanded the ‘razing down’ of what they term as an ‘encroaching’ mosque. This demonstration is a response to the ongoing mosque controversy, with protesters arguing that the mosque has been built illegally.

“This mosque has been built illegally. The four floors of the mosque are illegal. If we construct anything illegally, it is immediately demolished. It has been 10 years, but no action has been taken on the mosque. This illegal mosque should be demolished,” a protester Ankush Chauhan, who is also a BJP worker, was quoted as saying by ANI.

“The entire Hindu, Sanatani community is protesting. It has nothing to do with the BJP or the Congress. Hindu Samaj is fighting against this. The reason behind the protests now is that on Tuesday, some Muslim men attacked one of our Hindu brothers in which he sustained injuries. This protest is the result of that incident. An investigation should be done on the increasing number of Muslims in the state, whether they are Rohingyas or Bangladeshis,” he added.

Tension over the controversy of the mosque reached new heights on Wednesday after a confrontation in the Assembly of Himachal Pradesh between the congress leaders Anirudh Singh and Harish Janartha over the matter of whether or not the mosque existed legally.

Janartha maintained that the region is peaceful stating that the original mosque constructed before 1960 had three unauthorized additional floors which were put up in 2010 on the Waqf Boards property. As a further guide, he stated that the said mosque was occupied by both members of the local Muslim community and foreigners and that the already existing illegal bathrooms were already destroyed. He even went to the extent of attributing the problem to some people who flared it up for no just reason.

State Rural Development Minister Anirudh Singh was of the opinion that the number of Tehbazari holders (Licence to hawk) who happened to be mostly Muslims was not 190 but rather 1,900. He explained that only true residents of Himachal would be granted Tehbazari permits whereas those given to outsiders will be revoked.

The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh assured there is no plan by the government to aggravate any of the communities. “We will not allow any incident taking place from the state. Political wrangles occur and will continue to occur but no political militant has any authority to breach law and order in the state,” said Sukhu, speaking to news agency ANI.

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