Hindutva forces blocking construction of a mosque in Delhi

Hindutva forces blocking construction of a mosque in Delhi | TwoCircles.net

Hindutva forces blocking construction of a mosque in Delhi
Submitted by admin4 on 1 July 2009 - 4:07pm.

* Indian Muslim

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

New Delhi: Last Friday hundreds of activists of Hindutva organizations forcibly tried to prevent prayer at a newly allotted site for a mosque in Rohini area of North-West Delhi. Sensing trouble security contingents were deployed in large number which foiled the attempts of the Hindutva forces to flare up the situation.

The Delhi Development Authority has allotted a piece of land in Rohini to Management Committee of the madrasa Darsgah Islamia in the area to build a mosque in Sector 16 of Rohini. Soon after the decision some locals and Hindutva elements tried to polarize the issue. They launched agitation and held meetings. However, the madrasa officials were able to build a boundary around the plot and gave a call for Juma prayer on June 26.

While prayers were on on that day hundreds of antisocial elements gathered in the park in front of the mosque and started sloganeering targeting the minority community. The district administration took the matter seriously and deployed security forces and clamped IPC section 144 prohibiting movement of people in group. The agitators clashed with police and consequently about two dozen people were arrested.

Meanwhile, some groups of peaceful citizens gathered and tried to calm the situation. They protested the move of Hindutva elements to block the legally authorized construction of the mosque and prayer therein.

“As can be expected the Hindutva forces are playing a very mischievous and criminal role to aggravate the situation. The building of a new mosque in this area, on a piece of land allotted by the Delhi Development Authority, has given them a pretext to polarise the population,” says Subhash Gatade, human rights activist who lives in the area.

“Last Friday (26th June 2009) these communal elements had mobilised hundreds of people to stop people from offering Namaz at the mosque. If police would not have been there, things could have taken a turn for the worst,” he said.

Some citizens groups, social-political organisations held a meeting to decide strategy on 27th June. They decided to organise a signature campaign and also submit a memorandum to the higher authorities. An eight-member delegation of these organisations met concerned officials and conveyed to them their concern.

They also submitted a memorandum emphasizing three things:
- A significant section of the local population does not support such attempts to create new divisions in the society
- It is expected that the administration would play a proactive role to ensure constitutionally guaranteed right to faith and would also take steps to remove the feeling of terror in the minority community.
- The administration would make extra efforts to nab the real 'ringleaders' of this agitation.