Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj said that it was done to “prevent trouble” and “maintain peace.”
HARIDWAR – Amid growing criticism of several BJP-ruled state governments’ diktat to display names of the owners on eateries along the route of the Kanwar yatra, Uttarakhand government has come up with a novel idea to “prevent trouble.”
On Friday, July 26, two mosques and a shrine, located in the Haridwar city of Uttarakhand were covered with large white sheets, ahead of the Kanwar yatra passing through the route.
The sheets were hung on bamboo scaffoldings in front of two mosques and a Mazar, all in the Jwalapur area, Indian Express reported.
Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj told reporters that it was done to “prevent trouble” and “maintain peace.”
But what exactly is this trouble and how does the sight of a mosque disrupt the Kanwar yatra, nobody explained.
Instead, the minister said, “It is not such a big thing. We also cover buildings when they are under construction.”
Meanwhile, the caretakers of the mosque and shrine said they were unaware of any order passed in this regard from the administration. They said this was the first time such a thing had happened.
Kanwariyas stop under the shade of trees outside mosques and Mazars to rest, said Shakeel Ahmad, one of the caretakers of the Mazar. He reiterated that this is the first time the administration has come up with such a strange move.
Congress leader and former minister Naeem Qureshi said he has never seen such a thing in his life.
“We Muslims always welcome Shiv bhakts (devotees) for the kanwar fair and arrange refreshments for them at various places. This has been an example of harmony between Hindus and Muslims in Haridwar, and there has never been a tradition of curtains,” he said.
Qureshi said before the Kanwar mela started, the administration had held a meeting and members from both the Hindu and Muslim communities were made SPOs.
Congress leader and former district panchayat president Rao Afaque Ali pointed out that some Kanwariyas used to visit the mosques on the route to pay respect.
“It has never happened earlier. Some Kanwariyas also go to mosques to pay obeisance. India is a country where everyone takes care of every religion and caste. Today mosques are being covered, what will happen if temples are covered in this manner tomorrow?” he asked.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Congress vice president Suryakant Dhasmana said that the move to cover mosques on the route of Kanwar Yatra was a “contempt of the Supreme Court”.
“The order to put curtains on mosques and mazars on the kanwar yatra route in Haridwar district, whoever has issued it, goes against the Supreme Court which has put a stay on an order which asked hotel and restaurant owners and fruit vendors on the route to display their names, caste and religious identity,” Dhasmana said.
Attacking the ruling BJP in the state, he said it has not learnt from its electoral defeats in Badrinath, Manglaur, Chitrakoot and Prayagraj.
“The message it has missed is that the entire country is one. BJP’s divisive and discriminatory politics has been rejected. But the party is not learning,” Dhasmana said.
However, following criticism, the clothes covering the mosques were removed by the evening on Friday.
“We received orders from the railway police post to remove the curtains. That is why we have come to remove these,” said Danish Ali, appointed as a special police officer (SPO) by the administration for the yatra’s management.
This is not the first time mosques had been covered by the government during Hindu festivities.
In March this year, ahead of the Holi festival, several mosques in UP were covered with tarpaulin sheets, which the authorities dubbed as a move “to prevent them from being smeared with colours, which could affect communal harmony.”
According to reports, this has remained a custom in UP since Yogi Adityanath came to power.
In April this year, a mosque in Hyderabad was also covered in white clothes ahead of the Ram Navami procession passing through the route.
Several mosques and Muslim localities, across different states in the country were attacked by Hindutva groups during the Ram Navami procession last year.
