Members of the Dev Bhoomi Sangharsh Samiti, who are spearheading the protest, have welcomed the Muslim gesture
Syed Ali Mujtaba | Clarion India
NEW DELHI – Amid tension over demand from some Hindu organisations for the demolition of the 75-year-old mosque in Sanjauli suburb of Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, the state Waqf Board and the Masjid Welfare Committee have urged municipal authorities to seal the illegal portion and offered to demolish it.
The board’s state officer Qutbuddin, who was part of the Muslim group, told Municipal Commissioner Bhupendra Kumar Atri that if the mosque management is ready to remove the illegal construction itself, then the Waqf Board officials have no objection.
The mosque committee also sought permission from the Municipal Commissioner Court through an application to remove the illegal part of the mosque itself. In response, the commissioner said that further steps would be taken as per the law.
The development comes as the Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu-led government has initiated a dialogue with all parties and has asked the law department to resolve the ownership dispute of the mosque land.
Notably, the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister, Anirudh Singh, claimed in the assembly that the land belongs to the government while the Waqf Board claimed its ownership rights.
Local MLA Harish Janartha, who was at the centre of the controversy, also initiated talks with the representatives of the Muslim community to address various points of the matter. He also appealed to everyone to work together by posting a detailed post in Hindi and English on his social media page.
He said that concrete measures are being taken to ensure that no such incident happens in Himachal in the future.
The controversy has its roots in accusations that the mosque’s expansion from a single floor to five stories was carried out without proper authorisation.
Hindu groups argue that such unauthorised constructions threaten the local demographic balance and have called for an investigation into the background of local Muslims, suspecting that some may be illegal immigrants from Myanmar or Bangladesh.
The Muslim side says that the original construction of the mosque dates back to 1947. Since there was an increase in worshippers, additional floors were built. The Waqf Board claims ownership of the land and argues that the extended construction carried out on the top of the first floor of the mosque is in line with the rules.
The dispute dates back to 2010 when a case was registered regarding illegal construction in the mosque. Since then, four floors have been added to the single-storey structure, with the extended construction taking place under successive governments.
The Shimla Municipal Corporation has been actively involved in addressing the issue. The municipal court recently heard the matter and during the hearing, the court questioned the Waqf Board and the mosque committee to explain how the original single floor of the mosque was expanded to add more floors.
The court criticised the Waqf Board for lacking the necessary legal approvals for the extended construction. The next hearing is on October 5.
To douse the simmering tension, the local Muslim welfare committee submitted a memorandum to the municipal commissioner, urging him to seal the unauthorised portion of the structure and offered to demolish it once the court delivers a verdict on the matter.
Municipal Commissioner Atri said: “The matter is sub-judice and pending in court. If one party is willing to not use the portion of a structure in question and offers to seal it, the authorities can act on it till the outcome of the pending case in the court of law. I am going through the contents of the memorandum,” he added.
Meanwhile, members of the Dev Bhoomi Sangharsh Samiti, who are spearheading the protest, welcomed the Muslim gesture. “We welcome this initiative from the Muslim community and would be the first to embrace them for taking such a step in the larger interest,” Vijay Sharma, a member of the samiti, said.
Bandh in Several Towns
Shops remained closed in several towns across the state on Saturday as a two-hour bandh was observed in protest against unauthorised construction of mosques and the recent police action on demonstrators.
The bandh call, given by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and various business groups saw protest marches by some Hindu organisations at Bilaspur, Kullu, Chamba, Hamirpur, Poanta Sahib and other places. There was not much impact in Shimla as the Beopar Mandal had already observed a bandh on Thursday.
The protesters also recited Hindu religious hymns during the bandh period in Hamirpur and Chamba towns and raised slogans.
The protest was against unauthorised construction of a portion of a mosque in Shimla and encroachment on government land by a mosque in Mandi besides a lathi-charge on protestors of Hindu groups in Shimla on Wednesday and the use of water cannon on demonstrators in Mandi on Friday, VHP officer-bearers said.
