PUNE — In the wake of the recent attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which claimed at least 26 lives and left several injured, multiple Gram Panchayats in Maharashtra’s Pune district have passed resolutions restricting ‘outsider’ Muslims from offering namaz in village mosques.
Villages such as Ghotawade, Pirangut, Wadki, and Lavale in Mulshi tehsil have issued public notices and put up banners stating that only local residents will be allowed to offer prayers in village mosques. The resolutions, passed by the respective Gram Panchayats, cite “law and order concerns” due to increased footfall during Friday prayers, India Today reported.
Patil Prakash Pawale, a police official in Pirangut, confirmed the development. “The number of outsiders increases on Fridays, which can pose challenges to law and order. Hence, only local villagers will be allowed to pray in the mosques,” he said.
While no police complaints have been filed so far, the decision has triggered distress among members of the local Muslim community.
“We are terrified. We had already stopped going to the village mosque because it’s next to a temple. We pray in a shed outside the village. After the Pahalgam attack, the fear has only grown,” said Shaistakhan Inamdar, a resident of Lavale.
Nabilal Shaikh, president of the Sunni Masjid Trust in Pirangut, said the resolution would disrupt religious life and long-standing social ties. “This is the largest mosque in the taluka. Muslims from across the region come here for Friday prayers. The new restriction will make it difficult for visiting relatives and others,” he said.
He also pointed to the area’s history of communal harmony and said, “We have always participated in Ganpati processions and other events, shoulder to shoulder with our Hindu neighbours”.
Shaikh, however, said he was shaken by the shift in communal dynamics. “In all my 76 years, I have never witnessed such polarisation here. Our mosque has existed since before my grandfather’s time”.
Senior Police Inspector Anil Vibhute stated that the resolution was passed by village bodies with consensus across religious communities. “No formal complaints have been received from Muslim residents so far, and no police intervention has been required,” he said.
