The Mischief

(Translation of daily Jadid Khabar’s editorial 18 Feb 2013)

The conspiracy to stop prayers from being offered in the historical Kamal Maula Mosque in Dheer town in Madhya Paradesh is not new. For several years communal and fascist forces have been busy campaigning to desecrate the mosque and convert it into a house of idols. No doubt Madhya Pradesh is ruled by the BJP that had started this dispute which is now giving the impression that it will not deprive the Muslims of their right to pray in the mosque. Last Friday the administration foiled, temporarily, outrageous attempts aiming at stopping the Muslims from praying inside Kamal Maula Mosque. But there is no guarantee that they evildoers will not try to play their nefarious game again.

On 15 February situation become very tense after Hindu devotees insisted that they be given the permission to conduct worship all day the mosque and Muslims be stopped from offering Friday prayer there. Sadhus also threatened the government and tried to polarise the atmosphere through several provocative activities. But the wisdom and intelligence of peace loving people, and to some extent the farsightedness of the administration, stopped the breakout of a major riot. In order to disperse the stone throwing mob, police had to resort to using tear gas and lathi charge.

This building is registered with the Archaeological Survey as a protected monument. On special occasions both communities are given the permission to pray inside it which is not an old practice. It was only few years ago that the provocateurs came up with the concoction that there was a Saraswati Temple inside the mosque compound and capitulating to their pressure the administration allowed them to worship at certain timings. This situation is exactly like the Babri Mosque in whose courtyard first the claim of the existence of Sita’s kitchen was made. After this idols were installed near the pulpit. This brazen violation of law led to the ultimate demolition of Babri Mosque. In this connection cases for hatching criminal conspiracy are pending in the court against leading RSS and BJP activists.

With regard to Kamal Maula Mosque of Dhar, state government has submitted an affidavit in the court assuring that the situation will not be allowed to worsen and that strict preventive measures will be taken. It is in this background that on 15 February selected numbers of Muslims were allowed to pray there between 2-3 pm while rest of the day Hindu worship went on. Former Chairman of Minority Affairs of Madhya Pradesh says that this is the Jama Masjid of Dhar and is registered  as a waqf property as Kamal Maula Mosque. State government has no right to make any change in its status.

It should be remembered that during Congress’s rule, when attempts were made by the miscreants to create trouble, it was Ibrahim Qureshi who had submitted a detailed report to the then Chief Minister Mr Digvigey Singh outlining, along with all the particulars of waqf registration, and explaining that the Jama Masjid of Dhar was called as Bjohshala much later. This should be remembered that Hindus claim it to be an ancient temple of godess Saraswati built by Raja Bhoj. The fact is that , constructed in 11nth century, Kamal Maula Mosque has historical importance and has been testified as such by the Archaeological Survey of India in whose custody it had been given.

Muslims have been given the permission to pray under the dome of the mosque while Hindus have been allowed to conduct Basant Pooja at the disused water tank that used to be mosque’s wazu khana. Even in 2006 Archaeological Survey had issued similar guidelines that are being followed since then. The sole purpose of creating this controversy is to create a rift between Hindus and Muslims and gain political advantage. BJP, the party that has benefited from Ayodhya controversy, has created similar disputes in different parts of the country. Hublee Eidgah in Karnatka is a part of the series of such mischiefs. Communal and fascist groups are hell bent to destroy historical and archaeological sites and the tragedy is that the Government that does not get tired of emphasising on the importance of rule of law only takes formal actions against these miscreants. If this is not a joke with law then what is it?