Mazars built at places protected by Archaeological Department along UP-Nepal border: OpIndia Groud report

Several recent reports have shown that demography is changing rapidly along India’s border with Nepal. The number of mosques and madarsas is constantly increasing on the border. From August 20th to August 27th, 2022, an OpIndia team visited several areas in Nepal bordering India to observe the ground situation. What follows here is the eighth episode of the series of reports documenting the facts noticed by the OpIndia team.

Shravasti district is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh along the Nepal border. Shravasti was the capital of the ancient Indian kingdom of Kosala where Gautam Buddha spent most of his time after attaining enlightenment. It is near the Rapti river in the northeastern part of Uttar Pradesh India, close to the Nepal border. Angulimal cave is located in the ancient city of Shravasti in Uttar Pradesh.

The name of the Angulimal cave or the stupa, excavated in 1863, has been derived from the name of the ruthless decoit of Shravasti – Angulimala. In Hindi, Anguli means fingers and mala means necklace. Angulimala earned the particular moniker because he always severed his victims’ fingers and wore them as a necklace around his neck.

One day, Angulimala, in a fit of rage, was about to kill his mother. Lord Buddha, who was passing from there, saw this. Buddha bestowed wisdom on him and forbade him from killing his mother. Angulimala became Lord Buddha’s disciple and later, went on to establish himself as one of Buddha’s biggest disciples. He built the Angulimala Stupa in Lord Buddha’s honour.

This cave, built in the memory of Lord Buddha was also not spared by Islamists who, over the years, built innumerable mosques and mazars in and around this revered Buddhist site.

Mazar has been present creation?

There is a highway that connects the border districts of Siddharthnagar and Nepal. It connects Balrampur and Pilibhit via Shravasti. Continuing on the same highway, we reach the newly created Modern Police Station in the Shravasti district. The road right in front of this station leads to Angulimal cave.

As we proceeded on the road leading to the Angulimal cave, after walking about 400 metres, we saw a huge crowd of local villagers gathered outside the Buddhist monasteries and stupas, but what caught our attention was a Mazar that was constructed alongside the road. A local man named Banwari, who was present there, told us that it was Imam-e-Hasan Hussain’s tomb.

Around the Mazar lay the remnants of many tazias. Some people were calling the place a Karbala.

Tazia is a replica of the mausoleum of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Imam Hussain and is made in numerous forms and sizes. Basically, Muslims bring home the Tazia on any day between the eve of the first day of the Islamic month of Muharram and the ninth day. It is buried on the tenth day of Ashura when Imam Hussain died.

We came upon two tombs in the same location. We noticed a woman dressed in Hindu attire laying near the Mazar and a male lying further away. People said the woman was from a nearby town and was possessed by a jinn (evil spirit). They told us that it was customary to lie near the Mazar in order to mark your attendance.

Deshraj and Rambharose, two locals who were standing near the tomb, told us that some Khunti Baba was the caretaker of the Mazar. When we inquired how old the structure was, some others exclaimed that it has been ‘eternally present’. The green paint on the tomb, on the other hand, appeared to be fresh.

‘Sunni Waqf’ sign in front of Dargah

We observed a big green board of a dargah on the main road itself after travelling a little further from this tomb. The number 786 was inscribed at the top of the board, and ‘Sunni Central Waqf Board Lucknow No. – 2 Inazaniya Committee Dargah’ was written at the bottom. The dargah’s name was written beneath this: ‘Hazrat Syed Mir Shah Rahmatullah.’ This dargah is located in the village Mahet of the Shravasti district, according to the board.

This dargah is around 200 metres from the Angulimal Cave and has to be approached through a kuccha road. On this road, dense trees can be seen from the outside, but once inside, it is evident that a big portion has been transformed into an empty field.

In the middle of this big vacant field, we found a dargah. The dargah’s boundary was made of bamboo sticks, and outside the limit, a considerable piece of ground was cleared for parking of the vehicles.

Dustbins and taps provided by the government for villagers installed inside the Dargah premises

We noticed a Swachh Bharat dustbin in this Dargah compound. Public representatives or government authorities place such bins in various regions of cities and communities. We spotted several individuals pitching new tents in the empty spaces near the dargah. Pucca platforms were built around a few of the trees that had been left intact in the otherwise vacant ground. More than two government taps that were meant to be used in the village, were installed inside the Dargah campus.

Woman seen inside the premises despite ‘women not allowed’ boards placed outside the Dargah

Mira Shah Dargah’s main centre has been covered with a tent, green nets have been installed, and a pucca boundary wall has been constructed around it. There are green Islamic flags flying atop the main centre. There was a placard placed outside the dargah, prohibiting ladies from entering, but when we went inside for the purpose of reporting, we spotted a woman sitting inside.

Outside the dargah, there was an incense shop and a Muslim man was preparing tea. The rate of offering at the dargah is Rs 35, we were told.

Placard placed prohibits ladies from entering the dargah

OpIndia team spoke in length with Khadim Jawwad Ali of Mira Shah Dargah on various aspects, which you can read here. The same can be read in Hindi here.

How do you have Mazars and Dargahs in an archaeologically protected area?

We crossed a Buddhist shrine, only to see, devotees from Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, and other countries present at this location. We realised that Buddhists from nearly every region of India were also present at the temple. Some of them said, under the condition of anonymity, that the Archaeological Department of India protects the entire site and that ambassadors from many countries visit this place every day. No one knew when or how these Mazars were erected in this archaeologically protected area. They told us how the government intends to construct a new airport no more than 2 kilometres away from these Mazars.

Large gathering outside the Mazar even during Covid times, Urs festival attracts a large crowd

On our way back, a person walking alongside the under-construction airport in Shravasti told us, on conditions of anonymity, that there always is a large gathering outside the Mazar even during Covid times. The person took the name of the station in charge and the outpost in charge and stated that both of them used to have a tough time stopping the mob from congregating during those days. The person also said that during the Urs festival, this dargah attracts a large audience from all over the country.

A creeping Islamisation of Nepal and its border areas appears to be underway, with Islamists steadily establishing their foothold in distant villages, including those on the Indian border. In the first four parts of this series, OpIndia documented the demography change ongoing in Nepal, as well as the worrying surge in the number of mosques and madarsas in the Himalayan nation’s border villages. Additionally, we also spoke about the rising incidences of love jihad in Nepal, as well as its Delhi connection and smuggling, and various other notorious activities that are threatening India’s border with Nepal.

The first report in this series can be read here in Hindi: कभी था हिंदू बहुल गाँव, अब स्वस्तिक चिह्न वाले घर पर 786 का निशान: भारत के उस पार भी डेमोग्राफी चेंज, नेपाल में घुसते ही मस्जिद, मदरसा और इस्लाम – OpIndia Ground Report

The same report can be read here in English: Demographic change hits other side of the border too, Mosques and Madarasas mushroom in former Hindu dominated areas in Nepal: Ground report

The second report in this series can be read here in Hindi: घरों पर चाँद-तारे वाले हरे झंडे, मस्जिद-मदरसे, कारोबार में भी दखल: मुस्लिम आबादी बढ़ने के साथ ही नेपाल में कपिलवस्तु के ‘कृष्णा नगर’ पर गाढ़ा हुआ इस्लामी रंग – OpIndia Ground Report

The same report can be read here in English: Islamic flags flying atop houses and mosques, madarsas influencing businesses: The creeping Islamisation of Nepal’s Krishnanagar

The third report in this series can be read here in Hindi: नेपाल में लव जिहाद: बढ़ती मुस्लिम आबादी और नेपाली लड़कियों से निकाह के खेल में ‘दिल्ली कनेक्शन’, तस्कर-गिरोह भारतीय सीमा पर खतरा – OpIndia Ground Report

The same report can be read here in English: Rising cases of love jihad in Nepal and its Delhi connection, smuggling plaguing India’s border with Nepal: Ground report

The fourth report in this series can be read here in Hindi: बौद्ध आस्था के केंद्र हों या तालाब… हर जगह मजार: श्रावस्ती में घरों की छत पर लहरा रहे इस्लामी झंडे, OpIndia Ground Report

The same report can be read here in English: Steady rise in mazars and madarsas adjoining Buddhist places of worship in UP’s Shravasti near Indo-Nepal border: Ground report

The fifth report in this series can be read here in Hindi: महाराणा प्रताप के साथ लड़ी थारू जनजाति बहुल गाँव में 3 मस्जिद, 1 मदरसा: भारत-नेपाल सीमा पर बढ़ती मुस्लिम आबादी का ये है ‘पैटर्न’ – OpIndia Ground Report

The same report can be read here in English: Rising number of mosques, madarsa along Indo-Nepal border: Ground report on Islamisation of village of Tharu tribe that fought along Maharana Pratap

The sixth report in this series can be read here in Hindi: बौद्ध-जैन मंदिरों के बीच दरगाह बनाई, जिस मजार को पुलिस ने किया ध्वस्त… वो फिर चकमकाई: नेपाल सीमा पर बढ़ती मुस्लिम आबादी – OpIndia Ground Report

The same report can be read here in English: Dargah and mazar built around Buddhist and Jain temple premises, illegal mazar once demolished surfaces again: UP’s Shravasti near Nepal border