In Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla, the local Hindus are protesting against the illegal construction of a mosque in the Sanjauli area. The local Hindus have been peacefully protesting against the illegal construction of the mosque complex, however, on the 11th of September, visuals of the Congress administration crushing the protests sparked outrage. Amidst the protests and subsequent crackdown, several local people have come forward to tell the nation why they are opposing the illegal construction of a mosque and what are their concerns.
Speaking to the media, a local Hindu woman said: “They have come from other states. We don’t know if any of them came here after committing some crime in other states. More than 1500 to 2000 Muslims gather to offer namaz and block roads on jummah. They illegally built the mosque during covid. These people have no verification and pose a security risk. They are capturing local markets in a planned manner. We see people coming from UP, Saharanpur, and Bihar, we see no locals here. If the government is saying that only 190 people are registered, then where are these people coming from? Why is the government not taking action on illegal construction, when they demolish any small deviation in the houses of locals? The government should do their verification to ensure the safety of the locals.
Brave Hindu woman living in front of the illegal Sanjauli mosque in Shimla makes sensational revelations, demands security
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) September 11, 2024
They have come from other states. More than 2000 gather & block roads on jumma, illegally built during covid, No verification, security risk!, capturing… pic.twitter.com/L6g5dEK4t0
A protestor expressed his anger over the Congress administration doing a lathi charge on protesting Hindus to disperse them and said: “Today, the Chief Minister messed with the Hindu community by doing lathi charge on women and people of Hindu samaj. The Hindu community was on its way to Sanjauli for a peaceful protest but the police of the Sukhu government used lathi-charge upon and dispersed us…”
#WATCH | Shimla Protests | "Regarding the illegal construction, we have seen that Himachal Government Minister Anirudh Singh has said that the construction is unauthorised and should be taken down…. 'Aaj, Himachal Pradesh ke mukhya mantri ne Hindu samaj ke sath khilwad karte… pic.twitter.com/HkczSZv2VJ
— ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2024
Meanwhile, another local Hindu woman told the media that she had been residing in Sanjauli since childhood and back then the mosque had only a single floor. Although the mosque was there but nobody took care of it and children used to play there. However, after ’90s the construction of the mosque increased after one Salim Tailor arrived here. She added that while the Waqf Board is claiming that the illegal mosque is built on land owned by them, the government has said that the land belongs to them.
Listen to the Hindu woman, how much fear there is in Sanjauli, Shimla.👇 pic.twitter.com/hapLmCjdAs
— Pradeep Maikhuri (@PradeepMaikhur3) September 11, 2024
The Hindu woman said that a large crowd of Muslims gathers at the mosque and Hindus have to wait and see if Muslims have cleared the road then they can go to pick up their children from school or step out for other work. “We [local Hindus] get scared due to their Taliban-like outlook and since we don’t know if they are verified residents or not, we get scared for our safety,” the Hindu woman said.
As reported earlier, Shimla witnessed tumultuous scenes on Wednesday, residents and police clashed during a protest march against unauthorized construction inside a mosque complex in the Sanjauli area. Images showed demonstrators smashing police barriers and guards using water cannons and lathi charges to subdue the crowd. Protesters were heard shouting slogans including “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Himachal Ne Thaana Hai, Devbhoomi Ko Bachana Hai.”
Notably, the issue of unlawful construction also led to a dispute between Congress leaders after party MLA Harish Janartha asserted that the mosque was constructed before 1960 on Waqf Board-owned property. However, he added that three floors were illegally added in 2010 and claimed that they were demolished. According to him, the mosque was being used by both local Muslims and outsiders. Some elements, he claimed, were inflaming the issue.
