Muslims have expressed their opposition to the construction of a community hall by the Dalits near a mosque in Karnataka’s Vijayapur, and an argument has arisen between the two factions. The young members of the Dalit community were prepared to develop a community centre close to the Ikhlas Khan Mosque close to Managuli Agasi in Vijayapur, Karnataka when Muslim leaders raised objections to the move.
As the mosque is in a protected zone under the Archaeological Survey of India, Muslims claimed that the proposed construction can’t take place without ASI’s permission. As a result, youths of the two communities confronted each other which led to a heated atmosphere for some time.
Leaders of the Dalit community questioned the protestors, “Who are you to prevent the construction of a community building on government land in Vijayapura city.” They asserted, “We will build a community hall here,” to which the Muslim side responded with, “If you want to construct any building near the mosque in Vijayapur, you should get the permission of the Indian Archeology Department and not only the government.” Afterwards, an altercation occurred between the rival factions.
The police, speculating a serious crisis at hand, showed up at the scene as soon as the dispute grew more intense. However, the leaders of the two groups ignored the authorities and carried on clashing with each other despite the arrival of police constables. Later they were pacified by Mallaya Mathapathy, CPI of Golagummata Police Station and other officials. They dispersed the crowd and instructed the leaders of the two communities to bring appropriate documents.
