On Monday, 30th September, another controversy erupted over an allegedly illegal mosque in the Kullu region of Himachal Pradesh. The Hindu organizations staged a protest and stated that a Mosque in Kullu was illegal and that it needed to be demolished. The protesting Hindu organizations also demanded immediate demolition of the Mosque which is believed to have been constructed illegally.
As per the reports, a minor scuffle is reported to have happened between the Hindu protesters and the police. This is as the protesters of the ‘Hindu Dharam Jagaran Yatra’ marched from Hanuman temple to Akhara Mosque amid tight security.
Many others, including women, carrying saffron flags and placards demanded that the Kullu mosque be demolished. The yatra was led by performers who played indigenous instruments and women dressed traditionally.
Kullu, Himachal Pradesh: Hundreds of people participated in a protest, marching from Ramshila Hanuman Mandir to Akhara Masjid. Protesters raised slogans outside Jama Masjid, leading to a scuffle with the police nearby. As a result, Akhada Bazar has been turned into a police camp. pic.twitter.com/tA9ZYBJYOC
— IANS (@ians_india) September 30, 2024
The demand for the demolition of unlawfully built mosques began on August 30th when a fight between a Muslim barber and a Hindu merchant in the Malyana area of Shimla evolved into a communal dispute.
Hindu groups since then have demanded the demolition of mosques they claim are unlawful, while citizens in general have demanded that strangers entering the state be identified. Meanwhile, the Muslim community people has claimed that no mosque in the state of Himachal Pradesh is illegal.
Earlier on Sunday, 29th September, Kullu district authorities claimed that the mosque in Akhara Bazaar was not illegal. They stated that there was a discrepancy between the mosque’s extent in government records and the real area covered by it, according to district authorities, and that the case for its regularisation was pending with the town and country planning department.
The mosque’s overall area is 980 square meters, with a deviation of around 150 square meters discovered, they stated. It is claimed that the Jama Masjid was built in Akhara Bazaar in 1990-1991. Back then, the structure had only one floor. Later, it underwent reconstruction in 2017 and now it has four floors. Back then, the Hindu organisations had raised objections against construction work in this illegal mosque which had halted its work. According to them, the structure of this building doesn’t adhere to the map passed for this place.
Earlier on September 11th, massive protests happened in the city demanding the removal of a part of a mosque in Shimla’s Sanjauli surrounding area. Similar protests erupted two days later in Mandi, prompting the use of water cannons to separate demonstrators.
Himachal Pradesh is currently witnessing growing resentment among the Hindu community against illegal mosques which have come across several towns in the hilly state. Residents of Kasumpti, Shimla, also sent a memorandum requesting the demolition of a mosque in the region. Residents of Sunni and other parts of the state have made similar demands.
