The Wire and some other leftist propaganda ‘media’ outlets had recently reported about certain posters pasted in Delhi’s Brahmapuri. The poster asked Hindus not to sell properties to Muslims. The reports named Advocate Pradeep Sharma as the person who placed the poster, and consequently, he and his family started receiving threats. When the OpIndia team arrived at lane number 13, no contentious poster was present.
The streets in Brahmapuri are organized in a line, with numbers written on the board. There is a road that separates Chauhan Bangar and Brahmapuri, and it carries the sign “Lane No. 13, Brahmapuri.” As soon as we entered that lane, we noticed the Shiv-Gauri temple. It was almost deserted. Moving forward, we came upon a mosque on the right about 100 meters from the temple. Many Namazis were gathered there.
The mosque currently has a Wazu (ablution) tap and a sizeable prayer floor that is visible from the outside. Advocate Sharma stated that the mosque in the street was originally a Brahmin Hindu’s home that was bought and converted into a mosque. Advocate Pradeep Sharma says that the lane has a 70% Hindu and 30% Muslim population. Advocate Sharma, however, informed us that over the past five years, the population imbalance has deteriorated rapidly and that the Hindus of “Lane No. 13” have begun to sell their homes and migrate.
Speaking about his residence in Brahmpuri since 1962, Pradeep Sharma told OpIndia that during his childhood, the Muslim population in the area was not much as compared to now.
Advocate Pradeep Sharma claims that SHO New Usmanpur did not take his police complaint seriously. Advocate Sharma, however, views the receipt he received as a paper heralding some untoward incident in the future.
2 Hindu activists were killed in the Delhi riots
OpIndia spoke to BJP leader Vipin Sharma, who resides in Lane No. 9, Brahmapuri. Vipin Sharma said that during the 2020 riots, his neighbourhood was also affected by the violence. Vipin Sharma told that Vinod, a member of the Bajrang Dal, and Atul, a worker of the BJP, were killed in the violence. Vinod was beaten to death, while Atul was shot. Vipin claims that during the riots, the streets close to the “Khadde Wali Masjid” were blocked.
Vipin also informed us that Brahmapuri is surrounded by a Muslim population from two sides.
A mosque built for just 4 Muslim families residing in Lane No. 8
Speaking about the demographic changes taking place in Brahmpuri, Vipin Sharma mentioned Lane No. 8. He stated that although there were only 4 Muslim residences on that street, a mosque was nonetheless erected there. Vipin claims that despite the vocal opposition of Hindu organizations, Haji Bhura, the Aam Aadmi Party’s then MLA, came and offered Namaz on the site with thousands of his supporters which led to the defeat of the Hindu organizations that had been protesting.
Vipin claims that as of now, only 4 of the Lane No. 8 houses are allowed in writing to perform namaz in that mosque.
External funding to construct the mosque
BJP leader Vipin Sharma mentioned the mosque at Gali No. 8 once more, claiming that it is roughly spread across 100 yards. He claimed that the four Muslim families living in the gully could not afford the crores of rupees spent ranging from purchasing the land to building a mosque there. Sharma expressed worry about the mosque receiving external funding. Sharma said that the mosque has since been converted into a madrasa. People suspect that even the map for that madrasa may not have been approved according to the rules.
