In Gujarat, people often offer namaz in public places. Several such incidents have occurred at Vadodara’s Maharaja Sayajirao Gaikwad University (MSU) in the past when many Muslim students were caught offering namaz on campus. One such case has come to the fore from the Junagadh district of Gujarat, where eight Muslims in Uparkot offered namaz in public, a video of which has gone viral, triggering outrage.
According to a report in Sandesh Samachar, the incident took place on Sunday (15th October). 8 people offered namaaz in public near Adi Kadi Vav in the historic place of Junagadh, Uparkot, after which photos and videos of the incident went viral. The Junagadh police also took cognizance of the incident and stepped up to take action. The police started an investigation about this in Uparkot.
The police had requested CCTV video from the Uparkot administration in connection with the incident of offering namaz in Upper Kot. The administration, however, refused to share the CCTV footage. The police are actively looking into the matter.
Muslim youths attempted to disturb peace in Uparkot, a historical site near Junagadh, by offering Namaaz in public, the reports said. Later, the Bajrang Dal protested in this regard. Bajrang Dal’s Gujarat region coordinator Bhavesh Thakkar commented on the matter and said, “Land jihad has been started by Jihadi-minded regionalists near Adi Kadi Vavni in Uparkot, a historical heritage site within Junagadh. The Bajrang Dal strongly opposes the mentality of offering namaz in a public place inside the Uparkot.”
Also, the Bajrang Dal now has requested to perform a mass Hanuman Chalisa recital at 6 p.m. on Wednesday (18th October) in Uparkot.
જૂનાગઢ ઉપરકોટમાં નામઝ પઢવા મામલે બજરંગદળનાં ગુજરાત પ્રદેશ સંયોજક મા. શ્રી ભાવેશભાઈ ઠક્કરે સમગ્ર ઘટનાને જેહાદીઓની વિસ્તારવાદી નિતી ગણાવીને આક્રોશ વ્યકત કર્યો હતો. વધુમાં @Bajrangdal_Guj નમાઝ વાળા સ્થળનું શુદ્ધિકરણ કરી ત્યાં હનુમાન ચાલીસાનાં પાઠ કરશે.#junagadh #uparkot #Gujarat… pic.twitter.com/Xnv0EUn2rs
— Hitendrasinh Rajput (@TheHitendrasinh) October 17, 2023
Muslims attacked Police in Junagadh
It should be noted that violence erupted in Junagadh on June 16, when a mob of about 500 Muslims attacked the police. In fact, the Junagadh Municipal Corporation sent notices to eight religious locations, including temples and the Dargah near Majewadi Gate. After receiving the notice, the Muslim community began congregating at Gebanshah Dargah near Majewadi Gate in the evening.
As more mobs gathered on the evening of the 16th of June, the police tried to calm them and encourage them to try to resolve the situation through dialogue, but around 10 p.m., the mob attacked the police personnel and also targeted the nearby vehicles. The crowd also threw stones at the bus. A Hindu man was killed in the violence, while four police personnel were injured. OpIndia’s complete coverage of the Junagadh violence can be read here.
Prayer events at MSU
It should be mentioned that, just as photographs of Namaz being offered in public have become commonplace in Junagadh, similar pictures have emerged from Vadodara’s Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) in the past. The Muslims in the University were seen offering Namaaz in public in the institution.
Not long ago, MSU reported a similar event in which three Muslim teenagers wearing skull caps offered public prayers near the Shiva temple. The video of the incident had gone viral, triggering outrage.
Prior to this, a video was released in January in which a Muslim girl wearing a chadar was praying in public. Earlier, a Muslim man and woman offered Namaaz outside the same university’s Sanskrit faculty, and the video of the same had gone viral.
Earlier in December 2022, a video of two Muslim students offering namaz outside the university’s commerce faculty had gone viral. The investigation proved that they were both students at that faculty.
