Residents’ drive this time: Protests against Friday prayers by Muslims resumes in Gurgaon

Jumma namaz at a ground in Sector 47 has continued under police guard with Hindu residents playing devotional songs over loudspeakers at the barricades

Namaz being offered under police presence in Gurgaon on Friday. : PTI file picture

Pheroze L. Vincent   |   TT  |  New Delhi   |  17.10.21 : Protests against open-air Friday prayers by Muslims have resumed in a part of Gurgaon over the past month, three years after disruptions of the Jumma namaz by Hindutva groups had led to the gatherings being restricted to designated spots.

Jumma namaz at a ground in Sector 47 has continued under police guard with Hindu residents of the area chanting slogans and playing devotional songs over loudspeakers at the barricades.

Muslims have refused to shift the prayers from this spot, one of 34 public grounds designated by the administration in the city, as they continue to hold talks involving local representatives, police and the sub-divisional magistrate.

“Residents want a market set up on this land, which was earmarked for building one. They don’t want namaz offered here,” local BJP councillor Kuldeep Yadav told The Telegraph.

“The administration has not taken any decision on this and we are demanding they set up the market as planned. I suggested another place for namaz (in Sector 37), a little over a kilometre from the current spot but the Muslims have not accepted it.”

He added: “Residents have a problem as the crime rate has increased and young boys loiter here after the Friday namaz and misbehave…. Have you ever heard of police admitting that crime is rising?”

On Friday, a police officer supervising the arrangements denied Yadav’s charge.

Assistant commissioner of police (Sadar) Aman Yadav told reporters: “It’s a false allegation to spoil the atmosphere…. Neither last Friday nor before that was any information of harassment of women received, nor has any complaint been made.”

Unlike 2018, when the agitation was led by fringe Hindutva groups, this time the local Residents Welfare Associations are organising the protests and at least half the protesters are women. The Muslims say the current protest was incited by the leader of a group called the Bharat Mata Vahini who they allege has a criminal record.

Besides the 22 mosques in the city with an estimated Muslim population of more than 4 lakh, Friday prayers used to be offered at 106 open-air sites before the 2018 protests.

The Muslims say conducting Friday prayers on open ground is necessary because of a paucity of mosques. The process of allotting land for religious places in Gurgaon has dragged on for years.

Altaf Ahmad, who represents the Muslims in talks with the administration, said: “In March, Dinesh Bharti who claims to be the head of a group called Bharat Mata Vahini… along with a few more men began targeting and disrupting these remaining 34 Jumma sites where the administration had promised to provide security and ensure Jumma namaz happens peacefully every Friday afternoon.

“Intimidation, provocation and incitement to violence have been systematically used by this group to terrorise those congregating to offer namaz.

“He succeeded in stopping the Jumma namaz at Sectors 39, 40 and 43 during March and April of this year. The community did register an FIR against Dinesh Bharti on April 16…. Now, once again since September 17, Dinesh Bharti and his group are disturbing Jumma namaz and the communal harmony of this city.”

Bharti was arrested in March and April, and obtained bail on both occasions. Last week too he was taken into preventive detention, and was released on bail on Tuesday.

Ahmad said: “Residents and the councillor (Kuldeep Yadav) came up with an absolutely ridiculous suggestion (during talks on Wednesday) of shifting namaz to Sector 37 as there is plenty of government land in a non-residential area. We rejected the idea there and then.... However, on a request from the SDM we agreed to get back with the exact distance and all the challenges because of which shifting is not possible.”

Administrative officials in Gurgaon did not respond to calls and messages from this newspaper asking for details of how they intended to resolve the issue.