Gurgaon : Hindutva activists disrupt Christmas event at school

 The incident occurred when blankets and food were being distributed among poor children at a school in Pataudi

Since September, Hindutva activists have used loudspeakers and played Hindu devotional songs, or performed puja, during Friday namaz at designated open-air sites in Gurgaon, which lacks enough mosques. File photo

Imran Ahmed Siddiqui   |   TT  |  New Delhi   |   26.12.21  : A group of Hindutva activists barged into a school in Gurgaon on Friday evening and disrupted Christmas Eve activities, chanting “Jai Shri Ram” and “Bharat Mata ki jai”.

Sources in Gurgaon police said they had so far not received any complaints.

Unconfirmed reports said a group of men also disrupted Christmas Eve prayers at a local church in Gurgaon but the police denied this.

The storming of the school follows months of disruption of Friday namaz, by Hindutva groups and residents, at designated open spaces in Gurgaon. No action has been taken against the vandals.

A video circulated widely on social media shows several men chanting “Jai Shri Ram” and “Bharat Mata ki jai” inside a school, which police said was located in the Pataudi locality of Gurgaon.

“The nuisance is increasing with each passing day. It’s an infringement of our right to pray and religion,” a local pastor was quoted as saying by the news agency PTI.

Another video shows a man holding a mike and telling a group of schoolchildren: “We do not disrespect Jesus…. But I want to tell our next generation of children, you should never get lured by any religion. If this happens then India’s culture will be destroyed. You have to make a resolution to protect our culture and chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’.”

A police officer told The Telegraph: “So far we have managed to verify the videos (showing) a local school where some men entered and tried to disrupt Christmas celebrations. The incident occurred when blankets and food were being distributed among poor children at a school in Pataudi. After sometime, the group left. There has been no complaint from anyone.”

Since September, Hindutva activists have used loudspeakers and played Hindu devotional songs, or performed puja, during Friday namaz at designated open-air sites in Gurgaon, which lacks enough mosques.

In November, the district administration withdrew consent to 8 of the 37 designated sites.

Earlier this month, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that prayers by Muslims in

open spaces “will not be tolerated” and withdrew consent for Friday namaz at the remaining 29 designated open-air sites.