Muslim in Varanasi | SabrangIndia

Gyan Vapi Masjid: Where can we go when our elders are buried here ask anguished Muslims from Varanasi

sabrang — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 14:18:36 +0000

Reports from the ground in Varanasi (Banaras) collected by Sabrang India suggest that while the bandh called by the Gyan Vapi Masjid committee was successful, people maintained peace; there was also huge police deployment in minority dominated areas

Huge police deployment by the Uttar Pradesh authorities was visible in many areas of Varanasi (Banaras), Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency on Friday, February 2. Sabrang India spoke to several stake holders on the ground who gave first hand reports of the situation which was tense but peaceful.

A senior educationist from the United Public School, speaking to Sabrang India this afternoon stated that while there was huge police deployment, there was no untoward incident. Police presence was visible in several areas including Saraiya. The presence of police generated anxiety and most of the community has not turned out to work or let children go to school, she said. He also said that the community had no option but to accept the decision of the court.

A young weaver and businessman, Aman from Lallapura, alluded to the Appeal for Peace made by Mufti Abdul Batin Nomani who had also advised Banarasi Muslims to offer Friday prayers from their residences or the mosque closes to home and avoid going to Gyan Vapi mosque. Aman told Sabrang India that shops, looms, looms are all closed, large police force is deployed and the area remained peaceful.

Late night puja facilitated by the district administration on February 1 resulted in a call for a bandh in minority areas of Varanasi (Banaras) on Friday even as the Shahar Mufti Abdul Batin Nomani called for peace and calm. With the undue haste with which the district magistrate of Varanasi (Kashi) has allowed the prayers (puja) inside the historic Gyan Vapi masjid (mosque, despite a week’s time “suggested” by the courts, the Mosque Committee (Anjuman Arrangement Committee) called for a bandh that today, until 2 p.m. was completely successful in minority areas and peaceful. Speaking to Sabrang India from the various spots in the city, local Muslims spoke of the anguish and anxiety they are living through. “Prayers” were allowed in the basement of the historic mosque on the banks of the Ganga Thursday evening.

In most areas of the city dominated by a visible Muslim population especially Madanpura, Dalmandi, Nayi Sadak, Lallapura, Saraiya, shops and businesses remain shit, there was an eerie silence as the community grieved and people stopped working and watched news on their mobiles.

Besides, Sabrang India’s reports from the ground show that a fairly large number of Muslims did reach the Gyanvapi Masjid to offer Friday Namaz (Prayers), but in view of the crowd, a small number of people were actually allowed inside the Gyanvapi Masjid for prayers. The remaining people were asked to offer namaz at their homes or in other mosques.

Sabrang India correspondent speaking to one Salim, a small shopkeeper in Saraymir Azamgarh, also evinced the opinion that not only was there peace prevalent in the city but that there is no communal tension and all will accept the finaly court decision. Noman a retired officer from Sant Ravidas Nagar, however stated that the situation all around the country is worrisome and the minorities feel helpless. “These people, “he said, referring to the supremacists who are creating conflicts against the minorities, “will commit a genocide after winning the 2024 elections. So many young men are telling us to leave the city, but when our elders, parents are buried here, when this is our land, how can we leave?”

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Gyanvapi case: Varanasi Muslims display maturity, maintain peace

Sat, 21 May 2022 05:41:25 +0000

Image Courtesy: PTI

On Friday, even as the Supreme Court transferred the Gyanvapi case from the trial court judge to a more senior and experienced district court judge, Muslims in Varanasi worked towards maintaining peace and harmony. The community has stayed calm and there have been no reports of any outbreak of violence despite the communally charged nature of the case.

Members of the community showed restraint and did not make any inflammatory statements even when egged on by a section of the news media to do so. A cursory look at “vox pops” by local and national news media reporters shows that the community is determined not to be triggered into saying something that might spark violence or instigate others to do something rash.

For example, when a Shining India reporter asked a group of men about the 400-year-old mosque, they responded by asking him, “Why don’t you ask questions about education?” If some community member does feel triggered, others around him act quickly to diffuse tensions and advise them against speaking to the press. Others remain calm and offer mature responses. “We Muslims think of India as our country and want to live here in peace,” was a common response. There is also a high-level of awareness about the law, especially the Places of Worship Act, among community members, something they refer to whenever pressed to comment on the subject.

A lot of this is the result of a sustained campaign by peace activists of all faiths in Varanasi, where they hold daily meetings in communally sensitive neighbourhoods and urge people, especially the youth, to stay calm and ensure peace prevails. SabrangIndia had reported previously about how at least 40 such activists had come together on Monday, May 16 at a meeting and decided:

1) To go to communally sensitive neighbourhoods and hold meetings with residents, particularly youth to dissuade them from engaging in violence.

2) To meet various business owners and traders to devise ways to protect shops and commercial establishments.

3) To hold daily meetings between 4 P.M and 5 P.M in different spots across the city with local residents to ascertain if they fear any outbreak of violence and discuss measures to counter the same.

4) To hold meetings with leaders and preachers of all faiths to urge them to inspire their followers to stay calm and not engage in violence.

5) To not allow any outside elements to take over the peace initiative as many of them are just seen as publicity hungry self-styled activists who are only interested in media coverage.

6) A delegation of activists is also likely to meet members of the civic administration and police force.

7) To hold sensitization meetings with local media-persons so that mis-reportage and fake news are prevented from vitiating an already charged atmosphere.

There are also ongoing discussions about holding an interfaith peace march. However, in light of the outbreak of violence in other parts of the country during Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti, there are fears that such a rally could be infiltrated by miscreants in a bid to discredit the objectives of the organisers. These concerns may also lead the police to not give permission for the march in the first place, and the activists are determined to operate strictly within the purview of the law.

Meanwhile, Anjuman Intezamia Masjid (AIM), which is the Gyanvapi mosque management authority, had shown tremendous wisdom on Friday, when it issued a notice requesting devotes to not come to the mosque in large numbers and instead perform Friday prayers in their own neighbourhoods as the Wazu tank and restrooms had been sealed by the trial court after a lawyer for the Hindu petitioners claimed that a “Shivling” was found there. The finding has not been corroborated. In fact, mosque authorities insist that it is just a part of an old fountain that stood at the spot. Mosque authorities also suggested that devotees could perform Wazu and use restrooms before coming to the mosque. However, when nearly 1,200 people turned up at the mosque as opposed to the usual 400, mosque authorities had to shut the gate and request the excess people to leave as the maximum capacity of the mosque is only 700 people. The Supreme Court has now directed that arrangements be made to ensure devotees can perform “Wazu” (ritual ablutions before prayers) at the Gyanvapi mosque. The Times of India reports that two drums and 1,000 liters of water have been provided for Wazu so far.

However, next door in Bihar, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) took to the streets last night to protest the developments in the Gyanvapi case. Shamim Akhter, the state president of the party claimed that the Central government was resorting to creating a communal divide as it was failing to deliver on developmental parameters. “All this time everything was quiet, and now a Shivling has suddenly appeared,” he told YouTube news channel The Activist, adding, “The whole country knows what Yogi and Modi are up to.” He further called the discovery of the “Shivling” a form of “propaganda and conspiracy”. He further said, “There was no justice in the Babri case, only a decision.” Now, while this could be seen as triggering, one must remember that this was a comment by a politician and not an ordinary Muslim person. Despite such comments, the march was peaceful and no outbreak of violence has been reported so far.

Meanwhile, the SC has warned against any further leaks of the data gathered during the video survey at the mosque. LiveLaw quoted Justice DY Chandrachud as saying, “The selective leaks of Commission report must stop,” and that, “Once there is a commission report, it should be submitted to the court. Do not leak things to the press. You must present it to the judge.”

Readers would recall that On May 17, the trial court had removed Ajay Kumar Mishra as one of the Advocate Commissioners tasked to conduct a video survey of the Gyanvapi mosque, for allegedly leaking information to the press. Mishra squarely blamed his cameraman for the leak. This is the same Advocate Commissioner that the AIM had claimed was biased and sought removal of previously. A cameraman named Ganesh was the one who was hired for the video survey from the very outset, and he had not made any statements about the findings of the survey, no matter how much newspersons probed him. But Mishra had also hired a private cameraman named Vibhash Dubey who made a series of “revelations” to different media channels.

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