Despite assurance to the contrary in High Court, Hindu Mahapanchayat held at Uttarkashi

Despite assurance to the contrary in High Court, Hindu Mahapanchayat held at Uttarkashi

S.M.A.KAZMI

Dehradun , Dec 1

A ‘Hindu Mahapanchayat’ was held against Uttarkashi mosque at Ram Leela grounds in Uttarkashi town of Uttarakhand, despite an assurance given by the state BJP government to the Nainital High Court against holding of such a gathering.

Addressing the Hindu Mahapanchayat  convened on the call given by Devbhoomi Vichar Manch and supported by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP),Bajrang dal and other affiliated organisations of RSS, T Raja, BJP legislator from Hyderabad known for his hate speeches in the past said that he had come to Uttarakhand to make the Hindus of The state awake. He called upon them to get united. He advised the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to hold a dialogue with neighbouring Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over a cup and tea and get a cue how to tackle the issue of illegal mosques and mazars. Darshan Bharati, another hate monger from Uttarakhand was also present during the Mahapanchayat as per the media reports.

Suresh Chauhan, BJP legislator from Gangtori said that efforts should be made to declare Uttarkashi as a Hindu religious town since many revered Hindu shrine and temples are located in the district. He also called for complete ban on selling of meat, eggs and non-vegetarian food in the district.

On the issue of Uttarakashi mosque, he said that a re-inquiry as ordered by the Uttarakhand Chief Minister would be held and if any illegality was found, the mosque would be demolished. He also made a strong pitch against outsiders coming into Uttarakashi and getting involved into small businesses. Without naming Muslims, he warned locals against renting out their houses to ‘outsiders’.

Earlier, Congress party was attacked by the speakers as synonymous with ‘Jehadis’ and bane of the entire Hindu community, responsible for the partition of the country and resultant killing of Hindus and Sikhs. Heavy security arrangements were made for the Hindu Mahapanchayat which was called to demand demolition of the Uttarkashi mosque which they caliamed was built illegally. Extra forces from neighbouring districts were deployed in the town.

Most interestingly, the Uttarakhand government gave permission for the Hindu Mahapanchayat despite earlier giving an undertaking in the Nainital High Court on Wednesday that no permission has been granted.

Uttarkashi district administration gave permission with several conditions that included not making any hate speech, not taking out any rally, not obstructing any traffic ,not inciting religious sentiments and maintaining peace.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal of Nainital High Court issued directives to the Uttarakhand government and state Directoir General of Police  to maintain peace and security related to the ongoing agitation by Hindu outfits demanding the demolition of a 55-year-old mosque in Uttarkashi.

On November 22, 2024 , a division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal heard a petition related to the case. Following the proceedings, the court issued directives to the state government and the Director General of police, emphasizing the need to maintain peace and security in the region.

The ‘Alpsankhayak Seva Samiti’ has filed a writ petition in the High court seeking court’s intervention in the issue following threats by Sanyukt Sanatan Dharam Raksha Sangh, a Hindu outfit against the Uttarkashi mosque and hate speeches being given directed against the minority Muslims.  The petition also sought court’s intenvention in preventing a proposed Mahapanchat by the Hindu Right wing groups in Uttarakashi on December 1,2024.

Admitting the petition, the court directed the Uttarkashi District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police (SP) to ensure tight security around the Uttarkashi mosque. The court also directed the registry to list the petition as a fresh case on November 27, 2024.

In a hearing before the division bench of the High Court on Friday, senior counsels Dr. Kartikey Hari Gupta, Imran Ali Khan, Pallavi Bahuguna, Rafat Munir Ali, and Irum Zeba, representing the petitioners, raised serious concerns regarding hate speech directed at Muslims.

The state government through its’ counsel informed the court that permission for holding any such Mahapanachayat would be issued.

The senior counsels for the petitioners namely Dr. Kartikey Hari Gupta and Imran Ali Khan pleaded that the  mosque on Bhatwari Road in Uttarkashi was constructed in 1969 on privately purchased land. It was further stated that “in 1986, the Assistant Waqf Commissioner of Uttar Pradesh conducted an inquiry and confirmed that a mosque existed on Khasra No. 2223, built by members of the Muslim community using charitable funds and used since then by the Muslims and in 1987 was officially registered as Wakf property.

The petitioners stated that the members of the Sanyukt Sanatan Dharam Raksha Sangh and their associates have engaged in extreme hate speech against Muslims and the mosque which they argued   were in complete violation of the directions issued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the case of Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay v. Union of India Others.

The petitioners asserted, that  in September 2024, the Hindu outfit leaders —Jitendra Singh Chauhan, Swami Darshan Bharti, Sonu Singh Negi, Lakhpat Singh Bhandari, and Anuj Walia—who identify themselves as members of the Sanyukt Sanatan Dharam Raksha Sangh and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, began threatening to demolish the mosque. The petitioners had alleged that these leaders have spread false information about the mosque’s legality and have engaged in hate speech against the Muslim community.  The next date of hearing in the court is fixed for December 5, 2024.

Uttarkashi town saw violence on October 24, 2024 when the Hindutva groups tried to take out a procession towards the mosque and had violent confrontation with the police force which tried to prevent them by erecting barricades. Several protestors and policemen were injured in the lathicharge and police arrested eight Hindutva leaders and registered cases against 200 unidentified persons for violence.

Interestingly, Hindutva groups were out to spread their communal agenda despite the fact that Uttarkashi district administration after a through inquiry has found the mosque to be perfectly legal. But following the October 24 incident and pressure from Hindutva groups in the run up to the Kedarnath bye-elections which was scheduled on November 20, 2024, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami who went to Uttarkashi on November 6 trying to assuage the ‘hurt’feeling of his fellow political travellers announced that the the papers of the land on which Uttarkashi mosque is built would be re-examined by the administration.

The Chief Minister during his visit reiterated that ‘Land Jehad’, ‘Love Jehad’ and ‘Thook(spit) Jehad’ would not be tolerated in ‘Devbhoomi’ Uttarakhand  and his government has freed 5000 acres of encroached land in the state. He further said that the administration would re-examine the land papers of the Uttarkashi mosque and see if any illegality has been done.

A delegation of Hindu organisation led by district BJP chief Satinder Rana had met the Chief Minister and complained against police lathi charge on October 24, 2024. Acting promptly to placate them, the state administration acted swiftly and finding no scapegoat transferred a Muslim officer Raza Abbas, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) to  state headquarters in Dehradun while Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP Prashant Kumar, Uttarkashi was also attached with police headquater, Dehradun with immediate effect. Later on November 28,2024 before the proposed Hindu Mahapanchayat, Uttarklashi Superintendent of Police Amit Srivastava who acted tough against any law breaker and was on the target of Hindutva groups was transferred and replaced by Sarita Dobhal.