Mussoorie administration demolishes structure at 200-year-old graveyard where freedom fighter Abbas Tyabbji lay buried, claim it be municipal land
Mussoorie administration demolishes structure at 200-year-old graveyard where freedom fighter Abbas Tyabbji lay buried, claim it be municipal land
S.M.A. KAZMI
Dehradun, Aug 1
As part of its’ anti-Muslim campaign by the Uttarakhand BJP government, the Mussoorie administration demolished a structure at the Mussoorie Muslim graveyard in an early morning action and claimed that more than a century old Muslim graveyard having the graves of eminent personalities including great freedom fighter Abbas Tyabbji who was buried in 1936 has no legal sanctity.
Tensions flared in the Lakshmanpuri area of Mussoorie on Saturday following administrative action to remove a religious structure. Protesting the move, a large number of people from the Muslim community blocked the highway and raised slogans against the state government and termed the administrative action as completely biased and unwarranted. Meanwhile, the administration clarified that the land in question belongs to the Municipal Council and the encroachment removal drive was carried out only after adhering to all legal procedures.
The members of the Muslim community stated that the site where the action took place was not a new structure but a location that had been in use for religious and social purposes for years. They claim the site is approximately 200 years old and serves as the burial place. Community members clarified that the structure the administration is labelling as a “mosque” is not used for regular prayers, but it was a tin shed where the final prayers for the deceased are offered as part of funeral rites.
Shahid Manzoor, a local resident said that it was most unfortunate that the administration did not care to look at the documents and proofs provided by the community and bulldozed their way with brute force. “ We were not allowed to even go near graveyard and collect the goods put in the room,” he lamented.
He elaborated that the local administration had pasted a notice at the graveyard and the Muslim community met the SDM, Mussoorie Rahul Anand and shown him the Survey of India map of 1929 which shows the graveyard and the mosque, 1914 Cantonment board documents mentioning about it, 1920 maps a survey of 1962 and land registry in the name of Anjuman islamiaya which bought the land. He said that the SDM said that people are objecting to two ‘minars’ at the site and asked that those be removed. “ The community complied to his directive and removed the ‘Minars but again notices were served and demolition was done today,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mussoorie SDM Rahul Anand stated that the land in question does not belong to the Waqf Board, nor is it owned by any private individual or community. A joint inquiry established that the land belongs to the Mussoorie Municipal Council. He stated that an examination of records from the Revenue Department, Municipal Council, Cantonment Board, and Waqf Board revealed that the structure was built on municipal land and constituted an encroachment.
According to the SDM, the administration had issued notices to the concerned party on three occasions, directing them to remove the structure voluntarily, but the notices were not complied with. Subsequently, the encroachment was removed in the presence of police personnel, in accordance with established procedures. He emphasized that the administration’s action was carried out strictly within the legal framework and that no one is above the law.
The BJP state government has demolished nearly 600 ‘Mazars’ across the state terming them encroachments and even closed several mosques. The Mussoorie demolitions were part of the anti-Muslim campaign being carried out in the state.
Interestingly, the administration has not shown such alacrity in encroachments on public land by other religious groups including Hindu majority.
