Protesters hold prayers for 26/11 terror victims near Gurugram namaz site

Members of Muslim community demand action to ensure communal harmony

People from Hindu community perform 'hawan' at an open ground while people from the Muslim community offer 'namaz' at a corner of the same place, in Gurugram, on Nov. 26, 2021.

Amid continued protests against offering of Friday prayers in open spaces across Gurugram, a group of “locals” at Sector 37 here held a simultaneous prayer remembering the victims of the 26/11 terror attack near a namaz site.

Raising slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”, a large number of people, claiming to be locals from the neighbouring areas, gathered near Khandsa Chowk in front of Sector 37 police station around noon and began the prayers for the victims. The spot where they gathered is just a stone’s throw from the vacant plot where the Muslims offer namaz every Friday. Though a large number of policemen deployed at the spot prevented any escalation of tension, the members of the group claimed the space used for offering namaz soon after the Muslims left.

Letter against prayers

In a letter to the office of the Deputy Commissioner on Thursday, the “locals” had alleged that offering of namaz at the vacant plot caused inconvenience to the residents of Khandsa village and the children playing in the ground. The letter stated that offering of namaz also caused traffic jam-like situation on the road nearby.

People from Muslim community offer 'namaz' at an open ground while people from Hindu community perform 'hawan' at the same place nearby, in Gurugram, on Nov. 26, 2021.

 

Rights ‘violation’

Demanding that the district administration take action to ensure communal harmony in the area, Altaf Ahmad, member, Gurgaon Muslim Council, said that Article 25 of the Constitution was “violated” on Constitution Day itself. “The far-right wing group has been disrupting obligatory Juma Namaz of Muslims for last three months in Gurugram. It was Sector 37 where they intentionally chose the same spot and time of Juma Namaz for offering their own prayers this Friday; same way as they did for Govardhan Puja in Sector 12A on November 5,” said Mr. Ahmad.

He added that around 500 Muslim workers from various industries in the area normally gather to offer namaz at the vacant plot but this Friday only 30-odd could offer prayers due to the protest.

Starting from Sector 39 this year, the protests against offering of namaz have gradually spread to Sector 40, 43, 47, 12A and 18 over the past few weeks.