Syed Ali Mujtaba

New Delhi: It seems that after the destruction of the Babari masjid, the appetite for the demolition of mosques continues unabated in India.

Media reports are agog with stories about mosques being demolished in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, UP, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh.

Someone needs to do a count of how many mosques have been destroyed since the ill-fated event on December 6. 1992.

The latest incident occurred on Friday, September 13, 2024, at the Railway Colony in Prayagraj/Allahabad.  There when the Muslim worshippers arrived for the weekly Friday prayers, they found their place of worship in a demolished state.

The mosque was situated around 150 meters from Prayagraj Railway Station and was torn down by the local authorities without any prior notice or following any legal procedure.

Eyewitnesses reported that during demolition no one gave any respect to the copies of the holy Holy Quran kept inside the mosque that were reported to be desecrated during the incident.

Some apologists have argued that the mosque was constructed on unauthorized land. Since it was done without legal permission, the demolition of the mosque did not warrant following any legal procedure.

The straight answer is that this was a functional mosque where people were going for religious purposes and that is protected under the right of religious freedom. In such a case Muslims cannot be subjected to such a targeted attack on their place of worship.       

No doubt, the sudden demolition of the mosque has deeply hurt the religious sentiments of the local Muslims and the community members are in shock over such an outrageous activity.

This incident has raised serious concerns about the protection of Muslim religious sites and the legal protocols that should be followed in such matters.

What is noticed is that the Hindutva elements have found a new handle to attack the Muslim community and this time targeting the mosques that may be constructed on unauthorized land.

Recently, the Sanjauli mosque in Shimla grabbed headlines for unauthorized construction. This was followed by a similar incident at a mosque in Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. In both places, a peaceful resolution was reached after the consultation with the concerned parties.

However, in the case of the Railway Colony mosque in Prayagraj, no such efforts were ever being made. The mosque was demolished to humiliate the Muslim community. Explicit in the design was an anti-Muslim agenda.

This is a sorry picture of contemporary India, where wanton destruction of Muslim religious sites has become a new pastime in India.