In an apparent attempt to "avoid trouble," the facades of two mosques and a mazar at Haridwar, Uttarakhand, along the Kanwar Yatra route, were reportedly covered with enormous sheets of white cloth on Friday. But by the evening, the sheets were taken down due to protests from a number of sources. In the vicinity of Jwalapur, in front of the mosques and the mazar, the sheets were strung up on bamboo scaffoldings.
The maulana of the mosque and those in charge of the mazar declared that they did not know of any official directive concerning this move, adding that it was the first time that a measure of this kind had been used during the yatra.
Cabinet Minister Satpal Maharaj informed reporters that the action was made to ensure calm, despite the fact that the district magistrate and senior superintendent of police in Haridwar were not available for remark. According to the minister, "any such thing is done only to prevent trouble," as reported by news agency PTI.
"It's not really that significant. We provide building construction insurance as well," he continued. The sheets of cloth were later taken down by the district government in response to protests from both residents and politicians. The railway police post gave us instructions to take down the drapes. Danish Ali, who was designated as a special police officer (SPO) by the administration for the yatra's management, was reported by PTI as saying, "That is why we have come to remove these."
Former minister and congressman Naeem Qureshi claimed he had never seen anything like it in his life. "During the Kanwar fair, we Muslims always provide a warm welcome to Shiv bhakts, or devotees, and set up refreshments for them at various places. There has never been a curtain tradition in Haridwar, and this has been an example of cooperation between Hindus and Muslims," he stated.
According to Qureshi, the government had a conference before to the commencement of the kanwar mela, at which members of the Muslim and Hindu communities were designated as SPOs. Shakeel Ahmad, one of the mazar's caregivers, claimed that nobody discussed this—concerning the religious framework—with the caregivers.
Ahmed stated that this is the first time that kanwariyas had stopped to relax under the cover of trees outside mosques and mazars. Rao Afaque Ali, a Congress leader and former president of the district panchayat, expressed surprise at the administration's decision to cover mosques and mazars. "That has never occurred before. In addition, some kanwariyas visit mosques to offer prayers. In India, caste and religion are respected by all citizens. If temples are covered in the same way tomorrow as mosques are today, what will happen?" he asked.
This, according to Suryakant Dhasmana, vice president of the Uttarakhand Congress, is a "contempt of the Supreme Court". "The order to put curtains on mosques and mazars on the kanwar yatra route in Haridwar district, whoever has issued it, goes against the Supreme Court which has put a stay on an order which asked hotel and restaurant owners and fruit vendors on the route to display their names, caste and religious identity," Dhasmana stated.
He attacked the state's ruling BJP, claiming it had not learned from its electoral setbacks in Prayagraj, Badrinath, Manglaur, and Chitrakoot.
