Gurgaon administration cancels permission for Friday prayers at eight spots

GURGAON, Haryana (KMS) – The district administration in Gurgaon has yielded to Hindutva pressure as it announced that permission for Friday prayers to Muslims has been cancelled at eight spots among the 37 designated spots.

The statement put out by the administration said that the decision to cancel the permission was taken following 'objection from local residents and resident welfare associations'.

These prayers spots where permission has been cancelled are: Bengali Basti Sector 49, V block DLF Phase 3, Surat Nagar Phase 1, a spot outside Kheri Majra village, a spot near Daulatabad village on Dwarka Expressway, Sector 68 near Ramgarh village, a spot near DLF square tower and a spot between Rampur village and Nakhrola Road.

Meanwhile, a civil society forum, Gurgaon Ekta Manch, has vowed to counter the attacks against prayers by launching a public awareness campaign that will run online and offline to dispel fake news and false allegations with facts.

For more than a month, Hindutva supporters led by Dinesh Bharti of Bharat Mata Vahini group have been disrupting congregational prayers every Friday at a designated spot in Sector 47 in Gurugram where Muslims assemble for weekly namaz. Protests and disruptions were also reported from Sector 12.

Announcing the launch of the campaign at a press conference, Gurgaon Ekta Manch said that a platform will be made available for all those who disagree with the current campaign against the Friday prayers and who stand for a united Gurgaon for harmony and progress.

On Tuesday, the district administration formed a committee that will discuss the issue with members of Muslim and Hindu committees and local civil society groups to resolve the impasse created over namaz. A sub-divisional magistrate and an assistant commissioner level police officer will be part of the committee.

Sanyukt Hindu Sangharsh Samiti, an umbrella body of Hindutva groups, had met the Gurgaon deputy commissioner seeking ban on Friday prayers at all public places.

Gurugram, bordering Delhi, does not have enough mosques to accommodate all the worshipers forcing Muslims to come out in the open to offer their mandatory congregational prayers.