Skip to main content

India court allows Hindus to pray inside disputed mosque in Varanasi

An Indian court weighed in on one of the country’s most sensitive religious disputes on Wednesday by permitting Hindu worshippers to pray inside a mosque in the city of Varanasi.

The Gyanvapi mosque is one of several Islamic houses of worship that Hindu activists, backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, have sought for decades to reclaim for their religion.

It was built in the 17th century by the Mughal Empire in a city where Hindu faithful from across the country cremate their loved ones by the Ganges river.

The court in Varanasi ruled that Hindu worshippers — who believe the mosque replaced a destroyed temple to the deity Shiva — could pray in the building’s basement.

Its verdict ordered district authorities to “make proper arrangements within the next seven days” to facilitate worshippers.

The decision is the latest in a long-running legal saga over Gyanvapi’s future.

This month, India’s official archaeological agency said a survey of the site appeared to corroborate the belief that it was originally home to a temple, according to local news reports.

Emboldened right-wing Hindu groups have laid claim to several Muslim sites of worship they say were built atop ancient temples during Mughal rule.

Last week, Modi presided over a grand inauguration ceremony in the nearby city of Ayodhya for a Hindu temple built on grounds once home to the centuries-old Babri mosque.

Hindu zealots had torn down that mosque in 1992 in a campaign spearheaded by members of Modi’s party, sparking sectarian riots that killed 2,000 people nationwide, most of them Muslims.

The decades-long court battle that ensued over the future of the Babri site ended in 2019 when India’s top court permitted the construction of a temple to the deity Ram, who according to Hindu scripture was born in the city.

Members of Modi’s party routinely refer to India’s history of Muslim rule under the Mughal emperors as a time of “slavery”.

The prime minister described last week’s opening of the temple as “the advent of a new era”.

Calls for India to enshrine Hindu supremacy have rapidly grown louder since Modi took office in 2014, making its roughly 210-million-strong Muslim minority increasingly anxious about their future.



from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/wK4XHfx

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ministers rubbish notion that proposed retirement age extension to favour ‘one particular institution’

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday rubbished the notion that a proposed extension in the retirement age was to favour “one particular institution”, adding that the move would be implemented across the board if approved. The rebuttal comes in the wake of media reports claiming that the government was mulling changes to the Constitution to fix the tenure of the chief justice . Currently, judges of the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, retire after attaining the age of superannuation, i.e. 65 years, as stipulated in Article 179 of the Constitution. While giving his opinion recently on the reports of the constitutional amendment, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had said he “will not vehemently turn down the proposals related to the tenure of the chief justice”. Addressing the issue during a press conference in Islamabad today along since Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and the law minister, Attaullah said the extension in the retirement age was “a proposal to a...

The Republican primary race for president in 2024

The Republican primary race for president in 2024 is already shaping up to be a competitive one. There are a number of high-profile candidates who have already announced their intention to run, and more are expected to join the field in the coming months. The frontrunner for the nomination is former President Donald Trump. Trump has been teasing a 2024 run for months, and he has a large and loyal following among Republican voters. However, he is also a polarizing figure, and his candidacy could alienate some moderate Republicans. Another potential contender for the nomination is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis has been praised by many conservatives for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and his opposition to vaccine mandates. He is also seen as a rising star in the Republican Party. Other potential candidates include former Vice President Mike Pence, former Ambassador Nikki Haley, and Senator Tim Scott. Pence is a more traditional Republican who could appeal to moderate vote...

Islamabad court issues non-bailable warrants for KP CM Gandapur in 2016 weapons and liquor case

An Islamabad district and sessions court on Wednesday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur in connection with a 2016 case , in which he was accused of carrying alcohol and unlicensed weapons. On July 29, Civil Judge Shaista Khan Kundi summoned Gandapur for recording his testimony in the case. Judge Shaista had directed Gandapur to ensure his presence on September 4 (today) for recording his statement under section 342 of the criminal procedure code (CrPC), observing that he has already skipped five hearings in the case. In the hearing today, the judge rejected Gandapur’s request for exemption from physical appearance in court on medical grounds. The court ordered Station House Officer (SHO) Bhara Kahu to arrest and produce Gandapur in court tomorrow. Gandpaur’s lawyers Raja Zahoorul Hassan and Fatehullah Burki appeared in court, engaging back and forth on Gandapur’s absence from court. “Where is the accused? The case was ca...