Gurugram namaz row: Hindu, Muslim groups agree on 18 prayer sites

Sumedha Sharma
Tribune News Service
Gurugram, December 6

Hindu and Muslim groups announced they had agreed on 18 places in Gurugram for Friday namaz prayers after protracted negotiations, officials said.

The district administration hosted a joint meeting attended by representatives of both sides to help resolve a conflict that has is now at least two years old and had turned into a weekly event.  

The sites newly agreed upon are 12 mosques and six public spaces—Atlas Chowk HSIIDC ground, Peepal Chowk Huda land Udyog Vihar phase 2,Huda land opposite Spice Jet office Udyog vihar, Leisure Valley Ground, Huda land on Golf Course road sector 42 and sector 69 HUDA land.

The public spaces will be rented out for their use, officials said.  

This new agreement means that 20 designated places were namaz is currently being offered will no longer be used.

 “Other than 12 mosques which are rightfully theirs we have agreed upon six other public grounds which our Muslim brothers or Imam Sangathan to be more specific has agreed to rent every Friday,” said Mahaveer Bhardwaj , President Hindu Sangharsh Samiti. “They will be using these places till their Waqf Board properties are not evacuated or handed to them. There shall be no objection or disruption or protest in any of these agreed 18 places. For us, this settles the matter.”

Khurshid Razaka of Muslim Manch said they would abide by these terms.

“We have reached an agreement and on our part, we’ll abide by its terms. We have offered to pay rent for places we rent. Communal harmony of this city is most important and we’ve worked towards ensuring same,” he said.

The two groups have been holding meetings for over a month now, they said, and blamed “publicity seekers” for blowing the issue “out of proportion”.

 Gurugram Police meanwhile said it would continue to station police at the sites to ensure there’s no escalation.

Hindu organisations have been spearheading protests against public “jumma” prayers every Friday despite explicit permission being granted to them by the district administration. These protests have been particularly vehement in some places, such as Sector 37.  The situation has been especially tense in the last few weeks, with hostile right-wing groups flocking to these places, conducted their own public prayers and chanting “Jai Shri Ram” a few metres from where namaz was being offered. The last few weeks have seen several protesters being detained.   

The protests came amid fears of shrinking spaces for Muslims in the country.

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