Gurgaon Namaz Row

This week - at Gurgaon's Udyog Vihar - there was a heated exchange after right-wing group members seemed to harass Muslims trying to offer namaz and demanded they chant 'Bharat mata ki jai.'

The issue of Gurgaon's Muslims being stopped from offering namaz in open spaces, including government-owned land, every Friday for the past few months reached the Supreme Court on Thursday, after an ex-Rajya Sabha MP filed a plea.

Amid a row in BJP-ruled Haryana over namaz on government land, the centre on Wednesday told the Rajya Sabha that it "has not issued any guidelines to states regarding use of open government land for various religious activities".

Muslims should not offer Friday prayers in open spaces in Gurgaon, Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar said, withdrawing an earlier agreement - reached after clashes with members of the Hindu community in 2018 - that allowed namaz at designated sites.

Muslims offering namaz at a designated open site in Gurgaon's Sector 37 were interrupted once again by right-wing Hindu groups, with tensions mounting as they performed a 'prayer' that claimed to commemorate the 26/11 terror attacks.

Muslims peacefully offering namaz (or daily prayers) on a private property in Gurgaon's Sector 12-A were faced by a crowd - that locals claimedincluded Bajrang Dal workers - shouting 'Jai Shri Ram', underlining tension over this issue.

The conflict over offering namaz in Gurugram may have been triggered off by the use of public spaces with the alleged intention of encroaching on land near mosques, but going by the list of demands put forth by the Sanyukt Hindu Sangharsh Samiti, their protest goes well beyond civic issues, and targets the economic and social activities of Muslims ...

Gurugram authorities have appointed 76 Duty Magistrates to oversee offering of Friday prayers by the Muslims, an official said on Thursday.

Following instances of disruption of namaz in Gurgaon allegedly by fringe Right-wing groups in the last few weeks, separate meetings were held between the district administration, the Right-wing and Muslim organisations to defuse tension arising out of opposition to offering Friday prayers in open spaces.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar issued a clarification today on his statement that namaz should be read in mosques and Idgahs instead of open areas. "I haven't spoken about stopping anyone. Maintaining law and order is the duty of the police and the administration," Mr Khattar said in Chandigarh today.

Breaking his silence over reports of Friday namaz being disrupted allegedly by right-wing groups in Gurgaon on April 4, the Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, on Sunday, backed the members of groups, saying it is not right to pray in open spaces. "It is our duty to maintain law and order. There has been an increase in offering namaz in ...

This week - at Gurgaon's Udyog Vihar - there was a heated exchange after right-wing group members seemed to harass Muslims trying to offer namaz and demanded they chant 'Bharat mata ki jai.'

The issue of Gurgaon's Muslims being stopped from offering namaz in open spaces, including government-owned land, every Friday for the past few months reached the Supreme Court on Thursday, after an ex-Rajya Sabha MP filed a plea.

Amid a row in BJP-ruled Haryana over namaz on government land, the centre on Wednesday told the Rajya Sabha that it "has not issued any guidelines to states regarding use of open government land for various religious activities".

Muslims should not offer Friday prayers in open spaces in Gurgaon, Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar said, withdrawing an earlier agreement - reached after clashes with members of the Hindu community in 2018 - that allowed namaz at designated sites.

Muslims offering namaz at a designated open site in Gurgaon's Sector 37 were interrupted once again by right-wing Hindu groups, with tensions mounting as they performed a 'prayer' that claimed to commemorate the 26/11 terror attacks.

Muslims peacefully offering namaz (or daily prayers) on a private property in Gurgaon's Sector 12-A were faced by a crowd - that locals claimedincluded Bajrang Dal workers - shouting 'Jai Shri Ram', underlining tension over this issue.

The conflict over offering namaz in Gurugram may have been triggered off by the use of public spaces with the alleged intention of encroaching on land near mosques, but going by the list of demands put forth by the Sanyukt Hindu Sangharsh Samiti, their protest goes well beyond civic issues, and targets the economic and social activities of Muslims ...

Gurugram authorities have appointed 76 Duty Magistrates to oversee offering of Friday prayers by the Muslims, an official said on Thursday.

Following instances of disruption of namaz in Gurgaon allegedly by fringe Right-wing groups in the last few weeks, separate meetings were held between the district administration, the Right-wing and Muslim organisations to defuse tension arising out of opposition to offering Friday prayers in open spaces.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar issued a clarification today on his statement that namaz should be read in mosques and Idgahs instead of open areas. "I haven't spoken about stopping anyone. Maintaining law and order is the duty of the police and the administration," Mr Khattar said in Chandigarh today.

Breaking his silence over reports of Friday namaz being disrupted allegedly by right-wing groups in Gurgaon on April 4, the Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, on Sunday, backed the members of groups, saying it is not right to pray in open spaces. "It is our duty to maintain law and order. There has been an increase in offering namaz in ...