A member of a right-wing group was arrested and 40 others detained in Mathura on Tuesday for trying to recite the Hanuman Chalisa at the Shahi Eidgah mosque, which is adjacent to the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple, officials said. In Varanasi, a civil court adjourned hearing six petitions related to the Gyanvapi mosque. And in Ayodhya, which marked the 30th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid, there were no public demonstrations by Hindu or Muslim groups.
In recent months, Mathura and Varanasi have become the sites of renewed efforts by right-wing groups to lay claim to the centuries-old mosques that adjoin the iconic temples. In Mathura, some petitioners want worship rights at the Shahi Eidgah mosque, which they say was built after demolishing part of the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple, the mythical birthplace of Lord Krishna. In Varanasi, Hindu petitioners want the right to pray inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex.
On Tuesday, efforts by members of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM) were foiled by elaborate security measures that were put in place following the group’s call to chant Hanuman Chalisa inside the mosque to mark December 6, the day the Babri Masjid was destroyed. No one was allowed to breach the security cordon in the mosque. More than 40 activists were arrested from various places in Mathura.
One of the ABHM officials was stopped near Bhooteshwar when he was found to be moving for jalabhishek (a ritual of offering water to the Ganga carried in an ornate kanwar carriage),” said Mathura SP Martand Prakash Singh. Rajyashree Chaudhary, national president of ABHM, said that no member could reach the mosque on Tuesday. “We may have failed to reach the Shahi Eidgah Mosque for the second consecutive year, but we would return next year to succeed in our call,” said Chaudhary.
