Sambhal police deny permission to hold Neja Mela in memory of Syed Salar Masud Ghazi

“The Neja Mela has been traditionally organised in Sambhal. However, some people have raised objections saying that it is held in the memory of Syed Ghazi, a looter involved in the plundering of Somnath,” Shirish Chand, Additional Superintendent of Police, Sambhal, told the members of the fair planning committee who met him on Monday. He also warned the committee members that action would be taken if any attempt was made to erect a memorial, terming it an “evil practice and not a tradition”.

“The fair was held for the last several years. By digging the Neja in the ground, we symbolise the beginning of the week-long fair. Various social and cultural events are held. The government has denied permission this year so we have no choice,” Chaudhary Shahid Ali, the chairman of the Neja Committee, said.

The Neja Mela was postponed last year due to Ramadan.

The members of the committee had earlier met Vandana Mishra, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Sambhal, to seek permission to hold the event but she had refused to okay it. ”A decision was taken to rebrand the event as Sadbhavna Mela to maintain social harmony during a meeting last year but the Neja Committee members insisted on holding it in the traditional format, saying it should not be altered,” Mishra told the local media.

Sambhal had witnessed large-scale violence last year over a court-directed survey of the local Shahi Jama Masjid. The survey was ordered after a priest and six others filed a civil suit claiming that a temple once stood at the site of the mosque.