Plaque with Ashoka emblem in Srinagar’s Hazratbal vandalised, political row erupts in Valley
The plaque Kashmir’s most revered shrine led protesters to pelt stones at it and raise slogans. Kashmiri leaders called it ‘Wakf Board’s brazen attempt to hurt Muslim sentiments’.
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On Friday, people who came to offer prayers at the Hazratbal mosque allegedly pelted the inauguration plaque with stones, vandalised it and raised slogans to protest the emblem. (Wikimedia Commons)An inauguration plaque with an Ashoka emblem at the revered Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar has snowballed into a controversy, with political leaders too wading in.
The most revered shrine in Jammu & Kashmir, the Hazratbal houses the holy relic of the Prophet.
On Friday, people who came to offer prayers at the shrine allegedly damaged the inauguration plaque with stones and raised slogans. One protester said Islam does not allow any sculpture inside mosques or shrines.
The installation of the plaque also sparked a political row, with Valley leaders calling it the Waqf Board’s “brazen attempt to hurt sentiments”.
The vice-chairperson of the Waqf Board, Darakhshan Andrabi, is a BJP leader.
National Conference leader and Hazratbal legislator Tanvir Sadiq said the plaque with the emblem was against the belief of ‘Tawheed’ (oneness of God).
“I am not a religious scholar but in Islam, idol worship is strictly forbidden — the gravest of sins,” Sadiq said on X. “Placing a sculpted figure at the revered Hazratbal Dargah goes against this very belief. Sacred spaces must reflect only the purity of Tawheed, nothing else.”
Andrabi called the protesters “terrorists” and demanded their arrest. She also blamed Sadiq for “adding fuel to fire”. Sadiq’s tweet, however, came after the protests.
“I had warned that such trouble could be created. FIRs will be filed against everyone responsible, including the MLA whose tweet added fuel to the fire,” Andrabi said.
These remarks fuelled the row, with political leaders accusing Andrabi of issuing threats.
People were “rightly offended”, NC MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi said, calling Andrabi’s remarks “foolish, unacceptable, and an assault on people’s attachment with their beloved shrine”.
PDP leader Iltija Mufti said on X: “Labelling Kashmiris as ‘terrorists’ just because they expressed their anger on something which hurt their religious sentiments & asking police to slap them with PSA reflects BJPs punitive and communal mindset… It seems that Muslims are deliberately being provoked.”
Meanwhile, former Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu wondered why the ruling NC was not acting against Andrabi.
“I agree wholeheartedly that there should be no foundation or inauguration stone inside shrines, especially Dargah Hazratbal. This is a call of humility and surrender to the Almighty,” Mattu said. “However, why doesn’t NC then remove the Waqf Chairperson rather than tweeting about it?”
In its statement, the NC called it “a matter of grave concern”. The Waqf is “not the personal estate of any individual”, it said.
“Yet we now witness an unelected individual, with no mandate from the people of Jammu and Kashmir, crowning herself inside holy shrines — the very places where Dastaar Bandi, a long held religious cultural practice was banned. This act not only disrespects the sanctity of our shrines but also mocks the very principles of accountability and humility that Islam upholds,” the statement said.
It goes on to say: “Even more disturbing is that instead of offering an apology to the people for hurting their religious sentiments — which under Indian law itself constitutes an offence — threats are being issued of arrests under the PSA. Is this the future of Waqf management in Jammu and Kashmir — run not with respect for faith and community, but with arrogance, spectacle, and fear?”
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