In an article published on December 16, The Independent said: ‘In Kashmir, closed mosque belies India’s religious freedom’

Claim:

The Independent said Jamia Masjid, the grand mosque of Srinagar, dominates its neighborhood with an imposing main gate and massive turrets. It can hold 33,000 worshippers, and on special occasions over the years hundreds of thousands of Muslims have filled nearby lanes and roads to offer prayers led from the mosque. But Indian authorities see the mosque as a trouble spot — a nerve center for protests and clashes that challenge India's sovereignty over the disputed Kashmir region.

On account of a surge in Covid-19 cases several mosques, including Srinagar-based Jamia Masjid have been closed by authorities in Jammu and Kashmir since October 2021. Post the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the mosques, temples and Gurudwaras were closed across the Union Territory in April 2021. These places of worship were opened in August when Covid-19 cases declined in the region. In October, following a surge in cases, they were closed down and Jamia Masjid was not an exception.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, till December 14, the total number of Covid-19 positive cases have risen to 3,39, 271 in the Union Territory while the death toll jumped to 4,503 in Kashmir and 2,191 in Jammu. The Ministry further said Jammu and Kashmir reported 147 new Covid-19 cases 107 in Kashmir and 40 in Jammu even as two new deaths in Kashmir and one from Jammu have been reported on December 14. In view of this, doctors in top government-run hospitals, including the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital, the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences and the Jawahar Lal Nehru Memorial (JLNM) hospital, have raised an alarm bell and warned against congregations till Covid-19 cases subsides.

https://www.thedispatch.in/friday-prayers-disallowed-at-major-shrines-masjids-in-jk/

The Independent said Jamia Masjid has remained out of bounds to worshippers for prayers on Friday—the main day of congregational worship in Islam. Authorities allow the mosque to remain open the other six days, but only a few hundred worshippers assemble there on those occasions, compared to the tens of thousands that often gathered on Friday.

Congregational prayers at the Srinagar-based Jamia Masjid are not allowed as authorities fear gathering could be used by anti-India elements to create an embarrassing situation for the country. Over the years, it has been seen that Friday sermons at the mosque mainly revolve around the decades-old Kashmir conflict, in which pro-Pakistani elements have demanded an independent Kashmir or a merger with Pakistan. In surrounding neighborhoods, stone-throwing protestors often clash with security forces as part of an ongoing anti-India rebellion. This was the reason authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have banned prayers at the Jamia mosque for extended periods during unrest in 2008, 2010 and 2016.

https://www.firstpost.com/india/around-100-people-offer-prayers-at-srinagars-jamia-masjid-for-first-time-since-abrogation-of-article-370-in-jammu-and-kashmir-7801411.html

The Independent said freedom of religion is enshrined in India’s constitution, allowing citizens to follow and freely practice religion. The constitution also says the state will not “discriminate, patronize or meddle in the profession of any religion.” But even before he current security operation in Kashmir, experts say conditions for India’s Muslim under the new administration in the country have worsened.

The British daily needs to present the truth about India which is considered as the safest place for minorities in the world. The constitutional, social, cultural and religious rights of minorities are safer and secure in India compared with elsewhere in the world, the country’ Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has repeatedly said at various forums. His statement carried by Deccan Herald, a prominent news daily published from Bengaluru, is categorical on the issue of safety and rights of minorities. He said communal harmony and tolerance is in the DNA of the majority community in India, and the social, religious and constitutional rights of minorities are absolutely safe in the country.

https://www.deccanherald.com/national/rights-of-minorities-absolutely-safe-in-india-naqvi-772096.html

The Independent said many Kashmiri Muslims have long said New Delhi curbs their religious freedom on the pretext of law and order while promoting and patronizing the annual Hindu pilgrimage to an icy Himalayan cave visited by hundreds of thousands of Hindus from across India.

The Amarnath Yatra has been twice cancelled since 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Keeping safety of people in priority, the registration for the 56-day Amarnath Yatra was cancelled when the pandemic hit the country last year. This year too, when the Yatra was to start from June 28 to August 22, it was cancelled. “It’s important to save people’s lives. So, it is not advisable to hold and conduct this year’s pilgrimage in the larger public interest,” the office of the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir tweeted.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/amarnath-yatra-cancelled-for-the-second-year-in-a-row-2468996