By TCN Special Correspondent,
Lucknow: Copying right and duplicacy are not limited only to products in the country. The famous 625-year-old holy mazar (mausoleum) of sufi saint Hazrat Makhdoom Ashraf Samnani situated in Ashrafpur Kichaucha of Ambedkar Nagar district too got serious threats from mushrooming of its several replicas.
For thwarting any such attempt and maintaining the identity of the original mausoleum the Town Area administration of Ashrafpur Kichaucha at Ambedkar Nagar district has issued directives imposing ban on the construction of replica of the mazar. The order applies in the whole 0.50 square kilometres of the notified mausoleum area which administration feels was facing identity crisis.
“We have been receiving lots of complaints about the construction of the mazar’s replica. It was creating confusion among the devotees and the caretakers were at logger heads. Now the construction of replica of the original mazar has been banned in the area,” said Executive Officer (EO) of Ashrafpur Kischaucha, Alok Kumar Singh. He cited that the step has been taken to maintain ‘long term geographical stability’ of the complex.
Regarding the need for such order, he stated that the mazar is a building of historical and cultural importance and its replication will give wrong message among the devotees. “It is our moral right to protect the identity of the mausoleum. I have written to the authorities for its inclusion in the list of heritage buildings under Archaeological Survey of India (ASI),” said Alok.
As per reports, the mausoleum area is quite vast and houses several hundreds of graves. Even new graves are being built and some families also use it for burying their dead ones. Once the grave has been built there were attempts to build an exact replica of the main tomb of the main mausoleum. “It created confusion among the devotees. There are 4000 people who come for pilgrimage at the dargaah at any point of time. The daily foot fall is around 15000. As many of them are outsiders they are not aware and often end up to other graves. It also has created a bitterness among the many self appointed care-takers,” said Alok. Several such cases claiming originality are also pending before the administration.
However, presently the order applies in the mausoleum area only but the local administrative officials opine that they will not hesitate to extend it in other parts including private land. “We will take suitable action if anyone attempts to construct an exact replica of the mausoleum which may affect its identity. It may be private land but the whole Town Area is under our jurisdiction,” said Alok.