By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Bengaluru: Hindutva activists stalled the construction of a mosque that had completed all legal formalities, in the village of of Gangolli in Udupi, Karnataka.
Madrasa Misbah ul uloom is an Islamic seminary imparting education for the past 35 years in the village. Due to increased space requirement, the Madrasa sought to construct a mosque, for which, according to the Madrasa board, all legal formalities were complete.
Moulana Abdul Basit Nadwi, the Madrasa Secretary told reporters, that the construction was also approved by the district authorities after inspecting the proposed site. But the Gangolli Gram Panchayat, under pressure from Hindutva activists, has repeatedly tried to stop the construction, in violation of the rights granted to citizens of India, to follow any religion and to construct places of worship in country, irrespective of caste and creed.
Gangolli according to many is the most communally sensitive area in Udupi, and Hidutva activists have for years tried to instigate religious hatred among communities.
On Tuesday April 2, members of Hindu Jagaran Vedike staged a massive protest in front of the office of Gangolli Gram Panchayat, against the construction of Mosque. They also threatened full scale communal violence, if authorities did not stop what they refer to as the, ‘illegal construction of Mosque’.
The administration board of the Masjid has decided to go to the High court for the resolution of the issue.