By Faisal Fareed, TwoCircles.net
Taking strong note of delay in procession of Chehallum, Lucknow district administration has served notice to eight Shia clerics seeking reply for the delay which violated the conditions of the agreement for the procession.
The administration has given them one week’s time to reply and has even warned that permission for the procession can be cancelled in future.
Lucknow has a history of sectarian clashes over Shia-Sunni processions. For nearly two decades, all processions were banned. An agreement was reached on 22 April 1999 between members of Shia, Sunni and district administration in which ten processions were permitted. It includes nine processions of Shia community and one of Sunni community.
The Chehallum procession is also permitted as per the agreement. It was taken out on 20 Safar which was on November 21 from Nazim Saheb Imambara to Talkatora Karbala in old city of Lucknow. The permissible timing was to start at 1 pm and end at 6 pm. District administration had deployed heavy force and blocked all the roads to prevent any untoward situation.
However, the procession began at 2 pm and ended 9 pm. The delay resulted in taxing the administrative officials and hardships to the citizens as they remained confined to their homes. Hundreds of people were stranded on roads as they were blocked and could not reach their home.
Now acting on the report of local city magistrates, Additional District Magistrate (West) Jai Shanker Dubey has served notice to eight Shia clerics about the delay which is clear violation of the agreement. He has also warned that permission for Chehallum procession may be cancelled in future. Officials claimed that further action will be taken after receiving the reply from the clerics.
The eight Shia clerics who have been served notices include Maulana Kalbe Jawwad, Maulana Kalbe Sadiq, Maulana Yasoob Abbas, Maulana Agha Roohi, Maulana Saif Abbas, Maulana Hameedul Hasan and Maulana Meesam Zaidi.
This is the first time after 1999 when administration has acted tough in implementing the conditions laid down in the agreement permitting the processions.