100-year-old mosque demolished in Ahmedabad

[fasal]

100-year-old mosque demolished in Ahmedabad

NEW DELHI: In Ahmedabad, Gujarat, the 100-year-old Madni Mosque in Vasna locality has been demolished by the local municipal administration after serving a few hours’ notice.

Media reports said the Mayor of the Congress-controlled municipal administration claimed that the municipal commissioner had ordered the demolition, keeping the elected representatives in the dark. He said the demolition was part of the BJP Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s “plan to keep the city simmering till the next elections.” With the Jagannath rath yatra scheduled for July 12, the demolition could provoke communal disturbances.

The state government authorities, however, denied any knowledge of the demolition, which, a senior minister said, was carried out by the municipal corporation. The mosque, along with nine shops adjoining its boundary wall, was damaged by hooligans during the recent riots.

Around 20 Congress corporators have resigned from various committee posts of the civic body to protest the demolition Madina Masjid. Standing Committee chairman Badruddin Sheikh said that the 20 corporators, including him, had submitted resignation letters to the steering committee chairman Rajkumar Gupta demanding action against the officials of the AMC responsible for the demolition of the Masjid at Vasna Bhatta, says a report from Ahmedabad.

Estate Department officials claimed that the Masjid and a few shops were encroaching upon the road. Masjid trustee Latif Saiyyed refuted it, stating that the construction was 10 feet from the road. The AMC has passed a proposal that whether illegal or not, buildings which were demolished in the riots could be reconstructed.
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/index.html

[Ibrahim]

Ibrahim says: NO! not just ONE mosque but a 125 mosques and dargahs were systematically razed and demolished even before this one and some reports indicate the operations was so well planned that even the location was erased by establishing new roads above them. ** All these was achieved by March 24.**

Meaning this was planned in advance and the Muslims and the whole world have been taken for a ride by the Hindutva scoundrels.

** Independent legislator Usman Devdiwala said as many as 125 mosques and dargahs, including 43 in the city, had been razed to the ground. **

http://www.telegraphindia.com/national.htm

RIOTERS RAZE GHAZAL PIONEER’S TOMB
FROM BASANT RAWAT Ahmedabad, March 24:

The miles that separate Afghanistan and Ahmedabad did not prevent a rerun of Bamiyan during the Gujarat riots.

The tomb of Vali Gujarati, the 17th century Urdu poet widely regarded as the pioneer of ghazals, was among the cultural and historical milestones demolished by the rioters, much like the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas by the Taliban. “Vali Gujarati was part of Ahmedabad culture. The destruction of his tomb is a barbaric cultural assault which we writers have condemned and demand that the tomb is rebuilt,” said noted Gujarati writer Manishi Jani.

Former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral, too, expressed shock at the demolition of Vali Gujarati’s tomb and called for its restoration during his visit to the city about a fortnight ago. Urdu poet Jayant Parmar, who criticised the “shocking” destruction, feels that the government should build a memorial in place of the tomb. Vali’s works were translated into French in 1833, the first ever Indian work to have been translated abroad. The marble tomb with a marble canopy had survived a series of riots since 1969.

In a swift operation, the Congress-ruled Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation removed the rubble, ** leaving no traces of the tomb.**

** Mayor Himatsinh Patel, however, denied AMC bulldozers, cranes and rollers were used in the demolition. **

“It was a mob act, we do know where they got equipment to pull down the structures,” said Patel.

Several mosques and tombs, including two historical monuments, were damaged during the carnage. ** The Muhafiz Khan Masjid in Gheekanta and the small stone mosque in Isanpur area, protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), have been damaged.**

Superintending archaeologist R. Gahlot said while the Muhafiz Khan Masjid was “reparable”, the Isanpur mosque that was repaired just seven years ago was beyond restoration.** Built in the 15th century ** during the rule of Mohammad Begda, this three-domed mosque was also known as Gumte Masjid. ** Independent legislator Usman Devdiwala said as many as 125 mosques and dargahs, including 43 in the city, had been razed to the ground. **

In many places, including Vali’s tomb,** flags and idols were installed by the “demolition squad”,** which were removed only after the state government came under fire. Vali’s tomb was renamed “Godharia Hanuman temple”. Following the vandalism, the ASI has written to collector K. Sreenivas and police commissioner P.C. Pande and submitted a list of protected monuments in the city.

The Ahmedabad Sunni Muslim Wakf Committee has also submitted a list of 53 monuments to the National Human Rights Commission, many of them defaced, two of them already knocked down by the mob. Not all of these monuments are listed with the ASI or the state archaeological department.

[rvikz]

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[This message has been edited by rvikz (edited July 06, 2002).]

[This message has been edited by rvikz (edited July 06, 2002).]

[Changez_like]

no no no, what are u talking about, Hindus and Muslims are living very peacefully, hand-in-hand in the BIGGEST DEMOCRATIC country India. you'll see a "muslim" president of India very soon.

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May Allah SWT guide us all towards right and help us follow the right