A mob of far-right Hindu activists broke into a Muslim shrine in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district on August 11, claiming the site was once a Hindu temple.
Hundreds of members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the hardline Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), led by BJP district secretary Mukhlal Pal and former MP Vikram Singh, pushed past police barricades to enter the maqbara (tomb) of Nawab Abdus Samad.
Witnesses said some used sticks and stones to damage two mazars (shrines) inside, according to a report by Asianews.
Pal said the structure was “an ancient temple, featuring symbols such as the trident and the lotus flower.” He added that he had earlier called on Hindus to conduct religious rituals there.
Police have since deployed heavy security to prevent further violence. Authorities said they will not allow changes to the site’s status unless ordered by a court or directed by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Bishop Louis Mascarenhas of Allahabad linked the attack to a wider climate of religious tension. “Before the elections for the local legislative assembly in 2022, people shouted the slogan ‘Ayodhya ki taiyyari hai, Kashi Mathura baki hai’ (Ayodhya is a preview, Kashi and Mathura remain),” he told AsiaNews.
Mascarenhas lamented the incident and the recent attacks on Christian missionaries in Chhattisgarh and Orissa, warning of growing intolerance among communities despite the nation’s principle of equal citizenship.
Bishop Gerald Mathias of Lucknow called it “so unfortunate and sad that a land known for tolerance is gradually but surely transforming into an intolerant society.”
“Hindu fundamentalists are going around like vigilantes, disrupting religious services, vandalizing places of worship, threatening and beating worshippers, and damaging property,” he said. “Police often become silent spectators or collude with criminals and arrest innocent people without any proof of charges.”
Mathias said such incidents have become a recurring “pattern,” with perpetrators feeling “encouraged to continue these antisocial and inhumane activities because no action is taken against them. Indeed, they appear to be protected, encouraged, or even tacitly permitted by the establishment.”
“I hope and pray that common sense will prevail,” he added. “May the majority community be truly kind, generous, and tolerant, allowing everyone the true freedom to follow their chosen faith, a fundamental right guaranteed by our Constitution, a human right granted to every human being by God himself.”
