Thread by @KesariDhwaj

Before holier - than - thou Hindu warriors jump in and accuse Haryana government of appeasement, please ask yourself this - under what provision will government disallow the namaaz? And as government, it is duty bound to provide required security to allow the event to take place.

https://twitter.com/AdalatLive/status/1453945193053392902

- So, this tweet generated a lot of heat.
- Never mind the idiotic comments, it shows how shallow is our understanding of issues.
- Bas chad jao daal-paani le ke sarkaar pe!
- First, basic facts:
There were 106 government designated sites for offering +

+ namaaz, which were consolidated into 37 sites in 2018.
- The news in media is about only TWO specific sites: Sector-47, and Sector-12A.
- Here again, what are the issues?
(A) Sector 47:
(1) Residents say that there is overcrowding at the Namaaz site on Fridays, and its spills +

+ into parking areas.
(2) There is a school nearby and parents are worried about the general safety of the children.
(3) This is what Sunil Yadav, President of RWA leading the protest at Sec-47 has to say, and I quote from this⬇️ news report:
theprint.in/india/the-2-me…

“We have been holding protests for the last one month. Kulbhushan Bhardwaj, a lawyer and former district president of the BJP, and Dinesh have both visited us once, but we have distanced ourselves from their communal agenda. Ours is a civic problem and I don’t want it to +

become an issue that they use to further their political ambitions,” Yadav said.
- So, exactly which group of Hindus are protesting against blanket question of Muslims offering Namaaz in public?
(B) Sector-12A:
(1) One complaint is that the land is not one of the designated +

+ sites.
(2) Second, as per complaint submitted by a local resident to police is and I quote, “I have a suspicion that these people are Rohingyas or from Bangladesh. Their IDs should be checked and a written list should be prepared. The residents of the area are outraged about +

this issue and it could escalate into violence.”
(3) And this is what Kulbhushan Bhardwaj, former district president of the BJP, seems to have told the same newspaper:
"We don’t object to local residents from Muslim community who are offering prayers. But, there has to be an +

enquiry to check who are these ‘outsiders’ who are coming here illegally and disturbing harmony. We don’t know who they are. This will not be tolerated. Residents in Sector 47 are also protesting. Namaz should be offered in mosques. We have given a complaint in writing to +

+ the police.”
(4) Third point raised by Kulbhushan Bhardwaj is that Sector-12A land is private property, and Muslims are illegally offering Namaaz on the property.
(5) In addition to the above, a Muslim shopkeeper from Sector-12A has also filed a complaint against Maulvis +

+ Namaaz in front of his shop in the sector, which disrupts their business.
------
Now, coming down to business, there are two issues here -
(1) Local civic issue - This is basis the complaint of local residents living close to two of the sites under question.
- Forget what +

+ Kulbhushan Bhardwaj, or the person Dinesh Bharti has to say. They're simply looking for political mileage.
- What matters is what people on ground want.
- And their demand is pretty basic. They don't want overcrowding at these sites, don't want outsiders to come there, +

+ safety & security when Muslim congregate, and no encroachment on public & private land.
- Do they want blanket ban on Namaaz in public across Gurgaon? No, if any of the news items are to be believed.
- This is the problem to which police and state administration are trying to+

+ find a solution. Residents of Sector-47 have already agreed to postpone their stir for 2-weeks during which the Gurgaon Admin has agreed to find a solution.
- So, once again, what's the protest about and what's the remedy being sought? Have residents of 30+ other sites +

+ complaint to anyone?
- If 37 sites had been designated for offering Namaaz, you think the police and State Admin is suddenly going to disallow it in 2021?
- On what basis?
- And what happens if it does? You know the answer as well as me.
- It goes to court, and the court will+

+ ask a simple, straightforward question - WHY?
- What will the Admin say? Because some clever-by-half geniuses on Twitter have been asking for it!
- And voila! It will stop.
- State Admin can disallow Namaaz across the board, or at a site if there is L&O issue. Or, it +

+ causes nuisance and disturbance.
- So, to talk about appeasement and call names to Khattar because police was deployed to protect Namaaz being offered is rank idiotic. And talks of immaturity of many here.
- BTW, do remember what Khattar had said - people have freedom to pray +

+ at designated sites, but at the same time, they shouldn't become nuisance to others.
- I almost forgot:
-- Imagine if the Khattar Admin bans Namaaz in public places and Muslim organizations, plus our left liberal jamaat goes to court.
-- Court says OK, we agree on the +

+ nuisance bit, but people have to pray.
-- So, why not allot few plots scattered across Gurgaon to Muslims to build mosques?
-- And just like that, where people were complaining about nuisance caused due to Namaaz, you'll have mosques blaring Namaaz 5-times a day!
-- Happy?

(2) Now comes to broader issue of Muslims offering Namaaz in public areas.
- This is endemic to the whole country.
- Some of it is regulated, at many places it is not.
- Apart from

+ general nuisance, is the added angle of projecting power in numbers, and claiming ownership of the land.
- Mazaars and mosques tend to come-up in such areas basis the claim that Muslims have been offering Namaaz in the area for a long time.
- So, the answer to this problem is+

+ not administrative because that will change with new government.
- Permanent answer is legal.
- Which is binding on everyone, across the country.
- Here again, its application on ground will depend on who's in power, but at least you'll have a law to take recourse to.
- Only+

+ answer to this question is for a state government to say that since its not in business of providing land to any other religion, it cannot provide public land, even if for few minutes/day or Friday, to Muslims to offer Namaaz.
- If anyone wants to build a mosque, then they can+

+ buy land in zones classified as Public & Semi-Public under the Land Use Classification of DCR.
- But this will again be State specific, and not pan-India.
- And frankly, I don't see even this standing scrutiny in the court of law.
- Again, the same question will arise - WHY?

+ WHY not give land for few minutes/Friday?
- So, in my opinion you cannot make it (Namaaz in public places) vanish completely.
- Simply because it will not stand in our courts.
- Your best bet is regulate it with strict code in terms of usage, number of people per site, +

+ distance from or proximity to residential areas, schools, and public places etc.
- In the end, please don't base your outrage basis some fly-by-night operators who've decided to fish in troubled waters claiming to champion Hindu causes.
- There are a lot of issue yet to be+

+ resolved but these can't be done in 2-minute Maggi noodle style.
- They require long term planning, and permanent, long term solution.