Date: 5/27/2005
LOOK AT THE INTERFERENCE OF A MOSQUE IN THE HIGHESST ECHELONS OF BHARAT THAT IS MINUS LAHORE AND KARACHI NOW DUE TO ISLAMIC ONSLAUGHT IN 1947 EVERY MOSQUE IN PARTITIONED INDIA OUGHT TO BE TURNED INTO SOME KIND OF HINDU/SIKH/BUDDHIST INSTITUTION OR PLACE OF WORSHIP. LET THE WORLD GO AND SEE THE PLIGHT OF ALL THE MANDIRS, ASHRAMS AND GURDWARAS IN SAUDI ARABIA, IF YOU FIND ONE. LET US NOT COLLAPSE BEFORE THE BULLIES. THE FINAL DAY OF RECKONING IS APPROACHING AND OUR COWARDICE IN NOT MENTIONING PARTITION IS BRINGING THAT DAY NEARER. .....................================ ................The Pioneer, May 26, 2005 PM courts trouble with letter to Imam Abraham Thomas / New Delhi In a scathing criticism of the Prime Minister, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday enquired whether the Prime Minister responds to any private person's queries? "How can you (the Prime Minister) entertain communication with any private person," asked the bench referring to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's letter to Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid assuring that the mosque would not be declared a protected monument. Having been apprised of the letter written by the Prime Minister on October 20, 2004, the Division Bench of Chief Justice BC Patel and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul had directed the Centre to produce the files containing the said letter. Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) that sought the court's intervention to preserve the 17th century mosque for its better maintenance, the High Court failed to understand why the Prime Minister was required to respond to the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, that too on an issue which is subjudice before the court. While the Delhi Wakf Board is the custodian of the mosque property, the court held the view that the "government must deal with the owner of the property". The court thus took strong exception to the Prime Minister's letter to Imam, who was virtually a nobody as regards the matter. The Centre produced the 35-page file of the Ministry of Culture which contained the said letter of the Prime Minister before the court. However on perusal, the court noted that the relevant portion of the file relating to the Prime Minister's communication was missing. Observing this in its order, the bench said, "Page number 9 is missing from the file which has 35 pages. Produce it in the court before the hearing tomorrow (Thursday)." Even the end notings on the file were missing, they noted. The judges also asked the government to file an affidavit stating how much money of the public exchequer was spent on sites such as Jama Masjid without declaring them as protected monuments. The court further questioned how the government gave money to Shahi Imam for the upkeep of a property which was in possession of the Wakf Board. The court while taking cognisance of the fading elegance of the mosque, sought to know why the Wakf had failed to take up this issue with the Centre. Minor and major repairs were required to be carried out in the mosque, which can only commence once the structure is declared a protected monument, the court opined. The court has made several futile efforts to broker a deal between the ASI and Delhi Wakf Board. While ASI is agreeable to draw out a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Wakf Board, making adequate provisions to protect the religious rights of 'masjid' in terms of the Act, the Wakf has been expressing reservations on the issue since it fears the same would infringe on the rights of the Muslim community. Since the mosque needs to be protected as a place of worship where devotees can offer prayers and religious rites can be performed without any interruption, the Wakf is apprehensive that by declaring the structure as protected, the ASI is bound to effect certain restrictions. .........................000000000
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