Friday prayers emerge as sites of support, protest gatherings

New Delhi: The Friday namaz at various mosques across the country emerged as points of congregation that transformed into protests against the Citizenship (Amendment)

New Delhi: The Friday namaz at various mosques across the country emerged as points of congregation that transformed into protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, as police in several cities banned public gatherings in a bid to stop escalation in demonstrations against the controversial law.

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In many places, people across faiths and communities appeared to join in the protests, which still centered around the Friday noon prayers, considered by Muslims to be the holiest of the week. This trend was visible from Kashmir to Telangana, and Gujarat to Kolkata - most of them were peaceful though violence did break out in some places.

In Hyderabad, on Friday morning, protestors blocked the road at the historic Mecca Masjid near Charminar, raising slogans. Several of those who offered prayers at the masjid converged on the roads and demonstrated against the CAA, which eases naturalisation for “persecuted minorities” from three Muslim-majority countries, and the proposed all India National Citizen of Register (NRC) that aims to identify illegal aliens.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South Zone) Avinash Mohanty and other senior police officers were present at the site and oversaw security at Mecca Masjid and Charminar. Fourteen persons were taken into preventive custody from this area, the Press Trust of India reported.

“We have taken 14 people into preventive custody at the Mecca Masjid. They were let off afterwards,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (Charminar), B Anjaiah, told PTI.

In Delhi, the epicentre of the afrernoon protest was the locality around the Jama Masjid in the Walled City, where large number of people held protests after the Friday prayers. Bhim Army chief and Dalit leader Chandrashekhar Azad led protesters in a march from Jama Masjid area to Jantar Mantar, but they were stopped at the Delhi Gate locality where large number of barricades were erected. Later in the evening, violence broke out in the area, in which at least 33 protesters received injuries due to lathi-charge. A dozen vehicles were vandalised and a car was torched. Around 40 persons were detained at the Daryaganj police station.

Reports of violence on Friday emerged from Uttar Pradesh, where the police resorted to lobbing tear-gas shells, and hitting protesters with canes, even as the demonstrators retaliated by pelting stones. Seven persons have died in the protests due to gunshot wounds.

In Gujarat, the mob pelted stones at the police outside a mosque in the communally sensitive Hathikhana area. Several persons objected when the police took videos of the Friday prayers, an official said. Three persons were arrested while a senior official was injured in stone-pelting, the police said. Vadodara police commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot said some 10 tear gas shells were lobbed to disperse the mob.

Thousands of people gathered outside Hari Masjid in Sewri, Mumbai, to protest against CAA and NRC. People joined the protest after attending the prayers at the mosque.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had on Thursday spoken to representatives of the Muslim community via video conferencing and requested them to maintain law and order during protests against CAA and NRC, news agency ANI reported.

Thousands of members of the Muslim community gathered outside the Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation at Dharmaveer Anand Dighe Chowk in Mumbai Metropolitan Region on Friday, soon after the afternoon prayers. More than 800 police officers were on duty, senior police officers said.

Suresh Mekla, Joint Commissioner of Police, Thane, said, “There is no restriction from our part on arranging these rallies. In Thane and Bhiwandi, there were three teams of the state reserve police force, in addition to 500 members of the regular force. We also had 70 members from the special branch and crime branch.”

In Pune, about 15,000 people across communities and religions took part in a Maha Morcha, which made its way towards the Pune District Collectorate. A large number of persons joined after offering prayers.

In Dehradun, several offered prayers wearing black ribbons on their arms as a way to express their protest.

Arshi Khan, a professor at AMU’s political science department, called such congregation of persons across faiths and communities as “a silver lining in the midst of darkness”. “The CAA and the NRC are core constitutional issues. The whole episode of protests, congregation of faiths and the people’s anger shows that India exists as one country with a common thread of political and social togetherness, which existed even during the freedom struggle against the colonial rule. “