India’s Growing religious intolerance: Booked Four men for offering Namaz at Mathura temple

India is a religiously pluralistic and multi-ethnic democracy. Its constitution provides for freedom of conscience and the right to profess, practice, and propagates religion. India is the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism. Yet despite the diversity of religions represented, religious freedom in India has deteriorated swiftly in recent years. As two days ago, UP Police have filed an FIR against four persons because two of them allegedly offered namaz at a temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura and their two aides Alok Ratan and Nilesh Gupta clicked their pictures, which are now being circulated on social media.

Similarly earlier, Tanishq ad showed a Hindu girl is married to a Muslim boy and the Muslim Boys family (Mother) proves to the girl that relations matter more than religion and from nowhere they were hurting sentiments of both the religion. But majority of people were seen boycotting that and protesting against the brand Tanishq. It’s important for the audience to respect if not understand art and sentiments like wise with creators. But what happened with Tanishq is clearly a product of understanding level, acceptance, tolerance and employment is a logic which finds place with respect to a saying “khali dimag saitaan ka ghar”

These four persons identified as Faizal Khan, Chand Mohammad, Alok Ratan, and Neelesh Gupta as Faizal Khan and Chand Mohammed.

This happened in Nand Baba in the Nandgaon area at around 12:30 pm on October 29.

According to the FIR, the accused reportedly belong to a Delhi-based organization, Khudai Khidmatgar, and came to Mathura’s Nand Baba temple on Thursday, where they first offered prayers.

ABP reported, Kanha Goswami, a temple priest, stated he was overwhelmed as Faizal Khan chanted a few lines of the Ramcharitmanas and showed him their photographs with noted seers and further acknowledged this group told him that they are on a parikrama (circumambulation) of the Brij Chaurasi kos on bicycles.

Later, Faizal and Chand Mohammad held a namaz at a secluded place on the temple premises without permission, he said, adding that he had no objection to their entry to the temple but they attempted to erode the sanctity of the shrine.

It is also suspected in the FIR that the accused might have made the video of the incident, which has gone viral on social media.

An uneasiness about funding by a foreign organization has also been expressed in the FIR, registered under Sections 153-A, 295, and 505 of the IPC on Sunday.

Responding to the incident, another priest Sushil Goswami said they have decided to purify the temple as per the Hindu tradition.

The godliness of the temple will be brink back by cleaning it with the water from the holy Ganga and Yamuna. It will be followed by a “yajna” amidst chanting of Vedic hymns

For the moment, an organization representing priests sought forbidding action against the accused for venturing to jeopardize communal harmony in Mathura.

Mahesh Pathak, national president of the Akhil Bhartiya Tirath Purohit Mahasabha, said their conduct is unpardonable as they tried to spoil the atmosphere of Mathura where people from both communities live like brothers.

He said they appeared to belong to a paid outfit, sent to destroy the communal harmony between both communities.

Stressing that Mathura had always propagated the message of love and peace in the world, Pathak requested police to take stern action against them. He also urged people to stay vigilant as such incidents may hit the tourism sector and result in economic losses.