Ashoka emblem inside Valley’s Hazratbal shrine triggers protests

Adil Akhzer

Srinagar, September 5

Protests erupted inside the revered Hazratbal Shrine here on Friday with devotees removing the Ashoka emblem engraved on an inauguration plaque, which was installed this week and inaugurated by Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board Chairperson and BJP leader Darakhshan Andrabi.

While the National Conference said “a sculpture cannot be placed inside a religious place", Andrabi termed the incident as a “terror act”, demanding the Public Safety Act (PSA) be slapped against those responsible.

Officials said a group of devotees after the Friday prayers staged a protest for placing an Ashoka emblem carved on the inauguration plaque inside the shrine, which was inaugurated two days ago following a yearlong renovation work. The protesters removed the emblem with the help of stones.

Soon after the incident, senior police officers reached the spot and brought the situation under control. A group of women also held a protest against putting the image inside the shrine. Police sources said the situation was being monitored as night prayers would be held on Friday night at the shrine on Eid Milad-un-Nabi.

National Conference MLA and chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq said on X that “idol worship is strictly forbidden,” in Islam. “I’m not a religious scholar but in Islam, idol worship is strictly forbidden — the gravest of sins. The foundation of our faith is Tawheed (oneness of god),” he said. “Placing a sculpted figure, at the revered Hazratbal Dargah goes against this very belief. Sacred spaces must reflect only the purity of Tawheed, nothing else,” he said.

Former Srinagar Mayor Junaid Mattu also echoed the similar sentiments.Srinagar MP and NC leader Syed Ruhullah Mehdi said “People were rightly offended by this dangerous attempt to play with religious sensitivities for self-glorification”. He said any talk of using PSA “in this case only adds insult to injury. It is foolish, unacceptable, and an assault on people’s attachment with their beloved shrine.”

Andrabi, meanwhile, described the attack as an act of terror. “This incident is very unfortunate. Tarnishing the national emblem is a terrorist attack. This is terrorism and they are goons of a political party, who were earlier involved in stone pelting and terrorism,” Andrabi told reporters in a presser at the shrine.

She said those responsible in Friday’s incident should be booked under the Public Safety Act and FIR should be registered against them. “Tarnishing the national emblem is a crime and strict action will be taken against those responsible,” she said.

J & K