The Jammu and Kashmir police exercise seeking granular information about mosques in the Valley and the people who run them has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters.
As reported by The Indian Express on Monday, the police have initiated an exercise seeking information such as the physical structure of the mosque, cost of construction, source of funds, monthly expenditure and income. It also sought information about the people associated with the mosques, including their financial status, and bank, passport, ATM and credit card details.
While the Mirwaiz Umar Farooq-led Muttahida Majlis Ulama (MMU) termed it an “invasive data collection exercise”, National Conference leader and Parliament member Aga Ruhullah Mehdi said the “right-wing ideology which is running the system in this country” wants to control the pulpit.
“This is a particular right-wing ideology which is running this system in this country. This is its project,” Ruhullah said. “And it is clearly visible that it wants to control other religions which are not in accordance with their right-wing ideology”.
Calling it an infringement of freedom to practice religion, guaranteed by the Constitution, Ruhullah asked what is the need for seeking such minute details when the security agencies already have most of them.
“There are some people who propagate a particular religion. In this way, you will bring extra layers of surveillance (for them). It seems that they are trying to intimidate them,” he said. “The preachers of the mosques will be told to read the sermon according to the order of the BJP. The RSS will send them a sermon on Friday.”
Muttahida Majlis Ulama, a conglomerate of religious organisations in the Valley, questioned the motives of the exercise.
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“The nature and depth of information being sought goes far beyond any routine administrative requirement, raising serious questions of intent, reflecting an attempt to control and regulate religious institutions through coercive means and checks,” MMU said. “Such an unprecedented and invasive data-collection exercise has caused widespread anxiety.”
MMU said that the institutions of worship and their internal religious affairs “can’t be subjected to arbitrary surveillance and intrusive scrutiny”.
“The elected government must immediately intervene in this matter. Such an exercise must be stopped forthwith, as it undermines trust, creates fear among religious functionaries and sends a disturbing message to the Muslim community of the state. Measures that single out mosques and religious personnel in this manner are unjustified, counterproductive and harmful to social harmony,” the religious conglomerate said, urging Lt Governor Manoj Sinha to withdraw the exercise without a delay.
The Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) led by Engineer Rashid said that profiling the mosques and keeping religious institutions under surveillance is “nothing less than policing faith”.
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“This is neither governance nor security, it is intimidation,” AIP chief spokesperson Inam un Nabi said. “This mindset criminalises normal religious life and targets the very identity of common people. If the administration continues to treat every religious space as a threat, it will only fuel resentment and destroy public trust.”
While police have not officially acknowledged the exercise, sources said this has been in the works for some time. “We have been asked to fill these details and submit the forms,” said a police officer.
