Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, a controversial cleric and president of All India Muslim Jamaat, has claimed that 55 bighas of Waqf land are being used for the Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj. He claimed that the event is being held on land owned by the Waqf Board.
The Maha Mumbh Mela is commencing from January 13.
Maulana Razvi Barelvi said that Muslims of Prayagraj had shown a large heart by allowing the Maka Kumbh Mela on Waqf land, and Hindus should reciprocate by allowing Muslims to enter the event. He slammed the call by All India Akhara Parishad to bar non-Hindus from the Kumbh.
Barelvi said, “Akhara Parishad, Naga sanyasis, swamis and babas have banned the entry of Muslims from Kumbh Mela. On the other hand, a Muslim man named Sartaz from Prayagraj has said that the land where preparations are being made for the Kumbh Mela belongs to the Waqf, and it is owned by local Muslims. But see the large-heartedness of Muslims, they have not raised any objections over the 55 bigha of Waqf land being used for the Kumbh.”
He added that while Muslims have shown a large heart, Hindu groups are showing narrowness by not allowing Muslims in the Kumbh Mela.
However, Hindu leaders have rejected the claims made by the cleric. Hindu Mahasabha president Swami Chakrapani Maharaj said that Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi must be sponsored by Pakistan and “people with a terrorist mindset”. He said that the cleric was making a malicious attempt to disturb the Maha Kumbh, and his statements should be investigated.
“I believe that immediate action should be taken against people who spoil the atmosphere in this way. FIR should be registered against them and they should be arrested. If such people are out, they will keep talking such nonsense and spoil the atmosphere of the country,” Chakrapani Maharaj said.
Maulana Razvi has also written a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, urging him to stop the proposed conversions of Muslims to Hinduism during the Maha Kumbh which gets underway in Prayagraj on January 13.
Maulana Razvi, in his letter, stated that he has come to know of plans for mass conversion during the Maha Kumbh Mela. He argued that this falls foul of the state’s Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2024.
In the letter dated January 3, Barelvi argues that the conversion could lead to tension in the state and the country hence it is necessary that it is prohibited. He has also stated that as the Kumbh is a religious programme, the message it gives should be one of peace and amity, and not one that divides society.
The cleric argues, “If mass conversions were to happen, it will give radical Muslims and Christian missionaries a leeway to conduct their own conversion programmes in the silent manner that they are doing thus far.”
