Hindu group threatens to perform puja at Darul Uloom Deoband tomorrow
Deoband: A fresh religious dispute is taking shape in Uttar Pradesh after the Hindu Raksha Dal announced plans to take Ganga water to Darul Uloom Deoband tomorrow and perform a puja, based on its claim that a Shivling is located beneath the grounds of the prominent Islamic seminary.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the announcement has raised concern in Deoband, where Darul Uloom is one of the best-known Islamic educational institutions in India.
According to the announcement, members of the Hindu Raksha Dal plan to travel from Haridwar carrying Ganga water and reach Deoband on Tuesday, 11 August.
The organisation’s Uttarakhand president, Lalit Sharma, announced the plan in a video message released on Saturday. He said the programme would take place under the leadership of the organisation’s national president, Pinky Chaudhary.
The Hindu Raksha Dal says it believes that a Shivling and a Shiva temple exist beneath the Darul Uloom Deoband campus.
The organisation has also claimed that it previously contacted the Saharanpur administration and asked officials to investigate its claim.
Sharma said the administration did not take action on the demand. He claimed that the organisation had, therefore, decided to visit the site itself and offer Ganga water.
The claim, however, remains an allegation. There has been no publicly established evidence in the information available to support the assertion that a Shivling exists beneath the Darul Uloom campus.
That distinction is important because claims about religious structures beneath existing places of worship or religious institutions can quickly lead to tension between communities.
The announcement in Deoband comes days after another Hindu organisation attempted to carry out a religious ceremony at the Taj Mahal in Agra.
