Hindu outfits take out rally in Himachal demanding waqf board be abolished

Hundreds of people took out a rally in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur on Saturday, 28 September, under the banner of Devbhoomi Sangharsh Samiti, demanding the abolishing of the waqf board and a system of verifying identification documents of migrants to the state.

The organisation had given a call for a statewide protest over these issues. Led by Surjeet Singh, the district president of the Devbhoomi Sangharsh Samiti and Ashish Sharma, the district chief of Bajrang Dal, the procession was attended by several people who waved saffron flags and banners.

Police personnel were deployed in large numbers in the town to maintain law and order while shops owned by members of a minority religious community remained closed.

Leaders of the Devbhoomi Sangharsh Samiti submitted a memorandum to the local administration demanding that the waqf board be abolished and identification documents of migrants be checked.

Addressing the rally, the leaders of the organisation demanded that a proposal to check the documents of migrants to Himachal Pradesh be passed in the gram sabha meetings slated to be held across the state on 2 October.

They also accused the Congress government in the state of procrastinating over the Sanjauli mosque issue. Hindu groups and locals have been demanding the demolition of an allegedly unauthorised portion of a mosque in Sanjauli. Ten people sustained injuries during protests on 11 September, a day after members of the Muslim community urged the municipal commissioner to seal the unauthorised portion and also offered to demolish it in accordance with a court order.

Leaders of the Devbhoomi Sangharsh Samiti warned the government not to take the issue lightly and help Hindus live peacefully in the state "rather than helping outsiders without valid documents".