The holy Hazratbal Shrine in Srinagar is in the middle of a storm because on Friday, someone broke the National Emblem of India that was carved on a plaque for renovations. The event has caused a very heated political argument between the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board and BJP leaders and parties in the region, including the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
An FIR was filed after the emblem was smashed
A case has been made at Nigeen Police Station under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The police said. People were outraged when the emblem, which was part of a plaque that was put in place during recent renovations to the church, was found to have been smashed soon after Friday prayers. The police said they are looking into who did the damage and will release more information soon.
The Waqf Board wants harsh punishments
J&K Darakshan Andrabi, chairperson of the Waqf Board, spoke out against the action, calling it a “terrorist move” that hurt both national pride and religious honour. She asked that the Public Safety Act (PSA) be used against the people who did it and that they be permanently banned from entering the shrine. Andrabi also said that the National Conference was making things worse by calling the incident a fight over who would run the shrine.
The incident is condemned by Governor Manoj Sinha
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha strongly disagreed, saying that the Ashoka Emblem stands for India’s independence and uniqueness. He called anyone who tried to hurt it “an attack on national pride” and promised harsh punishments for those caught.
Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti Are Against the Emblem at the Shrine
Omar Abdullah, the leader of the NC and a former chief minister, defended the vandalism by asking why the emblem was put up at a religious spot in the first place. He said that shrines, mosques, temples, and gurdwaras should not have national marks on them because they are places of worship and not government buildings.
Mehbooba Mufti, the leader of the PDP, went even further and said that putting carved symbols inside shrines was against Islamic law. People who go to church said the move hurt their feelings and should never have been allowed.
Discussion of the Sacredness of Religion
Tanvir Sadiq and MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi were two other NC leaders who were against the installation. They said that shrines don’t need signs of state power and warned against actions that might hurt the purity of religion.
A Fight Between Faith and Power
The trouble has shown how delicate the balance is in Kashmir between faith and politics. The Waqf Board wants to protect the national emblem, but some groups in the region say that state images shouldn’t be allowed in places of worship.
While the police continue their investigation, the bigger question: should national flags be flown in places of worship, or does that risk making religious and political tensions even higher?
