Police use water cannon to disperse protestors, who had gathered on the call of Hindu groups, demanding the demolition of an illegal structure in a mosque, at Sanjauli locality in Shimla, Wednesday

By  Saurabh Parashar

Behind the communal tensions that have gripped Shimla — the first such flare-up in the state capital in recent history — is a squabble at a barber shop, a mosque built in 1960, apprehensions of “outsiders” pouring into the state, and some political wrangling inside the Himachal Pradesh Assembly.

Amid calls to demolish the four-storey mosque in Sanjauli district, a Muslim welfare committee that runs the religious structure Thursday submitted a memorandum to Shimla’s municipal corporation commissioner, urging him to seal  unauthorised portions.

This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.