By Harsh Mander
In the autumn of 2022, a woman laid out a prayer mat outside the ward of a public hospital in Prayagraj, formerly Allahabad, in Uttar Pradesh. I do not know if the patient in the hospital ward was her husband, her son, her brother or her father. But this we know, that he had been diagnosed with dengue and she was anxious for his life. She silently lowered her head on to the hospital floor, bowed in prayer.
Some people spotted her. They photographed her offering namaz and uploaded the pictures on social media. Outrage quickly stirred, as many clamoured that “it is illegal to offer prayers in public places”. The Chief Medical Officer of the government-run Tej Bahadur Sapru Hospital shared their indignation. “We have issued a strict warning against such activities in the ward, “ he said to reporters. “It is a public place. We have instructed all ward in-charges not to allow such a thing. We told the woman not to do it again, too. We will decide on further action after our probe report is in.”
The police also investigated. Fortunately, they later announced that their inquiry “found that the woman in the video was offering namaz without any wrong intentions, and without obstructing any work or traffic, for quick recovery of the patient. This act does not fall into any category of crime”.
But many others around the country are not so lucky. If you are Muslim in new India, praying is fast becoming a crime. Emblematic of this was a video that surfaced in the spring of 2024 from Inderlok in the national capital. Men had gathered for the Friday prayers at the mosque in Inderlok. The mosque had filled up, so some of the men were praying on the road outside the mosque.
The video shows a policeman of the Delhi Police kicking and beating with a baton, men who were prostrated in prayer. The Congress Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi declared in anguish, “This Delhi Police soldier kicking a person while offering namaz probably does not understand the basic principles of humanity. What is this hatred that is filled in the heart of this soldier?”
This story was originally published in scroll.in. Read the full story here.