Muslim and Sikh communities have decided to put an end to a 10-year-old land dispute that had led to riots in Saharanpur city of Uttar Pradesh (UP) back in 2014 and claimed at least three lives.
As a gesture of gratitude for the help offered by Sikhs during Delhi riots starting last week, the Muslim community has decided to forego its claim on a piece of land that had been purchased by the gurdwara management and was a bone of contention between the two religious communities of India.
The dispute pertains to an incident that took place two decades ago when a gurdwara committee in the Kutubsher area purchased land around an existing gurdwara with the objective of expanding the complex. After the acquisition, some old structures in the area were demolished including, allegedly, a mosque.
Things turned violent when in July 2014 construction work to expand the gurdwara complex began. This led to large scale violence and arson which resulted in the deaths of three people and injured 33.
The matter subsequently reached the Supreme Court of India (SCI). But now Muslims have decided to forego its claim on the piece of land. Instead, they will be allotted land at another location nearby and the gurdwara management will pay for the construction of the mosque.
“In view of the great service and support rendered by the Sikhs to Muslims in Delhi throughout the protests and most recently during the riots in Delhi, the Masjid committee in Saharanpur decided to give up its claim over the land as a token of gratitude and thanksgiving,” Nizam Pasha, who represented the Muslim side in the Supreme Court, told The Quint.
The petitioner, Moharram Ali, has also said that the gesture comes as a show of gratitude for the help and aid provided by the Sikh community to affected families in Delhi’s communal violence. “Sikhs stand for humanity. They help people in need. The helped people affected by the communal violence in Delhi. This is God’s work.”
