Agartala: Tension simmered among Hindus and Muslims in the Chandrapur Dimatali area in the Rajnagar assembly constituency under the South Tripura District following a dispute over a structure both communities claim to be a place of worship.
The situation turned volatile before a three-day annual festival and the police cordoned off the old building and did not allow anyone to enter.
Speaking on the issue, SDPO Belonia Abhijit Das said, “The structure in question remained abandoned all throughout the year. Only on the occasion of the annual festival, when a large fair took place inside the premises of the building, people from both communities thronged to the place. The Muslims offer prayers following their rituals for three days, otherwise, no one goes there to offer Namaz.”
According to Das, as the festival is over, the problem has also been resolved.
However, the police’s version of the story is in stark contrast to what the locals had written in their letters to the administration. Sources said after the BJP government took over in 2018, right-wing organisations like VHP and Bajrang Dal started to call the structure, which looks like a mosque, an old temple where lord Jagannath was worshipped once upon a time.
When Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha reached the area to inaugurate the three-day festival and fair on December 10, the Hindu Jagaran Mancha activists submitted a demand draft to the Chief Minister seeking his intervention to renovate the old shrine of lord Jagannath.
According to locals, there are only 27-odd Muslim families living in the village. Even though the number of Muslims is less, people from all communities visit the revered structure to offer prayers.
Sensing trouble, the local police intervened and sealed off the structure.
No one has been allowed to enter the building, as it could have sparked communal tension in the area.
In a letter to the Block Development Officer Rajnagar RD Block, the Muslim community urged the administration to restore their right to offer Namaj inside the mosque. A separate letter was also written to the District Magistrate of the South Tripura district, apprising him of the whole situation.
“On December 03, 2023, the organising committee of the fair organised in the temple premises decided that the Muslims will not be allowed to offer Namaj in the mosque during the fair. The committee also stated that if the Muslims violate the diktat and offer prayers there, the Hindu community people will also organise religious rituals. The constitution of India gives us the right to participate in Namaz in mosques. We, the law-abiding citizens of the country, seek your intervention to stop this injustice,” the letter says.
Opposition political parties, including CPIM and Congress, asked Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha to stand beside the people of the minority community who had been denied justice.
CPIM state secretary and MLA Jitendra Choudhury said, “There is a sinister design coming into play to create a communal divide. The vibrant secular fabric which is a hallmark of the state’s identity seems to be in danger. A right-wing organisation named Hindu Jagaran Mancha is trying to say that the famed Chandrapur mosque is a Jagannath temple. The Chief Minister received their memorandum in the inaugural event held on December 10. Such incidents are increasing day by day in our state.”
Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee President Asish Kumar Saha also echoed the same and urged the state government to act impartially.
The state-level BJP leaders, however, refused to pass any comments on the issue. When contacted, Bhajan Das, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha President from Rajnagar assembly constituency, refuted the allegations of the opposition parties.
“As a party, BJP respects the sentiments of Muslims as well as the Christians. The matter is that there is a dispute over the ownership of the land and the structure constructed there. As far as I understand, these issues should be settled legally, and whoever gets the ownership should be allowed to perform their religious rituals at the place,” Das told EastMojo.
Locals of Belonia and adjoining areas, however, see the disputed spot as a place of religious importance. People from both communities go there and seek blessings at the building.
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When asked about the history famed fair held annually, senior journalist of South Tripura District, Biplab Baidya said, “The structure which is in question today was an abandoned building once upon a time. In 1992, when CPIM leader Sudhan Das, who later became an MLA from the constituency, visited the area. Locals informed him about a building right at the hilltop lying abandoned. Das gathered some locals and trekked to the place and saw that the building was left in a messy condition. People of all communities, including Bengalis, tribals and Muslims worked together to clean the area. In 1993, Sudhan Das was elected from the constituency and the annual fair began. The Muslims started to pray there as it looked like a mosque.”
Till 2018, the fair was named Sanghati Mela and after the BJP came to power the fair was renamed Milan Mela. According to sources in the Tripura Tourism Department, this fair was a part of the state calendar and the state government used to spend for the festival but after 2018 it was left in the hands of the organising committee.
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