On 19 October, a century-old mosque, a short walk from the prime minister’s residence, was given six days to vacate. Water and electricity had already been cut off on 7 October. The Land and Development Office (L&DO) declared the Race Course Mosque ‘unauthorised’, saying it stands on government land. A place that has called people to prayer for a hundred years or more is being treated as an illegal structure.

The paperwork tells a different story. Mohammad Hakimuddin Qasmi, representing a Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind delegation, has submitted a memorandum to Union minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju. The memo establishes the mosque’s historical provenance: it appears in the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) heritage list referenced in the 1977 Delhi Gazette, as well as in a revised list maintained by the ministry of minority affairs. The Jamiat has asked that no action be taken until the dispute is legally settled. Rijiju has reportedly promised “every possible effort”.

In a video statement reported by The Hindustan Gazette, the mosque’s imam Mohammed Harun revealed the process has been a lot bumpier. For six months, he had raised the matter with the Delhi Waqf Board, to no avail. The board, he says, did little beyond writing to the NDMC about suspended utilities. Drinking water has run out, and the approach to the mosque has been blocked.

When Harun went to the high court on his own, it ruled against him because he lacked the board’s permission. He also points to a 2021 survey, which........

© National Herald