The situation in the Gulbarga district in Karnataka has been tense for the past few days. According to the Siasat Daily, a group of Muslim men stand outside the Hazrat Ladle Mashaikh Ansari Shareef Dargah in Aland Taluk of Gulbarga district in Karnataka on March 1 to protect it. Siasat Daily reported that they aimed to stop BJP/RSS leaders from vandalising and dehumanising the dargah on the day of Shivratri.
However, the group allege that they faced violence and humiliation by the police. According to Siasat Daily, a man in the group stated that he does not wish to go home as the police would arrest him. He had spent the night on his farm and has been subsisting on whatever food his kind neighbours have offered.
Siasat Daily reported that the BJP claims a Shivlinga present in the dargah premises. Moreover, the head of Karuneshwar Mutt, Siddainga Swami, issued an ‘Aland chalo’ call to ‘purify’ the Shivlinga. The group protecting the dargah stated that the local MLAs have been actively collaborating with the local MP therefore they are not helping much.
Although the dargah is currently facing disputes, it is protected under Karnataka’s Archaeology Museums and Heritage. According to government documents, the shrine and the Black Mosque was built by Ali Farhad (brother of Afzal Khan, a general of the Adil Shahi dynasty).
When the tussle broke out, Section 144 was imposed to reduce the tensions. However, the local Muslims allege that the police entered Aland early morning on March 2 and had indulged in vandalism. The police further had arrested people, including women. The locals further alleged that while arresting a woman, the police beat her with footwear as if she was a criminal.
The locals further stated that there was no female officer present to arrest women and the police humiliated the women for their religious beliefs. When Siasat Daily reached out to the police to get their comment, the police denied the allegations and stated that the local Muslims had pelted stones on the police. Due to the assault on the police, the stone-pelters had to be arrested. The police further stated that 500 women and 2000 men were involved in stone-pelting.
References: Siasat Daily.
