AN ATTACK ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

It’s a mosque, but only in name. The corner plot measuring 361.86 sq. m. in Sector 16, Block ‘D’ in Rohini is bare except for a half-raised compound wall and a temporary roof.

Construction here came to a halt on Friday, June 26, 2009 — after slogan-shouting Hindutva mobs set upon the namazis, critically injuring 40-year-old labourer Mohammad Moin, and assaulting dozens of others. Some policemen also sustained injuries in the attack, a front-page story in The Hindu reported on August 19. The fact that such an incident could take place in the national capital and remain unreported and unresolved a year later raises disturbing questions – about the response of the administration, and about a minority’s right to enjoy the freedom of religion in the face of majoritarian pressure.