Waqf Board should not have issued notice in a hurry on a false claim

VARANASI: After tension for over 10 days at Uday Pratap (UP) College in Varanasi over a mosque located on its premises, the situation has returned to normal amid tight security arrangements.

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A massive protest by a group of students from elsewhere was witnessed on Friday at the college gate as they were adamant on reciting Hanuman Chalisa near the mosque on the campus.

The tension had started after a supposed old notice by Waqf Board laying claim to the land on which the mosque is located in the college premises, went viral in the last week of November.

On November 29, a large number of people started coming to offer namaz at the mosque. The students objected to namaz on the campus, saying that the college campus is for studies.

On December 3, a group of students recited Hanuman Chalisa near the mosque when 'namaz' was being offered there, prompting the police to detain seven persons for a brief period.

The same day, the Waqf Board clarified that the notice, which was issued to UP College, was cancelled in January 2021. Despite the clarification, the situation remained tense for a number of days before calm returned. In an interview with Sudhir Kumar, college principal DK Singh spoke on the issue.