Quiet resentment sums up the mood of the Muslim community in Dhar as it finds itself caught once again in the political tussle between the Centre and the Madhya Pradesh government to shrug off responsibility for the final decision on the monument termed as the ‘‘Bhojshala and Kamal Maula Masjid’’ by the ASI.Even though the Centre yesterday tried to show that it has accepted the state’s recommendations with a few additional concessions, it is already clear that the letter to Chief Minister Digvijay Singh from Culture and Tourism Minister Jagmohan is unlikely to lead to any clear solution and might complicate matters further.Given the Sangh Parivar’s history of changing stances on the issue so far, the letter seems to have been designed with such an aim in mind. The letter has asked the state government not only to allow Hindus entry from sunrise to sunset on Tuesdays (the state government had suggested two hours) but also to let them carry inside puja material like rice and flowers as offerings. It was already clear that such a decision would be unacceptable to the Muslim community which has been quietly watching the events unfold.The Qazi of Dhar, Zakiullah Siddiqui, summed up the response, ‘‘We have all along said that the decision must be within the bounds of the Constitution and the law. Clearly, new traditions must not be created and introduced and this is what Jagmohan has tried to do. We will oppose this.’’The resentment among Muslims is evident from the fact that none from the community attended the all-party meeting called by the Collector, Sanjay Dube, in Dhar yesterday.President of the District Congress Committee Mujib Qureishi said he could not attend the meeting because of a prior commitment but added that he had already expressed his views in the first meeting.Qureishi had said, ‘‘We are not opposed to the removal of the restrictions on the monument but we should make it clear why the restrictions were put in place in the first instance. While namaz on Fridays has been an ongoing practice, there was no worship at the monument by any so-called Hindu organisation till 1994. Later, demands were raised and an agreement was signed in 1995 by the BJP, the Bajrang Dal and the RSS. Today, it is the Hindu Jagran Manch making demands. If an agreement is reached, what is the guarantee that tomorrow, some new organisation will not spring up with an even more extreme demand?’’
