Srinagar: The issue of allowing Eid prayers at the historic Eidgah ground in Srinagar city this year – a first since the reading down of Article 370 – has brought the civil administration and security establishment in Kashmir at loggerheads with each other.The J&K Wakf Board, which recently took control of the historic ground along with all the shrines and prominent mosques of J&K, announced on April 4 that congregational prayers will be offered at Eidgah on the day of Eid.During a visit to Eidgah, Dr Darakshan Andrabi, who heads the Wakf Board, said that the administration will level out the ground and arrange a public address system for hosting Eid prayers this year.“The entire administration including the deputy commissioner (of Srinagar) is here. In the atmosphere of peace prevailing in Kashmir, Eid prayers should also be offered with joy at Eidgah. God willing, we will offer the Eid prayers here,” Andrabi, a BJP leader, said.However, the UT’s Director General of Police, Dilbag Singh, has said that Jammu and Kashmir Police will not allow the congregational prayers which will be offered on April 21 or April 22.“This year, we won’t allow Eid prayers at the Eidgah. We will do whatever is necessary to ensure that there is no disruption of peace. Nobody will be allowed to create a law and order situation at any cost,” Singh said, according to The Economic Times.The Wire tried to reach Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Vijay Kumar Bidhuri, and Andrabi for comments on the issue but they didn’t respond immediately. This story will be updated with their remarks if and when received.Spread over 600 kanals of land in Srinagar’s Eidgah locality, the Eidgah ground, which also hosts the 15th century Aali Masjid, the second largest mosque in Kashmir after Jamia Masjid, has been an epicentre of separatist sentiment in Kashmir.A portion of the ground is home to a martyr’s graveyard where militants and civilians killed by security forces are buried, making it a searing symbol of the deep-seated sentiment against New Delhi for some people who are victims of abuses committed by security forces in Kashmir.In recent years, the Eidgah ground has hosted some of the biggest separatist and religious gatherings, especially on the days of Eid and during Ramzan, the holy Islamic month of fasting. However, following the reading down of Article 370, all religious activities were banned at the ground due to security concerns.Last month, the J&K administration allowed the first Friday prayers of Ramzan at the adjoining Jamia Masjid which also often remains out of bounds for worshippers on Fridays and other holy days due to fears of law and order problems.The historic mosque in Nowhatta locality of Srinagar, a stronghold of separatists, is the pulpit of the moderate Hurriyat Conference chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq who continues to remain under house arrest.According to officials, thousands of worshippers are expected to turn up at the Eidgah ground in case the prayers are allowed on Eid day. This, security agencies fear, could create a law and order situation. “There will be a huge congregation which would be difficult to manage in case of a law and order breakdown,” a senior police officer told The Wire.However, for the BJP, the Eidgah ground, which doubly serves as a sports stadium and a temporary market for sacrificial animals on Eid-ul-Azha, seems to have turned into an ideological battleground for challenging the separatist narrative with the party’s ‘developmental agenda’ on Kashmir.Last year, the Wakf Board announced that a portion of the ground was going to be demarcated for building a cancer hospital in Srinagar. However, the announcement evoked concerns that the saffron party was trying to usurp the historic ground, with the Hurriyat Conference terming it as a “takeover.”In a statement, the Hurriyat, led by Mirwaiz, said that the Eidgah ground was bought in the 15th century by Mir Mohammad Hamdani, a Sufi saint and traveller whose father, Mir Syed Hamdani, is considered to be the founder of Islam in Kashmir.“He gave it to the public for offering the congregational Id prayers. Many eminent scholars and saints have delivered their sermons there — such as Sheikh ul Aalam and Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom… It also serves as a playground for the community, especially Shahr-e-Khaas (old city) which has a severe dearth of public parks. In fact, Kashmir’s first cricket and football games were played there,” a Hurriyat statement said.The Hurriyat said that the martyrs’ graveyard hosts the graves of more than 1,000 people who were killed in the last 33 years of turmoil. “But now the administration in Kashmir wants to take over the sacred space of Eidgah claiming that it would build a ‘hospital’ despite the availability of space elsewhere. For Kashmiris, this space is holy and part of their historical, cultural and spiritual heritage. The space should be preserved and any move to strike at the heart of Kashmir’s spirit must be abandoned,” the statement said.
