New Delhi: Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi, President of All India Muslim Jamaat, has voiced strong opposition to the Akhara Parishad’s proposal to prohibit Muslim vendors from operating at the upcoming Kumbh Mela. Razvi expressed concerns that such a move risks escalating tensions across India, calling for a peaceful and inclusive event, reports the Clarion India.
“The decision undermines our long-held values of religious tolerance and threatens social unity,” Razvi stated.
He emphasised that denying Muslims the chance to conduct business at the Kumbh Mela contradicts India’s foundational principles of secularism and social harmony.
“By segregating communities, we are inadvertently moving toward division, which can only harm the nation’s unity and progress,” he added.
Razvi appealed to the Uttar Pradesh government to intervene, urging them to retract this divisive measure to protect social cohesion. He stressed that every community, regardless of religious or cultural differences, deserves the right to coexist and participate in society’s shared events.
This reaction follows an advisory by Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP), which recently recommended that non-Hindu-owned shops should be excluded from the upcoming Maha Kumbh Mela, set to begin in Prayagraj on January 13, 2025, and concluding on February 26.
ABAP President Mahant Ravindra Puri clarified that only Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Jain shopkeepers would be permitted space, stating that concerns over recent incidents of food contamination among devotees influenced this decision.
With millions of visitors expected, preparations for the Kumbh Mela have already started. However, this exclusionary policy has stirred debate over India’s commitment to secularism and inclusivity, sparking calls from community leaders like Razvi for re-evaluation to ensure social unity remains intact.
