Ruckus at Varanasi’s UP college as students demand removal of mosque

About 300 students carrying saffron flags and raising ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans assembled at the college gate on Friday

Police restricted a large group of students, many of them from other institutes, from entering the Uday Pratap (UP) College campus on Friday.

(Rajesh Kumar)

Demanding removal of the mosque, about 300 students carrying saffron flags and raising ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans assembled at the college gate on Friday. However, police force already present there prevented them from entering the college, officials said.

The development came days after tension gripped the college when a section of students on Tuesday recited Hanuman Chalisa near the mosque when ‘namaaz’ was being offered there, prompting the police to detain seven persons for a brief period.

Additional commissioner of police (law and order) S Channappa said, “... External students wanted to enter the college. They were counselled and sent back... The situation is normal. Tight security arrangements are in place around the college,” he added.

Varanasi commissioner of police Mohit Agarwal said, “Except for teachers, other staff and students, no one else is allowed to enter the college campus. The step has been taken as a preventive measure. Tight security arrangements are in place at the college.”

Former student union leader Vivekanand Singh contented that since the land for the tomb did not belong to the Waqf Board, it must be removed from the campus.

“The students and alumni of the college together staged a protest demanding removal of the tomb from the campus. But the police did not allow us to enter the college. If ‘namaaz’ can be offered at the tomb, students should also be allowed to recite Hanuman Chalisa there,” Singh was quoted as saying by PTI.

‘2018 notice was revoked in 2021’

On December 3, Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board clarified that a 2018 notice claiming a mosque, and land on which it is located, on the Uday Pratap College campus as Waqf property was cancelled in the January of 2021. The clarification came in response to a letter by the joint secretary of the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid committee, SM Yasin, seeking the current status of the issue.

Yasin, in his letter addressed to the Waqf Board chairman, highlighted the confusion surrounding the 2018 notice. In response, the Board’s law officer, Abdul Mobin Khan, confirmed that the notice issued under Section 36(7) of the Waqf Act, 1995, by then assistant secretary Ale Ateeq, had been revoked, and no related action was pending.

The notice, issued on December 6, 2018, alleged that the mosque and land on which Mosque is situated in the UP college were Waqf properties donated by the Nawab of Tonk. “The notice came from Varanasi resident Wasim Ahmed Khan. The then secretary of the college had responded to the notice, asserting the mosque was built illegally and the property of the college belonged to a trust and it could neither be bought nor sold,” said college principal DK Singh.

The situation reignited in 2024, prompting Yasin to seek clarification to dispel any misunderstandings. Following the Board’s response, he expressed gratitude, stating, “The confusion has been resolved, and I appreciate the board’s prompt clarification.”

On November 25, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attended the 115th foundation day celebrations of UP College. He had announced that UP College of historical importance would be given the status of a university.

(With PTI inputs)