Illegal encroachments have reached a concerning level in the country so much so that an illegal mazar had been built within the premise of one of the prestigious schools in the country. The miscreants had built a Mazar within the premises of Doon School which had sparked outrage from several Hindu groups. Now following massive public outrage, the illegal structure has been razed to the ground. Incidentally, a video is doing rounds on social media which shows a group of four to five men using pickaxes and hammers to demolish the illegal structure.
The Doon School is a prestigious British-era boarding institution in Dehradun and is known for its illustrious alumni. Its notable former students include political figures such as Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Naveen Patnaik, and Karan Singh, as well as celebrated authors like Amitav Ghosh and Vikram Seth.
Swami Darshan Bharti, the leader of Uttarakhand Raksha Abhiyan, a Hindu organization working to preserve the culture of Uttarakhand had recently appealed to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami for the removal of the illegal mazar. Welcoming the demolition of the illegal construction, Swami Darshan Bharti questioned the existence of the structure in a prestigious school like The Doon School. Bharti asserted that it highlights the “land jihad” in the state of Uttarakhand. “Whoever may have done it, I welcome the demolition. Why should there be a mazar within a school? That too inside the walls of a prestigious school like The Doon School. It shows the extent of land jihad in the state,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Waqf Board claimed that the land where the Mazar stood might have historically belonged to them. “According to records, 57 acres of land in the area were once Waqf property, although its current status is unclear”, a waqf official said.
It must be remembered that the construction of illegal mazars has become a major issue in Uttarakhand and the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered a crackdown against the construction of illegal Mazars in government lands and to date, encroachments on 5,000 acres of government land have so far been removed as part of the drive. The state of Uttarakhand which is a sacred land for Hindus known as the ‘Devbhoomi’ is facing challenges because of the changing demography in the state.