After Sambhal & Bahraich, Barabanki admin too disallows mela with Mahmud Ghaznavi connection

The Print

14-05-2025

On 27 March, some local BJP leaders and social activists in Bahraich submitted a memorandum to the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), demanding a ban on the annual fair.
A police officer said Tuesday evening that permission was denied for the Barabanki fair, scheduled to be organised between 14 and 18 May at the dargah of Salar Sahu in Satrikh area, as the administration feared it could cause communal tensions in the region, especially in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack.
Lucknow: Apprehending a law and order situation, the Barabanki administration has denied permission for an annual fair to commemorate Saiyyed Salar Sahu, who was a commander of Mahmud Ghaznavi, days after cancelling melas in Sambhal and Bahraich held in respect of Salar Sahu's son Saiyad Salar Masud.
The memorandum claimed Satrikh mazar, where the fair is organised, belongs to Salar Sahu, who was a commander of Mahmud Ghaznavi, and attacked the Somnath Temple and forcibly converted a large number of Hindus.
The petitioners contended that projecting Salar Sahu as a Sufi figure and organising a fair in his name was 'misleading and an affront to the country's self-respect'.
After submitting the memorandum, BJP Kisan Morcha district president Ashutosh Awasthi claimed the Satrikh fair takes place on a land that is a sacred site for Hindus.
'Even today, a 'chakra' (religious disc) is present there. However, people are being misled by building the tomb of Salar Sahu at the site. We demand the fair be stopped. No fair commemorating foreign invaders will be allowed here. We will not retain any symbol that is a symbol of slavery,' he told the media.
A Uttar Pradesh police official said they apprehended that allowing the fair to go ahead amid such protests would have created communal tension in the area.
'We received some complaints regarding a land dispute at the venue where the mela was about to be organised and we also kept in mind the situation in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack. So we denied the permission. The mela committee has also accepted the decision and released a video statement related to it,' said Akhilesh Narayan Singh, Additional SP, Barabanki (South).
Kaleemuddin Usmani, a fair organising committee member, released a statement supporting the cancellation of the mela. 'After the Pahalgam incident, the situation is deteriorating. So, the committee requests everyone to stay home and pray. We are fine with the administration's decision.'
This traditional fair is held at the dargah of Salar Sahu Ghazi in the Satrikh area of Barabanki district for more than 100 years.
The Sambhal row
The controversy started from the Sambhal district in the third week of March after the local administration denied permission for 'Neja Mela' which is organised to commemorate Saiyyed Salar Masud Ghazi, son of Salar Sahu.
'It (Neja Mela) was a wrong tradition. It is not right to continue wrong traditions. They (the organisers) have been informed that it is not right to continue with wrong traditions. That is why permission was not given,' Sambhal Additional Superintendent of Police Shrish Chandra had told the media.
He also said people objected to raising a flag at the venue in the name of the military commander of Mahmud Ghaznavi who invaded the country with the aim of looting.
'That is why permission was not given. There is complete peace in the area and a flag march was also conducted on March 18,' he added.
After Sambhal, the Bahraich administration also denied permission on May 3 to organise a similar mela. The fair was proposed to be organised between May 15 to June 15.
Uttar Pradesh Congress General Secretary (Organisation) Anil Yadav questioned the administration's decision.
'Many Hindus, particularly from the backward sections, also participate in such melas in Bahraich and Barabanki. There are many traditions and rituals related to these fairs,' he said.
'At mazars also, people from both Hindu and Muslim communities go. So, why is the BJP making it a communal issue? These fairs were known for promoting Hindu-Muslim unity, but now the BJP government is giving them communal colour. They should focus on development issues rather than communalising these things,' he added.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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