Row Over Namaz In Park: Is Majoritarianism The New Normal?
What gives the police the right to tell companies in Noida to tell their Muslim workers not to pray in a public park? Sure, there may be legal sanction - guidelines issued by the Supreme Court which banned the unauthorised use of public places for religious activities - but is that what this is really about? Let's look at it logically - a video emerges, apparently shot by a member of a fringe group, asking, rebuking in fact, Muslim citizens in a park. This video was reportedly handed over to the police and then companies were told "look, you had better warn your employees or else..." Now, the District Administration has said that the letter of the police will not apply, but the larger question remains: Why have this bizarre no namaz in a park diktat in the first place? Is majoritarianism the new normal?
