India blocks Eid prayers in Kashmir for 7th year
Jama Masjid and Eidgah closed on Eid al-Adha as India continues to deny Muslim worship in Indian-administered Kashmir since 2019
SRINAGAR, Kashmir (MNTV) — For the seventh year in a row, Indian authorities have locked Kashmir’s most prominent mosques on Eid al-Adha, blocking thousands of Muslims from offering prayers in the heart of Srinagar — a move rights groups and local leaders call a direct assault on religious freedom.
On Saturday, the gates of the historic Jama Masjid and the open-air Eidgah grounds were shut by Indian authorities, even after local administrators of the mosque announced plans for Eid congregational prayers.
The region’s top cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who traditionally leads the prayers at Jama Masjid, was once again placed under house arrest.
“Eid Mubarak! Yet again, Kashmir wakes up to the sad reality: no Eid prayers at Eidgah, and Jama Masjid locked down — for the 7th straight year,” Mirwaiz wrote on X, posting photos of police vehicles stationed outside his home. “In a Muslim-majority region, Muslims are deprived of their fundamental right to pray — even on their most important religious occasion celebrated across the world!”
The crackdown follows a pattern established after August 2019, when India revoked Article 370, stripping the region of its limited autonomy and placing it under direct rule from New Delhi.
Since then, the closure of mosques on major religious occasions has become routine, including during Eid-ul-Fitr, Shab-e-Qadr, and Friday prayers.
Kashmiris see these actions not as security measures, but as part of a broader campaign to suppress religious identity and erase political dissent.
The Jama Masjid, built in the 14th century, has long been a symbol of Kashmiri resistance and a site of political expression — now under constant surveillance and repeated lockdowns.
“It is deplorable and utterly callous to detain Mirwaiz Sahab on Eid,” said Iltija Mufti, political activist and daughter of former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. “In India’s only Muslim-majority state, Muslims are being systematically denied their right to worship.”
India continues to silence Kashmiri voices, restrict religious freedoms, and criminalize political expression — reinforcing its grip over a population denied basic democratic rights.
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