Indian authorities bulldoze 150-year-old Muslim shrine
Historic shrine was razed in overnight demolition despite caretaker's efforts to prevent removal, drawing anger from local residents in Uttar Pradesh
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — Authorities in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh have demolished a 150-year-old Muslim shrine during an overnight operation, the latest in a series of removals of Islamic religious sites carried out by officials in the name of infrastructure and redevelopment projects.
The shrine of Hazrat Bairam Shah Miyan, locally known as Neem Wali Ziyarat, was bulldozed in Rampur district as part of a road widening project. Authorities said the shrine stood in the middle of the roadway and had to be removed to improve traffic flow and road safety.
The demolition was carried out around 3 a.m. under heavy police deployment. Officials sealed off the area, diverted traffic and restricted public movement before public works personnel used bulldozers to raze the shrine.
The debris was immediately cleared from the site, and the following day workers also cut down a decades-old neem tree standing beside the shrine.
The shrine’s caretaker, Nasir Miyan, said he had looked after the site for nearly three decades and that authorities had issued a notice about a week earlier directing that it be vacated.
He said he made every possible legal and administrative effort to save the shrine, but those attempts failed before the demolition proceeded.
Residents expressed anger after learning of the overnight operation, though police remained deployed in the area to prevent protests or unrest. Authorities said the situation remained under control.
The demolition comes amid growing criticism of the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government over the removal of Muslim religious sites in the name of road expansion, anti-encroachment drives and redevelopment projects.
In recent years, authorities have demolished or ordered the removal of numerous mosques, shrines and Islamic seminaries after declaring them unauthorized or obstacles to public infrastructure, prompting allegations from Muslim groups that such actions disproportionately target their places of worship.
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