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Thanwi’s grave desecrated in India

By Iftikhar Gilani

NEW DELHI: Tension has gripped the Indian state of Utter Pradesh following the desecration of the grave of legendary Deobandi scholar Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi. Police and paramilitary forces have been rushed to Thana Bhavan township in Muzaffarnagar district of Utter Pradesh, around 120 km from Delhi.

Police said besides digging the burial place of Maulana Thanwi, the miscreants had also defiled the graves of his wife, brother Bhai Khan Bhadur Mazhar Ali and associate Maulana Zahoorul Hassan.

Muslim organisations across sectarian lines have demanded stern action against the culprits. President of All India Milli Council Maulana Abdulla Mugesi talked to Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, who assured him of a proper investigation into the incident. Mugesi asked the Muslim community to remain calm and to upset the designs of the culprits, who may have wanted to stir up communal tensions.

Maulana Najmul Hassan, custodian of Maulana Thanwi’s ‘khanqa’, who was first to notice the defilement of the graves on Sunday morning, claimed that it was a “well planned conspiracy” aimed at creating communal hatred. “I don’t subscribe to the view that is an act of some individual miscreant,” he said.

Commonly known as ‘Hakeem ul-Ummah’, Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi is a highly revered scholar in the Deobandi school of thought.

The author of 1,365 books, he is best remembered for compiling “Behesti Zewar”, or jurisprudence for the common man, especially for the women of the sub-continent.

Muslim brides still carry this revered book to their new homes with their dowry.

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