Youths Climb Masud Ghazi Dargah in Prayagraj on Ram Navami, Trigger Tension
Prayagraj: A viral video has triggered communal tension in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj after a group of youths climbed the Masud Ghazi Dargah in the Baharia area during Ram Navami celebrations. The incident, which took place on Sunday, saw around 20 to 25 members of the Maharaja Suheldev Samman Suraksha Manch (MSSSM) reaching the shrine located nearly 40 kilometers from the city in the Sikandar area.
Led by Manendra Pratap Singh, a self-identified student leader and former Karni Sena state president, the group hoisted saffron flags and shouted slogans from atop the gate of the Masud Ghazi Dargah Prayagraj. A few climbed the structure using adjacent walls, causing alarm in the locality.
ACP Phulpur, Pankaj Lavania, confirmed the development and assured that police from Baharia station swiftly reached the site, bringing the situation under control. “Additional forces have been deployed to prevent further unrest,” he said.
The MSSSM issued a statement calling the dargah “illegal” and demanded the cessation of the weekly fair conducted there. In response, Safdar Javed, the dargah’s caretaker, clarified that while the original tomb of Syed Salar Masud Ghazi (Ghazi Miyan) is in Bahraich, the Prayagraj shrine is over a century old and built by his devotees in memory.
As political activities pick up ahead of elections, this incident has raised concerns over communal harmony and the politicization of religious spaces in sensitive regions like Prayagraj.
