Srinagar, January 13: In yet another move aimed at tightening control over religious and civic life in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian authorities have launched a sweeping data-collection exercise targeting mosques and persons associated with them across the Kashmir Valley.
Indian regime have begun circulating a detailed four-page form to mosques in several areas, seeking exhaustive information about religious institutions and their functionaries, including imams, khateebs, muezzins, mosque committee members and those linked with Bait-ul-Maal.
The form demands extensive details of each mosque, including sectarian affiliation such as Barelvi, Hanafi, Deobandi or Ahle Hadith, seating capacity, number of floors, construction cost, funding sources, monthly budget, bank account details and management structure. It also requires disclosure of land records, asking whether the mosque stands on state land, milkiyat or shamilaat property.
Even more intrusive is the personal data being sought from religious figures and mosque committee members. As reported by The Indian Express, they are being asked to submit date of birth, educational qualifications, contact numbers, passport details, countries visited, voter ID and Aadhaar numbers, driving licence, ration card, bank account information and property ownership.
The form further requires individuals to provide mobile phone handset details along with IMEI numbers, ATM and credit card information, PAN numbers, email IDs, WhatsApp numbers, social media handles, and even the list of applications installed on their phones. Information regarding monthly income and expenditure, estimated value of assets, and personal details of immediate family members is also being collected.
Observers see the drive as part of India’s ongoing effort to expand surveillance architecture in the occupied territory. The move has generated unease among mosque bodies, who say it amounts to direct interference in religious affairs. A member of a mosque management committee said that, “This is the first time we are seeing something like this. People linked to religious institutions are being singled out and asked to disclose deeply personal information.” He added that verification could be carried out without probing religious beliefs, finances or family backgrounds.
While police have not officially acknowledged the campaign, the report said the exercise had been planned for some time.
Kashmiri political observers say the latest move fits into a wider pattern of successive crackdowns aimed at silencing dissent and exerting psychological pressure on the Kashmiri people demanding their UN-acknowledged right to self-determination. Source KMS