AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): In India’s Uttar Pradesh state, the awarding of a construction contract at one of Hinduism’s most prominent pilgrimage sites to a company linked to Muslims has triggered religious and political controversy.
The dispute centers on the Thakur Banke Bihari Temple in the city of Mathura, one of the most visited Hindu shrines. According to reports, a construction firm associated with Muslims won a tender to install steel railings within the temple complex to regulate crowd movement, a measure described as a safety step ahead of peak pilgrimage periods.
After the contractor’s identity became public, some Hindu right-wing groups voiced objections, opposing the involvement of a Muslim-linked firm in a project connected to a religious site. Videos circulating on social media show activists questioning the legitimacy of the contractor’s presence in a sacred space, framing their objections around religious identity rather than the bidding process or quality of work.
The issue has gained traction online, where figures aligned with Hindu nationalist movements compared the contract to what they described as restrictions imposed on Muslims at certain other religious sites. They argued that religious identity should factor into access to economic opportunities. Allegations of political influence in the tender process have also surfaced, although no evidence has been presented to substantiate those claims.
Temple authorities rejected a religious framing of the matter, stating that the contract was awarded through standard procedures and that religion played no role in procurement decisions. Members of the temple’s management committee emphasized that the project concerns public safety and crowd control, not religious rituals or practices.
The episode has revived a broader debate in India over the narrowing space for Muslim participation in economic activities, particularly in sectors intersecting with Hindu religious spaces.
Some analysts say such controversies reflect an ideological shift in India’s political climate, where economic participation is increasingly viewed through the lens of religious identity, a trend they warn could normalize discrimination even without explicit legal violations.
Civil rights activists also argue that the Mathura incident forms part of a wider pattern in the current political environment, in which Muslims face informal restrictions, social boycotts, and hostile treatment in sectors such as housing, street vending, construction, and transportation.
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