Plaque with Ashoka emblem vandalised at Hazratbal shrine, Andrabi defiant as Omar, Mehbooba demand action; 26 detained

Based on CCTV footage, Srinagar police have detained 26 people

Srinagar: It all started on September 5, just after the Friday congregational prayers at Srinagar’s Hazratbal shrine. As devotees stepped out, many noticed a newly installed inauguration plaque inside the compound. What caught their eye was not just the names of Waqf officials, but also the national emblem of India — the Ashoka lions — carved on it.

Within moments, anger spread among the worshippers. Shouting that such symbols had no place in a shrine that houses Kashmir’s most sacred relic of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), some men picked up stones and smashed the plaque. By evening, videos of the vandalism went viral, and Kashmir found itself in the middle of one of its biggest religious-political rows in years.

The plaque had been put up by the JK Waqf Board, headed by BJP member Dr Darakhshan Andrabi, to mark the completion of renovation work at Hazratbal. While the national emblem is used on government buildings, passports, Aadhaar cards and even currency notes, placing it inside a shrine touched a raw nerve. Many said it amounted to introducing an “idol-like figure” into a space where Islam strictly prohibits such imagery.

Chief Minister of JK and National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah said there was “no compulsion” to install the emblem in a mosque or dargah and demanded an apology from Andrabi. “An emblem may be fine for offices, but not for places of worship,” he said.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti went further, calling it ‘blasphemy’ and urging police to book Andrabi under laws related to outraging religious sentiments. She said Hazratbal was too sacred for “any act that even remotely hints at idol worship.”

Over a dozen NC lawmakers wrote to Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha, seeking Andrabi’s dismissal and alleging that the move was a “political provocation.”

Religious body  Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), an alliance of over 20 Islamic organisations led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, also issued a strong statement. “Hazratbal is the spiritual heart of Kashmiri Muslims. Islam is clear: no plaques, emblems or symbols belong in mosques or shrines,” it said.

Grand Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir, Nasir-ul-Islam, termed it “extremely unfortunate,” stressing that the situation could have been avoided altogether. “The question arises whether a national emblem can be installed in a religious place of worship or not, especially when it is directly connected with people’s sentiments,” he said.

The Grand Mufti added that given the shrine’s religious and emotional importance, the Waqf administrators and clerics should have exercised caution. “They knew how dangerous the consequences would be after the installation of the emblem,” he said, pointing out that construction work at Hazratbal had once stretched from 1968 to 1979 without such controversies.

NC leader Tanvir Sadiq said that installing such plaques “goes against the very foundation of Tawheed (oneness of God).”

Andrabi later called a press conference. At a briefing, she said the emblem represented India’s Constitution and accused her critics of politicising the issue. “This is not a scar on the stone, it is a scar on my heart. The emblem is on passports, Aadhaar, even currency notes. Why don’t you call that un-Islamic?”

Calling those who vandalised the plaque “terrorists,” she demanded they be booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA). “If the police don’t act, I will sit on a hunger strike,” she warned. Andrabi also alleged that the NC had instigated the protests.

The JK police later registered a case under FIR 76/2025 at Nigeen police station. Reviewing CCTV footage, they detained 26 people and said more arrests were likely.

Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha condemned the vandalism but avoided commenting on why the emblem was installed in the first place.