Srinagar: The controversy in Jammu and Kashmir over the national emblem refuses to die down with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti demanding action under blasphemy laws against the Waqf board chief and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Darakshan Andrabi.

Mufti’s comments during a press conference in Srinagar on Saturday (September 6) came after J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah condemned Andrabi, a senior J&K BJP leader, for installing a plaque with the national emblem at the Hazratbal shrine, saying that she should apologise to the people of Jammu and Kashmir for hurting their religious sentiments.

The Wire had earlier reported about the controversy which broke out after it came to light on Friday (September 5) that the granite plaque at the shrine that bore the name of Andrabi, Waqf board members Syed Mohammad Hussain and Ghulam Nabi Haleem, board tehsildar Ishtiyaq Mohi-ud-Din and engineer Syed Ghulam-e-Murtaza, was damaged by unknown persons.

A video had showed a middle-aged, bearded man surrounded by dozens of men repeatedly smashing a brick into the top left corner of the plaque where the national emblem featuring four Asiatic lions had been engraved, creating a rough hole in it amid massive slogans of ‘yehan kya chalega, nizam-e-mustafa’ (‘We want the establishment of Islamic rule’).

The Srinagar police have filed a case at Nigeen police station – under FIR No 76 of 2025 – in connection with the incident. The Wire has reached out to the senior superintendent of Srinagar police G.V.S Chakravrthy for details of the FIR and the sections that have been invoked in the case. This story will be updated as and when he responds.

'I request Omar saheb to investigate how a blasphemous symbol was engraved on the plaque'

Speaking with reporters on Saturday, Mufti alleged that Andrabi had committed blasphemy by installing the plaque with her name and the names of other Waqf board officials engraved on it at the shrine. She said that the Waqf chief should be booked under section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code which is now covered under section 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The act deals with “deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs”.

“An FIR should be filed under section 295-A, under blasphemy and against the person who got the board installed at the shrine, inaugurated it and got herself crowned, not against those who were hurt and acted out of anger due to the blasphemous activities”, she said, referring to Andrabi’s demand that the culprits involved in the defacement of the national emblem engraved on the plaque should be booked under the draconian Public Safety Act.

The Hazratbal shrine was thrown open to the devotees on Wednesday (September 2) after the completion of a renovation project that was initiated by J&K Waqf board led by Andrabi earlier this year. Taking exception to the crowning of Andrabi at the shrine during the reopening ceremony, Mufti alleged that she turned a religious event into an act of self-promotion.

“I request Omar saheb to investigate how a blasphemous symbol was engraved on the plaque. There are no non-Muslims on the board. All the officials are Muslims. Action should be taken against them, including the board chief who is from the BJP. All the heads should roll,” she said.

The holy shrine of Hazratbal houses a Moi-e-Muqqadas, believed to be a hair from the prophet’s beard which is showcased to the devotees during the ongoing Eid-e-Milad and other select days of the Islamic calendar.

“No one is bigger for us Muslims than Prophet Mohammad. Our entire universe is because of him. The blasphemy committed by her has hurt the religious sentiments of people of J&K. She is demanding action against those who defaced the emblem but it is she who should be booked”, said Mufti.

Besides Andrabi, the names of Waqf board members Syed Mohammad Hussain and Ghulam Nabi Haleem, board tehsildar Ishtiyaq Mohi-ud-Din and engineer Syed Ghulam-e-Murtaza were also engraved on the plaque which was defaced on Friday.

The PDP chief claimed that the regional political parties have never used the Waqf board for political gains while undertaking developmental and renovation projects at the mosques and shrines of J&K.

“Now you have a leader of the BJP (heading the board) which is an anti-Muslim party. She even tried to create confusion on Eid-e-Milad holiday. This way they have been interfering with our religion,” she said, while appealing to people not to resort to vandalism at the shrine.

Earlier, chief minister Abdullah also questioned the use of the national emblem in a religious place, “I have never seen the emblem being used in a religious place, so what was the compulsion now? What was the need for installing the plaque? Was your work not enough?” he said, referring to the renovation of the shrine by the Andrabi-led Waqf board.

'National emblem isn’t used in religious functions. It is restricted only to government institutions.'

Abdullah recalled his grandfather and NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who in 1968 got the work started for redesigning the shrine in its present form, replacing the 17th century structure that was built by Mughal army soldier Sadiq Khan during the emperor Shah Jahan's reign.

“First she played with the sentiments of people. Now, not even an apology is forthcoming. National emblem isn’t used in religious functions. It is restricted only to government institutions. Mosques, temples and gurudwaras are not government institutions,” Abdullah told reporters in Anantnag on Saturday.

The State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act 2005 empowers the Union government to specify conditions for the use of the emblem including for educational purposes and armed forces. The act bars its use for “trade, business, calling or profession”.

A Srinagar-based constitutional expert said that the establishment, management and maintenance of religious institutions was “exclusive prerogative” of the respective religious communities under Article 26 of the Constitution which grants people from every religion the right to manage their own affairs.

“It (installation of the plaque) is a misadventure which seems to have boomeranged,” the expert said, wishing to stay anonymous.

“Having such images in religious places is alien to Muslim culture and abuse of law relating to the use of the emblem. The use of state power to control revered religious places is also an abuse of the fundamental rights granted to the citizens under the constitution,” the expert added.

The Waqf board, which manages the affairs of some important shrines and mosques in Jammu and Kashmir, was taken over by the saffron party following the reading down of Article 370 in 2019.

The State Emblem of India Act also bars government officials from registering trademarks and designs or granting patents which resemble or bear the emblem.

However, constitutional authorities, ministers, members of parliament, members of legislative assemblies and officers of the Union and the state governments can use the emblem in their stationary and seals.

The law also allows the use of the emblem on the vehicles of constitutional authorities, foreign dignitaries, ministers of the Union government and the state government, public buildings, diplomatic missions and on the buildings occupied by India's consulates in foreign countries.

Any violation of the law carries punishment of imprisonment for up to two years or fine up to Rs 500 or both.

Meanwhile, the Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), the largest conglomerate of Islamic groups in Jammu and Kashmir headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, on Saturday demanded removal of the plaque bearing the national emblem inside the shrine.

“Islam is explicit in its teachings: no plaques, emblems, figures or symbols are permitted in mosques or shrines. Even when Hazratbal was rebuilt in the past, no plaques or foundation stones were placed. To introduce them now sets a dangerous precedent,” the statement said.

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