Yogi Adityanath Urges Eid Prayer Shifts for 72 in Maliyana
Mosques in Meerut district asked worshippers to arrange their eid prayer in shifts after police advisories urged Muslims to avoid public prayers. In Maliyana village, a mosque committee discussed roads, barricades, police permissions, and where and how Eid prayers would be offered on Thursday.
Maliyana Village Prayer Plan
Inside the mosque in Maliyana village, a committee member told worshippers, "Please don’t gather outside the mosque gates" and added, "If the mosque fills up, wait for the next prayer shift. Avoid arguments. Avoid videos. Don’t respond to provocations." The instructions were meant to keep the prayer plan moving as nearly 50 worshippers prepared for the gathering.
Yogi Adityanath said on May 18 that Muslims should offer Eid al-Adha prayers in shifts. The Uttar Pradesh chief minister used the line, "Pyaar se maanenge theek hai, nahi maanenge to doosra tareeqa apnayenge …" as pressure grew around public prayers in the state.
Meerut And Uttar Pradesh
Local police advisories began circulating on WhatsApp, urging Muslims to refrain from public prayers. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad demanded a complete nationwide ban on namaz on roads last week, describing road prayers as a "show of strength."
The pressure landed in a state where the BJP government has intensified crackdowns on Muslim prayers on roads and open spaces since 2017. Muslims say the problem is practical as well as political: many mosques and Eidgahs cannot accommodate all worshippers during mass congregations on Fridays or Eid.
Maliyana's Past And Present
The arrangements in Maliyana carry added weight because the village has a history of communal violence dating to the 1987 massacre, when 72 Muslims were killed there. In 2023, a district court acquitted dozens of the accused in that case over insufficient evidence.
Uttar Pradesh is home to nearly 39 million Muslims, and the state has become a flashpoint for disputes over where they can pray in public. For worshippers in Meerut, the immediate result is a prayer plan built around shifts, limited space, and close attention to police and committee instructions.
