Kashmir’s Muslim clergy and politicians on Tuesday claimed that the region’s security establishment had launched a Valley-wide “unprecedented and invasive data collection” exercise related to mosques, imams, preachers and those associated with these places of worship.

They said it was an attempt to control and regulate religious institutions through “coercive means and checks”. The allegations of surveillance come at a time the administration led by lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha continues to terminate the services of government employees for suspected terror links, taking the total number of dismissals to 87 since 2019.

The five government employees who were sacked on Tuesday were Mohammad Ishfaq, a teacher; Tariq Ahmad Shah, a laboratory technician; Bashir Ahmad Mir, an assistant lineman; Farooq Ahmad Bhat, a field worker in the forest department; and Mohammad Yousuf, a driver in the health department.

The Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), the largest conglomerate of Islamic religious organisations in Jammu and Kashmir, in a statement said the police were distributing detailed multi-page forms among mosque managements “seeking highly personal and sensitive information, including private identification details, family particulars, financial information, phone details, digital and social-media profiles, passport details and travel history”.

“Besides, the mosque’s ideological sect identification — Barelvi, Hanafi, Deobandi or Ahle-Hadith — is also being sought. Such an unprecedented and invasive data-
collection exercise has caused widespread anxiety among religious institutions, imams, khateebs and the public in general,” the conglomerate added.

The Muslim clergy said the exercise was a “complete violation of fundamental rights and the right to privacy and personal information guaranteed under the Constitution”.

“Mosques are sacred institutions meant for worship, guidance and community service, and their internal religious affairs cannot be subjected to arbitrary surveillance and intrusive scrutiny. The nature and depth of information being sought go far beyond any routine administrative requirement, raising serious questions of intent, reflecting an attempt to control and regulate religious institutions through coercive means and checks,” the statement said.

The outfit accused the administration of picking only Muslim religious institutions for such surveillance, making it even more suspect.

“The MMU strongly feels that the elected government must immediately intervene in this matter. Such an exercise must be stopped forthwith, as it undermines trust, creates fear among religious functionaries and sends a disturbing message to the Muslim community of the state. Measures that single out mosques and religious personnel in this manner are unjustified, counterproductive and harmful to social harmony,” it said.

The MMU urged the LG administration to withdraw the drive. It has decided to
convene a meeting of its constituent members and senior religious leadership to decide the future course of action, it said.

Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi said the exercise was driven by the RSS ideology aimed at controlling religious spaces beyond their own faith.

“They seek to dominate every religion that does not align with their ideology. Our country runs on the Constitution, which guarantees every citizen the right to practise their religion freely. Targeting this freedom is unacceptable,” he told reporters.

Mehdi questioned the need for such surveillance when Jammu and Kashmir already has multiple layers of security.

Sources in various mosque establishments confirmed they had received the four-page police forms.