Protest against Quranic verses printed on cloth

Even before protests against Danish cartoon and US President George W Bush’s visit to India could subside, Kanpurites today woke up to another controversy when the cloth used to make undergarments was found imprinted with Quranic verses.

There were demonstrations at several places after the Friday prayers and people demanded stringent action against the textile mill.

The district administration convened a meeting of peace committee late in the evening and ordered security beef-up in the to meet any eventuality.

The cloth imprinted with Quranic verses was discovered by Haji Rehman from a recent consignment of cloth from Gujarat. An undergarment manufacturer, Rehman runs his unit in pre-dominantly Muslim pocket of Dada Miyan-ka-Chauraha. He had bought the cloth consignment from a commission agent in Ghumi Mohal in January.

“I bought six cloth cartons from the commission agent and the product in each carton has Quranic verses imprinted,” Haji Rehman told the HT adding that the cloth was produced by Ajay Mills Ahmedabad.

Rehman said that this morning once the cloth was laid down for cutting, he and others were shocked on finding Quranic verse “Qul Wallah O Ahad” or “Sura-e-Ikhlas” imprinted all over.

The cloth, according to him, was even being exported to several countries.
Soon the news spread like a wild fire in the Muslim pockets and hundreds of agitated people thronged the garment unit. They instantly took to streets carrying the cloth in sea blue colour shouting slogans in protest.

Sajjadanashin of Dada Miyan Khankah Abul Barkat Najmi leading the protestors said the tactic was a deliberate act aimed at insulting the holy book and its verses. Najmi, Tariq Mustafa, Hafiz Mohd Yusuf and Mohd Shamim and others even suspected the act was done at the behest of the Gujarat government.

The people demanded arrest of the mill owner and withdrawal of all consignments of this make dispatched by the mill within the country and abroad.