PUNE DIARIES

then been rented out to the public. Did this not amount to a violation of their purdah? Why did they not launch a similar agitation in that case too? That was the end of the Muslims’ agitation and the building remained in its place. A similar situation arose in connection with a mosque in Poona named Masjid Munshian. It is situated on one side of a road. On the other side of the same road and a little further down, a hotel by the name of Silver Inn has been built. This hotel includes amongst its facilities a Permit Room, or, in other words, a licensed bar. The Muslims, fearing that the sacrosanctity of their mosque was being violated by the consumption of liquor near at hand, decided to observe January 26, 1985 as a “black day”. Posters were fixed on walls, slogan raised, and on January 26, a number of Muslims put up a shed outside the hotel, vowing to observe a hunger strike until this liquor-dispensing tavern had been closed down. A delegation of the Muslims went to the office of a local Marathi newspaper, Tarun Bharat, in order to register their protest. The editor pointed out to them that the owners had built their hotel at a considerable distance from the mosque, and that the bar in the hotel had been opened with Government permission. “Besides” he said, “in the other direction from your mosque, there is another mosque situated quite nearby. Right beneath the walls of that mosque, Muslims are engaged in the illegal sale of liquor. Why not launch a campaign against them to end their illicit trade?" So, once again, the Permit Room remained untouched, while the protest campaign of the Muslims fizzled out after just one day of noise and commotion. Hindu Organizations in Poona The last time I was in Poona, I went round Noble College, a large education institute, belonging to the Christians of Poona, while this time I had the opportunity of inspecting the building of a Hindu organization by the name of Jnana Prabodhini. Despite the large scale of its activities, this organization does not accept any help from the Government. Part of its programme is financed by fund-raising, while the remainder comes from its own industrial and agricultural projects. Jnana Prabodhini is engaged in a wide range of activities. One of its functions, for example, is to select talented individuals from Hindu youth and prepare them for the I.A.S. examination. These people later take over key Government positions, thus ensuring that a degree of influence is maintained in administrative circles.