Temple-mosque disputes simmer across UP; row in Sambhal, Mathura, Varanasi among other places

PTI, Dec 7, 2024, 8:13 AM IST

Credit: PTI

Lucknow: As the 32nd anniversary of the Babri mosque’s demolition was observed on Friday, there are several temple-mosque disputes simmering across Uttar Pradesh — all with the potential to stoke tensions like in Sambhal, where violence after a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque has left four people dead.

Friday marked the first anniversary of the demolition of the Babri masjid after the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22.

Some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders like former Uttar Pradesh minister and Vishva Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) Vinay Katiyar have even claimed that Agra’s Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world, was actually built over a “Tejo Mahalaya” or Shiva temple.

Meanwhile, Maulana Tauqeer Raza, president of the Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IEMC), said on Tuesday that anything can come out from the excavation of religious places and it would be better to abandon such an idea and work towards development.

Talking to reporters in Bareilly, Raza said, “For the unity and integrity of the country, the idea of excavation should be abandoned and development prioritised. Skeletons of extinct dinosaurs can also be found.”

Here is a list of places in Uttar Pradesh where religious disputes continue to simmer —

BAGHPAT

In February, a court in Baghpat dismissed a decades-old plea filed by a Muslim side over a site that Hindu devotees claim is the Mahabharat-era “Lakshagriha”. The petitioners had claimed that it was a graveyard and the dargah of Sufi saint Sheikh Badruddin.

According to Ranveer Singh Tomar, the lawyer for the respondents, Civil Judge Junior Division of the District and Session Court Shivam Dwivedi dismissed the petition, saying there was neither a graveyard nor a dargah at the site in Barnawa.

SAMBHAL

Sambhal has been in the eye of the storm since November 19, when a Mughal-era mosque was surveyed on court orders following claims that a Harihar temple previously stood at the site.

Violence erupted during a second survey on November 24 as protesters gathered near the Shahi Jama Masjid and clashed with security personnel. Four people were killed and several injured in the violence.

LUCKNOW

In Lucknow, the additional district judge on February 28 dismissed a revision plea that had challenged a lower court’s order rejecting an objection against a civil suit that had sought the right to worship at the Laxman Teela, where the Teelewali Masjid is situated.

According to the civil suit filed by a Hindu side, a temple of Shesh Nagesh Teeleshwar Mahadev is situated in close vicinity of the mosque.

Plaintiff Nripendra Pandey and others filed the suit in representative capacity before the civil judge, claiming that at the time of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb, the Laxman Teela was damaged and a mosque constructed at the site, now known as the Teelewali Masjid.

The Hindu side has argued that there still exists the temple of Shesh Nagesh Teeleshwar Mahadev and the Shesh Nagesh Patal Koop.

The plaintiffs claimed that in June 2023, when they went to perform puja at the site, they were threatened by Muslims and hence, they filed the civil suit seeking an injunction order against the Muslim side for not disturbing them from offering prayers.

BUDAUN

In Budaun, a Hindu outfit has moved a local court seeking permission to offer prayers at the Jama Masjid Shamsi, claiming it to be a temple. The court asked the Muslim side on Tuesday to conclude their arguments in the matter by December 10.

The issue dates back to 2022 when Mukesh Patel, the then convenor of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, claimed that a Neelkanth Mahadev temple existed at the site of the mosque.

Patel claimed that a Neelkanth temple in the fort of King Mahipal was demolished by a ruler from the slave dynasty and an invader, Shamsuddin Iltutmish, who converted it into a mosque.

The mosque is built on an elevated area called Sotha Mohalla. It is considered to be the highest structure in Budaun.

It is also believed to be the third-oldest existing and seventh-largest mosque in the country, having a capacity to house 23,500 devotees.

MATHURA

In the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute in Mathura, the controversy is related to the Shahi Idgah mosque that was built during Aurangzeb’s time. It is alleged that the mosque was built after demolishing a temple at the birthplace of Lord Krishna.

However, the Muslim side (the management committee of the Shahi Idgah and the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board) to the dispute has opposed the plea on several grounds.

VARANASI

In the Gyanvapi case, Hindus claim that a temple existed at the site and it was demolished in the 17th century on the orders of Aurangzeb.

According to Madan Mohan Yadav, the lawyer for the Hindu side, the Gyanvapi temple or the Adi Visheshwar Kashi Vishwanath Jyotirling was demolished on April 18, 1679 following Aurangzeb’s orders. Yadav said Aurangzeb’s secretary, Wazir Saqi Mustaid Khan, has mentioned this in his diary — “Maasire Alamgiri” — which is preserved in the Asiatic Society, Kolkata.

The Gyanvapi mosque is located next to the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi.