Latest revision as of 02:00, 29 April 2024

The controversy as in March 2024
From: March 12, 2024: The Times of India

See graphic:

The controversy as in March 2024

[edit] Kamal Maula Mosque

[edit] 2003

Bhojshala is ASI-protected. An ASI 2003 order allows Muslims to offer Friday prayers at the mosque on the site. The order had allowed Hindus to offer prayers on Tuesdays and on Basant Panchami.

[edit] The dispute

April 23, 2024: The Times of India

Dhar, MP, on map
From: April 23, 2024: The Times of India

After Ayodhya, Varanasi and Mathura – all located in Uttar Pradesh – another ‘disputed’ place of worship is in the news. This time in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh. Muslims call it Kamal Maula Masjid, Hindus say it is Bhojshala, an ancient temple dedicated to Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati). The site has seen occasional communal flare-ups, the dispute reached court, and Archaeological Survey of India has been tasked with carrying out a ‘scientific survey’ to determine the truth. Salil Mekaad & Rajesh Jauhri report

Is Dhar’s Bhojshala a 1,000-year-old temple or 700-year-old mosque? Depends on whom you ask. Radheshyam Yadav, former convenor of Hindu Jagaran Manch’s Indore division, is certain the Bhojshala complex with a Vagdevi temple stood at the site for centuries before the mosque was built. Dhar’s shahar qazi Sadiq is equally certain Kamal Maula Masjid was “never a temple or a school” and no idol was ever installed there.


Both sides cite historical and archaeological ‘evidence’. That’s why Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is carrying out a fresh survey of the site after about 120 years.


‘Havan Kund And Defaced Sculptures’


Hindus point to design features, such as ‘yantras’, Sanskrit and Pali inscriptions, and images of gods and goddesses on pillars, since defaced, to press their claim on Bhojshala. These ‘Hindu features’ have been deliberately defaced to hide their true nature, they say, adding Bhojshala also has a large ‘havan kund’ that proves its origin.


A petition by Hindu Front for Justice (HFJ) says the temple built in 1034 CE by Raja Bhoj was demolished, and a mosque was built at the site in Sultan Alauddin Khilji’s time (early 14th century). The present mosque is a later structure built in the reign of Sultan Mehmood Khilji (II) in 1514 CE.


The ASI survey extends to 50m beyond the mosque periphery, touching some house walls, and ground-penetrating radar is being used to identify spots that need excavating. Bhoj Utsav Samiti coordinator Gopal Sharma, who accompanies the ASI team during the ongoing survey, says three sites towards the back of Bhojshala were excavated to 10 feet and several objects were found. They were photographed, bagged and sent for carbon-dating.


‘Real Bhojshala Is 500 Metres Away’


But the Muslim side differs. “For 700 years, salah/namaz has been offered at Kamal Maula Masjid, how can it be a temple?” says Sadiq. Abdul Samad Khan, president of Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society, says the real Bhojshala is about 500m away from the mosque, near Raja Bhoj’s fort.
Explaining the presence of temple fragments in the mosque, Muslim scholar Naeem Ullah Qazi says it was built using the ruins of other monuments and much of the material came from Gupta-era buildings. “Similar architecture can be seen in medieval mosques all over India,” he argues.


The name Bhojshala caught on after the education commissioner of Dhar Dewas princely state, KK Lele, used it in a paper in 1903, says Qazi, adding, “These mistakes were corrected in the imperial gazette of 1908.”


Do they trust the ASI survey to clear the air around the monument? “We believe in facts and evidence. Surveys in 1902 and 1903 established it was a mosque,” says Sadiq. Khan, who accompanies the ASI team during the survey, says, “We are sure facts will come to the fore.”


Ancient Repository Of Manuscripts


ASI’s survey will reveal the ‘true nature and character’ of the disputed site. Beyond the mandir-masjid dispute, Bhojshala was an important repository of manuscripts on topics ranging from astronomy to economics, meteorology and literature.
Scholars from faraway places gathered here and wrote manuscripts. Up to 500 scholars could stay comfortably at Bhojshala, says Dr Dipendra Sharma, convenor of Bhoj Shodh Sansthan. “They shared their knowledge and exchanged manuscripts with Raja Bhoj for gifts… If a thorough excavation is done, remains of a complete university and its residential area could be found here.”


After a decades-long search, Sharma says, “We have traced most of the Bhoj-era manuscripts to Jaipur Pothikhana… There’s one on medicine that has a cure for leprosy not seen even in Charak Samhita.”


Strain Of History


About 5.3% of Dhar district’s 21 lakhplus population is Muslim (2011 Census), but Muslim density is higher around Bhojshala. The area witnessed communal tension in 1944 when the ‘urs’ (death anniversary) of Maulana Kamaluddin Chisti, after whom the mosque is named, was held for the first time. Now, the renewed focus on Bhojshala has stirred up emotions again. 
“We have no issues, no fights. Holi was celebrated, so was the tribal festival of Bhagoria, and the holy month of Ramzan. But now everyone is coming here and stirring up tension,” a Hindu homemaker in Qazipura says.“Everything was normal here till you (media) came. Now, Hindus and Muslims gather in numbers to offer prayers. This was not the case earlier,” Umesh Rathod, who runs a paan stall outside Bhojshala’s gates, told TOI.


While ASI experts go about their work, cops, mediapersons, reel makers, gawkers and locals stand behind barricades. Considering the sensitivity, police are not taking chances. Nobody is allowed to take a smartphone inside the complex, not even policemen. Drones are also banned in the vicinity.
Dhar SP Manoj Kumar Singh says 182 police personnel, including a company of special armed forces, secure the site round the clock. They also track social media. “If there’s any inflammatory message, I personally call and warn the offender,” the SP says.


ASI On The Clock


Police are preparing for any situation that might arise after ASI submits its report to Madhya Pradesh HC. On March 11, the HC had directed ASI to form a five-member expert committee and submit a survey report in six weeks.


ASI officials are going about their ‘multidisciplinary scientific survey’ with urgency. They troop in every morning and march out at dusk, tight-lipped, but the court had allowed Hindu and Muslim observers during excavation, so the buzz outside grows louder: “today they dug towards the rear… they are looking under the walls too, they found and bagged some stones today…” the rumours swirl.


990 Years Of Bhojshala 


1034 | Bhojshala or Saraswati Sadan built


1305 | Forces of Alauddin Khilji defeat Mahalakdev, take over Dhar, destroy temples


1459 | Maulana Kamaluddin’s tomb built


1875 | Vagdevi idol found near Bhojshala


1903 | KK Lele, education commissioner of Dhar Dewas princely state, uses the name Bhojshala in a paper


1934 | Encroachments removed, ‘Bhojshala’ sign placed at monument. Dhar state’s diwan K Nadkar declares Bhojshala is Kamal Maulana Masjid and allows Muslims to offer namaz on Fridays


1952 | ASI declares Bhojshala a protected monument


1997 | Dhar collector allows Muslims to offer namaz on Fridays, Hindus can pray at Bhojshala on Basant Panchami once a year. Entry banned on other days


April 2003 | ASI allows Hindus to offer prayers on Tuesdays also Source: ‘Bhojshala Ek Paheli’ by Madhu Chaturvedi


What ASI has done so far 


➤ Unearthed a basement with a flight of stairs


➤ Scanned area with ground penetrating radar


➤ Excavated half a dozen sites to collect samples for carbon-dating


➤ Taken samples from foundation to determine age


➤ Surveyed area around the monument in a 50m radius


➤ Taken pictures and videos of carvings, statues, idols and structures


Unanswered Questions 


Vagdevi or Jain Yakshini Ambika?


➤ A statue was found during excavation near Bhojshala in 1875. British political agent Maj Gen William Kincaid took it to London in 1879. While the Hindu side claims it’s a statue of Vagdevi, British Museum has labelled it as a ‘standing figure of Jaina Yaksini Ambika’.


Havan kund or wuzukhana?


➤ Hindus say an open, tank-like structure inside Bhojshala is a ‘havan kund’ for yajnas. But Muslims say it’s a ‘wuzukhana’ or ablution pond with a drainage system.


Was structure tampered with?


➤ Hindus say idols in Bhojshala were defaced and the carvings erased to hide the structure’s original identity. Muslims allege pillars dug from other places have been placed inside Bhojshala to make it look like a Hindu monument. Also, steps were built inside the ‘wuzukhana’ to make it look like a havan kund, they allege.

[edit] The dispute, as in 2016

Shreya Biswas , Feb 12, 2016: India Today

The Dhar town of Madhya Pradesh is on the verge of communal crisis in light of Basant Panchami falling on Friday.

The dispute is over the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula mosque; a religious site claimed by Hindus and Muslims alike.

For Hindus, it is the temple of Goddess Wagdevi, i.e. Saraswati. Muslims, on the other hand, believe it to be Kamal Maula mosque.   What is the row about?


The Bhojshala-Kamal Maula mosque is protected by the Archaeolgical Survey of India, which allows Hindus to pray here on Tuesdays and on Basant Panchami, and Muslims are allowed to offer namaz here on Fridays.

The shrine turned into a bone of contention after an order was passed in light of Basant Panchami, which is celebrated as the birthday of Goddess Saraswati, falling on a Friday (February 12).

The order allows Hindus to offer prayers for Basant Panchami at Bhojshala-Kamal Maula mosque from dawn to noon and again from 3.30pm to dusk, leaving the hours between 1 and 3 in the afternoon for the weekly Jumma namaz.

However, the order did not sit well with the Right-wing activists, who demanded that Hindus be allowed at the shrine throughout Friday for worship.

The row so far…


This is not the first time this problem has occurred. In 2006 and 2013, Basant Panchami fell on a Friday as well.

Hindus have since been asking for an all-day-long access to the shrine on such occasions. A string of petitions have knocked the doors of the High Court regarding the matter.

Activists vouching for the "liberation" of Bhojshala are targetting Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as well for massive security set up to ensure that the order is carried out.

This year, Hindu activist groups such as Dharma Jagaran Manch (DJM) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have scaled up their protest by taking out rallies and asking Hindus to come to the shrine on Friday for Basant Panchami.

On Tuesday, Right-wing activists held a satyagraha outside Bhojshala-Kamal Maula mosque in protest of their demands for reduced security not being accepted.

Right-wing leader Vijay Singh Rathore has demanded that Hindus be allowed a "dawn-to-dusk" access on Friday for the occasion of Basant Panchami.   The security set up…

Despite the demands of the security being reduced, the government has not given in so far and has stuck to the ASI formula of letting Hindus into the shrine only for the specified timings.

Heavy security bandobust has been set up in and around Bhojshala-Kamal Maula mosque to check any communal violence on the occasion of Basant Panchami.

Reports say that more than 6,000 security personnel have been deployed to the area, with police and RAF turning Dhar into a fortress with barricades and guards crawling the town.