After Gyanvapi, now Bhojshala-Kamal Maula mosque in Madhya Pradesh: What’s the controversy all about?

Even as the country widely discussed the cases of the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi and the Taj Mahal in Agra, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday issued notices to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Centre and the state government on a petition pertaining to the dispute over the monument of Bhojshala in state’s Dhar district. The notice comes on the basis of a petition filed which challenges an ASI notification dated of 2003 which allowed Muslims to offer namaz within Bhojshala complex, restricting “the right of Hindus to worship within the aforesaid premises.” As this case picks up momentum, here’s a clear understanding of what the case is all about and why has it caused a Hindu-Muslim spat. All about the mosque-temple The Bhojshala-Kamal Maula mosque is a shrine claimed by both Hindus and Muslims. It is located in Dhar, approximately 250 km from the state capital and considered to be one of the communally sensitive towns in Madhya Pradesh. While the Hindus claim is a temple of Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati), the Muslim community treats it as Kamal Maula Mosque. The site is just one of the many temple-mosque disputed sites in India and currently under judicial review. Similar ones are the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi and the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Masjid in Mathura. Some historians maintain that a Sanskrit pathshala (school) was started by Parmar ruler Raja Bhoj in Dhar. This pathshala supposedly had an image of Vagdevi, which, according to Hindus, is now in the British Museum in London. Other historians state that the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula mosque was reconstructed by the Muslim ruler Delawar Khan Ghori in the 15th century using materials from Hindu and Jain structures that had existed in the region. The mosque, they say, was first built in 1305 by Allauddin Khilji’s governor Ain-ul-Mulk Multani as a dargah of the Sufi saint Kamalludin Maullah, a disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya. The ASI order Until April 2003, Hindus were permitted to enter Bhojshala only on Basant Panchami day while Muslims were allowed to offer namaz inside the structure for two hours on Friday. However, right before the Assembly elections that year, the government, then led by the BJP, reopened Bhojshala for Hindus on Tuesdays and Basant Panchami. The ASI had approved the move. As per the order, Hindus were allowed to offer prayers for Basant Panchami at Bhojshala-Kamal Maula mosque from dawn to noon and again from 3.30 pm to dusk, leaving the hours between 1 and 3 in the afternoon for the weekly Jumma Namaz. However, this order became problematic when Basant Panchami fell on Fridays; this happened in 2006, 2013 and 2016. Going to court An organisation known as the Hindu Front for Justice filed a PIL on 2 May this year against the ASI order. They insist on exclusive access to the shrine all day. In their petition, they claim, “Only the members of the Hindu community have a fundamental right under Article 25 of the Constitution of India to perform puja (prayers) and rituals at the place of Goddess Vagdevi/ Saraswati within the premises of ‘Saraswati Sadan’, commonly known as ‘Bhojshala’ situated in Dhar. The members of Muslim community have no right to use any portion of the aforesaid property for any religious purposes.” The PIL also urged the court to direct the Centre to bring back the idol of Goddess Saraswati from the London Museum in the United Kingdom and re-establish the same within the Bhojshala complex. The plea has cited that the then rulers of Dhar had installed the holy statue at Bhojshala in 1034 AD and it was taken to London in 1857 by the British. The petitions are likely to be taken up on 27 June. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.