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Bhojshala Temple-Mosque dispute may end amicably after ASI Report

Top 5Bhojshala Temple-Mosque dispute may end amicably after ASI Report

NEW DELHI: According to sources, the ASI has said that heavy slabs made of basalt that were used to construct the platform of the structure dated back to the Paramara period between 10th and 11th centuries (900-1000 CE).

The Indore High Court-mandated Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey at the Bhojshala temple-cum-Kamal Maula mosque in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh has conclusively found that the said structure is on the remains of a temple that was built during the reign of the Paramara dynasty. It was built by the Paramara clan of the Rajput community which was the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Malwa in west-central India between the 9th and 14th centuries CE.

The said ASI probe was ordered by the High Court while hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed in May 2022 by Hindu individuals and groups.
The findings of the report, which was shared with the Indore High Court earlier last week, has the potential to end the long-standing communal tension between Hindus and Muslims over the question of whether a temple had been standing at the said place, which was then brought down and replaced by a mosque.

The report was prepared by an eight-member ASI team that included Alok Tripathi, Zulfikar Ali, Aaftab Hussain, Izhar Ali Hasmi, Bhuwan Vikram, Gautam Bhattacharya, Manoj Kurmi, Shambhu Yadav and Neeraj. The team used ground penetrating radar (GPR), a non-destructive geophysical survey technique that uses radio waves to image the subsurface to arrive at its findings.

Among its findings, sources said, the ASI has said that heavy slabs made from basalt that were used to construct the platform of the structure were dated to the Paramara period between 10th and 11th centuries (900-1000 CE). The scientific survey conducted by the ASI has found that the existing structure was constructed over a pre-existing structure of basalt, the lower part of which still exists as base.

It is pertinent to mention that two prominent invaders who came to India during this period—Mahmud of Ghazni (1000-1027) and Muhammad of Ghor (1175-1192)—and their generals extended their influence to Central India, especially Qutub-Din-Aibak. During their invasion, both Mahmud of Ghazni and Muhammad of Ghor, along with their successor rulers and generals of that period, especially Aibak, are historically recorded to have destroyed temples and other religious structures. These actions were often motivated by a combination of religious zeal, political strategy, and economic gain.

The scientists and experts found that the structure went through three distinct architectural phases. The existing structure, which represents the third phase, was built over an earlier phase which was damaged and then modified.

The said site, as per the survey, was also meant for public use, possibly as a place of learning. The ASI found that the existing structure was built using limestone in a hurried manner without paying attention to symmetry, design and material.
The report found that while the earlier structure was of a uniform shape, height and size, the existing structure is of a different shape and size.

The mihrab, which is part of a mosque, indicating the “qibla”, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims pray, as per the report, is a new construction and therefore beautifully decorated. Mihrab is an important architectural element in Islamic religious buildings, helping worshippers to orient themselves correctly during prayers. Mihrabs are typically semicircular or polygonal in shape and are often richly decorated with intricate designs and calligraphy.

However, the mihrab in this case is built over a basalt structure, the survey found.
According to the ASI, images carved on pillars, structures, windows etc., were chopped off and reused in the present structure. These also contained inscriptions written in Sanskrit and Prakrit that have been reused in flooring. More than 150 inscriptions and fragments in Nagai script, dateable to 1200 CE have been found in and around the structure. These inscriptions contain literary works that were composed by some of the Paramara kings or were works composed during Paramara rule.

ASI found 106 pillars and 82 pilasters, which are architectural elements that resemble flattened columns or rectangular uprights projecting slightly from a wall. When checked, they were found to be a part of the temple. They were re-used in the present structure after the figures of deities and humans carved on them were mutilated.

Of the 31 coins found within the structure, the earliest coins were from the 900-1000 CE, when the Paramara kings were ruling the Malwa region from their capital in Dhar.
The surveyors have also found images of Hindu Gods Brahma, Ganesh, Narasimha, Bhairava and other figures and animals that are a part of Hindu mythology carved on windows, pillars and beams of the structure.

However, these images have been chiselled or defaced in many places, as human and animal figures are not permitted in mosques. The surveyors found after surveying the art and architecture of decorated pillars and pilasters that they were part of a temple.
In one of the columns, two poems, written in Prakrit language, were found, containing 109 stanzas each. The poems are attributed to Maharajadhiraja Paramesvara Bhojadeva.

Bhojadeva, who is also referred to as Bhoja 1 by historians, ruled from approximately 1010 to 1055 CE in the region of Malwa (in present-day Madhya Pradesh). He is best known for his patronage of arts, literature, and education. He is credited with building the city of Bhojpur and constructing the famous Bhojeshwar temple near Bhopal dedicated to Lord Shiva. He is regarded as a scholar who authored several works on various subjects, including poetry, medicine, astronomy, and architecture. His contributions to literature include the “Sarasvati-Kanthabharana” (a treatise on Sanskrit grammar) and “Samarangana Sutradhara” (a text on architecture and engineering). His reign is often considered a golden age for the Paramara dynasty, marked by significant achievements in culture, learning, and governance.

One of the inscriptions in a pillar refers to King Naravarman, who ruled between 1094 and 1133 CE.

All the Sanskrit and Pali inscriptions are older than Arabian and Persian inscriptions.
The surveyors also took into account a 42-line inscription dated between 1454 and 1455 and inscribed during the reign of Mahmud Shah Khilji. It is found over the door at the upper gate of the stairs leading to the tomb of Abdullah Shah Changala, Muslim preacher who spread Islam in the region during the 1000 CE. The inscription, in Persian, talks about a Muslim leader coming to town with a large army and destroying the temple, smashing statues and turning the temple into a mosque. The mosque and the tomb of Changal, as per the inscriptions, were constructed by Mahmud Shah Khilji, who reigned from 1510 to 1531 as part of the Malwa Sultanate, with its capital at Mandu, Madhya Pradesh. Mandu and Bhojshala are less than 40 km apart.

THE COURT CASE
Ashish Goyal, who is one of the five petitioners in the case and the state vice president of a Lucknow based organization, “Hindu Front for Justice”, told The Sunday Guardian that till now no petition has been filed in the Supreme Court against the Archaeological Survey of India report.

“This matter is already under consideration in the Supreme Court. The Muslim side had previously filed a petition to stop the survey, with the last hearing held on 1 April 2024. While allowing the survey to go on, the Supreme Court has placed a hold on implementing the ASI survey report without its permission. Now, our lawyer, Vishnu Shankar Jain, has requested the Supreme Court to lift the stay on implementation. The case will soon be presented before the Supreme Court and has been scheduled for hearing. While the next hearing date is set for 22 July in the Indore Bench of the High Court,” Jain said.
Jain told The Sunday Guardian that the findings of the ASI report have proved their assertions.

“The ASI report validates our claim that the site is a Hindu temple currently used as a mosque. We had challenged the 2003 ASI order in the Indore High Court, citing it as erroneous and a violation of fundamental rights. The High Court then tasked the ASI with a detailed scientific study. The resulting 2,000-page report significantly strengthens our case. With the Supreme Court’s stay on Indore High Court proceedings, we will now approach the Supreme Court to vacate its stay and let the government make arrangements and rules as per the ASI’s findings “, Jain told The Sunday Guardian.

The 150-page report with over 2,000 pages of annexures was submitted by ASI to the High Court on Monday after conducting a 98-day survey between 22 March and 30 June at the one-acre site. The exercise was ordered by the court on 11 March this year in connection with a petition filed by a Hindu group asking for namaz to be prohibited at the site.
On the other hand, Muslim organisations said they would wait for the Supreme Court’s decision. “The Supreme Court will take final decision on this and we can’t reveal the findings of the report as per the direction of the apex court,” Dhar Shehar Qazi Waqar Saddique, a respondent in the matter who had moved to the Supreme Court against ASI survey, told the media.

Bhojshala was declared protected in 1909 by the Dhar state and in 1951 as a protected national monument under the Ancient and Historical Monument and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958 and is not covered by the 1991 Places of Worship Act.
It is noteworthy to mention that in 1985, Bhojshala was notified as a Waqf property and no objection was filed during the next one year, as per rules, challenging its status
Despite the long period of claims and counterclaims over its religious character, the site has not led to any major communal tensions.

As per records, it was in 1952 that the first hints of communal tension appeared over the structure when a sanction to hold celebration of Bhoj Diwas was given. This led to Muslims to celebrate the Urs in November 1953. This became a ritual of sorts, with Hindu faith followers celebrating and congregating at the monument to celebrate Basant Panchami, while Muslim residents coming on Friday to offer prayers.

Things became volatile in December 1994 when members of Hindu outfit entered the Bhojshala complex and hoisted a saffron flag. However, things cooled down after a 1995 arrangement worked out between Hindu and Muslim groups, which allowed prayers for Hindus on Tuesday and prayers for Muslims on Friday. It was also agreed upon that no slogans would be raised while going to Bhojshala or in front of the complex by anyone and no puja materials or pictures or idols of deities would be taken into the complex.

In May 1997, Hindu groups announced their intentions to hoist a flag atop the structure and police had to intervene to stop them from entering the complex. After that the Department of Archaeology, Bhopal Circle, issued orders for the closure of the complex on all days except for two hours on Fridays, so that Muslims could offer namaz, and on Basant Panchami day, so that Hindus could offer prayers.

In 1998, the Union Human Resource Development Ministry in Indore High Court, in an affidavit filed by the BJP leader Sumitra Mahajan and her late husband G.V. Mahajan, who were representing the ASI in the court at the time, had questioned if the structure was actually a Bhojshala dating back to Raja Bhoj and admitted on the basis of Persian inscriptions that it was a Muslim shrine. This affidavit was tabled on the floor of the Madhya Pradesh assembly in February 2003 by then Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh who was responding to the attack by the BJP leaders.

Later, in April 2003, the Archaeological Survey of India, on the orders of Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, issued an order that allowed devotees to carry “flowers and rice grains” inside the monument every Tuesday.

The state at that time had a Congress government under Digvijaya Singh, while the Centre was being ruled by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led BJP government and the state elections were just ten months away, with the BJP being led by the firebrand leader Uma Bharti, who was considered the CM in waiting.

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