New Delhi:In a landmark judgment on the decades-old Bhojshala Complex-Kamal Maula mosque dispute in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has declared the Bhojshala complex to be a temple and quashed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) arrangement that allowed Muslims to offer namaz at the site.
The ruling was delivered by a two-judge bench of the high court, which also observed that the Muslim side may approach the Supreme Court and seek separate land for a mosque in Dhar district. The court directed the Madhya Pradesh government to provide alternate land to the Muslim community.
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"We have found that nothing ever interrupted the continuity of Hindu worship at this site. We record this conclusion that historical literature and records establish that the character of the disputed area was that of a Bhojshala — a centre of Sanskrit learning associated with King Bhoj of the Paramara dynasty," the court said while pronouncing the judgment.
The verdict marks a major turning point in one of central India’s most contentious religious disputes, which has seen competing claims from Hindu and Muslim groups for decades.
The Bhojshala complex in Dhar is regarded by Hindus as an ancient temple dedicated to Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati), the deity of learning. Muslims, meanwhile, consider it the Kamal Maula mosque.
The site is protected by the ASI and has long operated under a disputed arrangement framed in 2003. Under this system:
Hindus were allowed to perform puja every Tuesday from sunrise to sunset and during Basant Panchami.
Muslims were permitted to offer namaz on Fridays between 1 pm and 3 pm.
The arrangement repeatedly triggered tensions whenever Basant Panchami fell on a Friday, notably in 2006, 2013 and 2016.
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