Three decades after Hindu mobs demolished the historic Babri mosque in Ayodhya, in northern Uttar Pradesh state, triggering a wave of communal violence that saw thousands killed, right-wing Hindu outfits are now eyeing other Muslim sites.
There is currently a debate about the the 17th century Shahi Idgah Mosque in Mathura, 57 kilometers north of Agra city, after a Hindu group claimed that the mosque was built on the birthplace of Lord Krishna. A local court in Mathura asked the Archaeological Survey of India to conduct a survey .
The lawsuit was filed by the right-wing outfit Hindu Sena's leader Vishnu Gupta seeking ownership of the land of the historic Shahi Idgah Masjid. The mosque is adjacent to a temple, where Hindus believe Lord Krishna was born.
Muslims in India are concerned by the campaign of the Hindu right-wing groups to claim Muslim monuments and mosques. Hindu groups in various Indian cities have claimed that mosques and monuments built during the Mughal era were built after razing Hindu temples.
Muslim groups had opposed such a move, saying it was against the Places of Worship Act of 1991, which maintains the religious status of any place of worship as of Aug. 15, 1947.
Earlier in May 2022, a court had ordered a similar survey of Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi after a suit was filed by five Hindu women seeking worshipping rights in the mosque compound.
Gyanvapi Mosque adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple is at the center of an ongoing legal battle in India. The mosque is situated in Varanasi city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
Hindus widely believe that the Gyanvapi Mosque was built on the orders of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb by pulling down a part of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in the 17th century.
A long list of holy sites
KS Eshwarappa, former Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister, said in May 2022, that 36,000 temples were destroyed to build masjids and that they would all be reclaimed legally. The Karnataka BJP MLA said: "36,000 temples have been destroyed and masjids were built over it. Let them build mosques elsewhere and offer namaz, but we cannot allow them to build masjids over our temples. I am telling you, all the 36000 temples will be reclaimed by Hindus & legally." [India Today]
Tellingly, Sabrang India, in May 2003 reported that the VHP and BJP want to demolish mosques and churches in different parts of the country, in the guise of 'liberating 30,000 Hindu temples'. Sabrang also published partial list of Mosques and Muslim religious places target of the sangh parivar's impending agenda. [Sabrang India]
Right-wing Hindu groups are demanding that the authorities carry out surveys of several mosques to determine whether they were built on temple sites.
In May also, members of the Hindu Narendra Modi Vichar Manch forum sought permission from the BJP government in Karnataka to pray at the 200-year-old Jamia Masjid in Srirangapatna, which they claim was sitting atop the ruins of a temple.
Another radical Hindu outfit claimed that 27 Hindu temples were demolished to build the Qutub Minar, the famous 13th-century minaret in Delhi and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
"There is no doubt that these temples were demolished in the past. They must be rebuilt, and Hindus should be allowed to offer prayers there," Vinod Bansal, a spokesman for the Vishwa Hindu Parishad organization, told Deutsche Welle (DW).
Other Muslim sites that Hindu groups lay claim to include the Akbar Fort in Prayagraj (formerly known as Allahabad), the Bhojshala in the Madhya Pradesh state and Adina Mosque in the West Bengal state.
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