By Scroll Staff
The Archaeological Survey of India has urged the district administration in Gujarat’s Bharuch to prevent any gathering that could damage the historic Jami Masjid after social media posts emerged calling for a gathering at the protected monument on June 15, The Indian Express reported on Friday.
The gathering is allegedly planned by the Hindutva group Rashtriya Dharohar Sanrakshan Samiti, according to the newspaper.
The group has been organising events in the district since mid-May under its “campaign to reclaim” the mosque as a Jain religious site, The Indian Express reported.
The 14th-century monument is located near the Bharuch Fort and the Malbari Darwaza.
The Archaeological Survey described it as a monument of national importance, which is listed in a gazette issued in May 1909.
In a letter on Wednesday, the superintending archaeologist of the organisation’s Vadodara circle requested the district collector and magistrate to take measures to protect the mosque.
The letter followed information the ASI received from the president of the Jami Masjid that videos and messages widely shared online were calling on people to gather at the site.
“As the monument is sensitive in nature, there is a likelihood of an untoward incident,” The Indian Express quoted the letter as having stated. “Such gatherings may also pose a risk to the communal harmony and physical damage to the monument.”
The Archaeological Survey cited Article 49 of the Constitution, which requires the state to protect monuments or places of artistic or historic interest declared to be of national importance.
The 1958 Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act requires the collector to take measures to protect a monument from being damaged.
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