A mandir-masjid row is brewing now in West Bengal as a Hindu right-wing group, led by a BJP leader, conducts prayers near a 650-year-old mosque which it claims was once a temple, in Malda district. On the coming Monday, the ‘Adinath Puratan Shiv Mandir’ organisation plans to install a big Shiva Lingam outside the mosque.
Built in 1373 AD by Sikandar Shah, the Adina Masjid in Pandua, Malda, is considered by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to have been the biggest mosque in medieval times in the entire subcontinent. However, Hindu groups and the BJP have been claiming that it came up in the place of an ‘Adinath Temple’, dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Kajal Goswami, the chief patron of the Adinath Puratan Shiv Mandir and a convenor of the BJP’s ‘Good Governance Wing’ for North Bengal, says: “There are Hindu and Buddhist statues in the so-called mosque. The Adinath Temple was destroyed to build a mosque on it.”
The organisation claims many Hindu and Buddhist motifs are present in the mosque, apart from a Shiva Lingam, and says it will approach the Calcutta High Court soon seeking an ASI report on the issue.
“Our aim is to restore the temple and place the Shiva Lingam inside it,” Goswami says. A 3.6-ft-high Shiva Lingam, weighing 1.5 tonnes, is being brought from Tarakeshwar, 289 km away, for installation near the mosque.
“But we will follow the law,” Goswami stresses. “We do not want a law and order problem. We have already held a meeting with representatives of the ASI and police, and they told us to do puja outside the mosque area.”
Calling the mosque “a historic monument”, a senior ASI official confirmed to The Indian Express that their representatives had held a meeting with the organisers of the prayers. “Nothing will be allowed inside the monument. Police deployment has been increased. We are also increasing our staff strength.” No prayers are currently held inside the mosque.
Recently, the Malda district police issued an advisory saying it had heard about social media posts claiming that “certain individuals intend to visit Adina Monument and perform religious rituals, including puja and other ceremonies”. ‘The general public is hereby informed that Adina Monument is a Centrally Protected Monument of National Importance under the Archaeological Survey of India and is governed by the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (AMASR Act). No religious rituals or any other unauthorized activities are permitted within the protected monument premises,” the statement added, warning strict legal action in case of any violation.
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.
