By Tarushi Aswani
Mathura: “Going to our own mosque has been made into a humiliating experience,” said Maqsud Ali. Ali is a part of Mathura’s 8% Muslim population. Since 2020, when Hindu petitioners filed a suit challenging a 1968 agreement and claiming that Mathura’s Shahi Eidgah was built over a temple at Hindu deity Krishna’s birthplace, this community has found themselves living under a cloud.
In recent months, the Allahabad high court has mainly dealt with procedural aspects of the Krishna Janmabhoomi–Shahi Eidgah dispute rather than the core ownership claims. The court transferred multiple suits to itself, consolidated them, and designated one as a representative case. It has rejected a plea to officially term the Eidgah mosque a “disputed structure”, as well as a petition seeking to include Radha Rani as a party. Hearings continue with both sides presenting arguments, while the Supreme Court has kept a stay on any physical survey of the mosque. The high court has repeatedly adjourned proceedings, with fresh dates set through September 2025, leaving the substantive questions of title, worship rights and applicability of the Places of Worship Act still unresolved. The case will next be heard on October 9.
The Wire visited Mathura in August 2023 and September 2025, and was able to see why Muslims believe their mosque entry is being screened. The Mathura Police is stationed outside the Eidgah, and barricades have been placed outside the lane leading to the Eidgah. Locals from Mathura have also shared that they are required to present their Aadhaar cards or another ID with a Mathura address to be allowed into the mosque for prayers.
While locals have claimed that visiting the Eidgah feels like stepping into an open-air prison, Muslims from several parts of India told The Wire that they were indeed denied entry by the police after the personnel asked them to show their Aadhaar cards at the Eidgah entry.
Devotion denied
In April 2022, Abid Qureshi from Rajasthan’s Mahwa was in Mathura for a wedding when he first saw the Shahi Eidgah. After attending wedding programmes and finding free time, Qureshi wandered off to offer namaz at the Eidgah.
“They didn’t let me enter. I thought I would be able to pray on time. They asked for my ID, [and] the moment the police realised I’m not a local, they asked me to leave,” said Qureshi.
“They have wrapped the gates of the Eidgah in barbed wires. There is a metal detector at the entrance. It is heavily guarded. It is made to look like a forbidden piece of land,” he added.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.
