Bhojshala row: Hindu outfits call for Dhar bandh

Hindu organisations called for a half-day bandh in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar city on Tuesday, accusing the administration of not strictly enforcing the Supreme Court’s order regarding the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Complex dispute.

The administration stepped up security across the district following the bandh call.

The Supreme Court had directed the Muslim community to offer prayers at a designated site, survey number 596, but the administration is not complying, Bhoj Utsav Samiti President Suresh Jalodia claimed.

He said the district administration has selected another plot — survey number 612 — near the Bhojshala Complex, for prayers.

“This also blocks the road to the Bhojshala temple. In protest, the Sakal Hindu Samaj has called for a bandh till noon today in Dhar city,” he said.

Members of Hindu outfits took out a motorcycle rally in the city, urging people to close their shops and businesses. At some locations, they were seen forcing people to close their shops. Heavy security was deployed to maintain peace and law and order in Dhar, officials said.

The situation currently is completely peaceful and under control, City Superintendent of Police Shashank Singh Gurjar told PTI Videos. He said the administration was ensuring the bandh remains voluntary and that no business owner or person is pressured to close their establishment.

Dhar residents have been appealed to ignore any misleading information or rumours, and to immediately inform the local police if they encounter any situation where they are forced to close their shops or are harassed, the official said.

Supporting the shutdown, Pradeep Rathore, a city hotelier, said they were protesting the administration’s designated prayer site.

“The prayer site should be 300 metres away (from Bhojshala),” he said.  In May this year, the Madhya Pradesh High Court declared the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula complex a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati.

The matter subsequently reached the Supreme Court, which directed the state Government to allow the Muslim community to offer prayers at the Dargah complex adjacent to the disputed Bhojshala complex on Fridays between 1 pm and 3 pm.

Following the court’s directive, the district administration made necessary arrangements for prayers at Survey number 612 site near the complex, and the Muslim community has been offering prayers there for the past few weeks.

The Muslim side had claimed the 11th-century monument to be the Kamal Maula Mosque, while the Hindu side claimed it was a temple built by King Bhoj of the Parmar dynasty, which was destroyed during the invasion by Alauddin Khilji. Following the court’s decision, a large number of devotees come to worship at the monument every Tuesday, reciting Saraswati Vandana, Hanuman Chalisa, and performing havan (fire ritual).