UP Sambhal violence: what is the row around the Shahi Jama Masjid

UP Sambhal violence: what is the row around the Shahi Jama Masjid

Sub : Art and Culture

Sec : History

Context:

• Three people were killed in Sambhal district, Uttar Pradesh due to violent clashes involving stone pelting and vehicle torching. The unrest erupted as a survey team arrived in Chandausi town for a second survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, following a court order.

Background:

• The Sambhal Masjid controversy centres around a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Chandausi, Uttar Pradesh, sparked by a petition filed by eight individuals.
• The petition alleges that Babur’s lieutenant, Hindu Beg, partly demolished the Shri Hari Har Temple in 1527-28 to convert it into a mosque.

Details of the petition:

• The petitioners have asked the court to grant public access to the Shri Hari Har Temple, which they believe remains under the mosque structure. The petition also requests a permanent injunction against any hindrances to public access to the site.
• It quotes section 18 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, under which the public has the “right of access to protected monument”.
• The petitioners argue that this site has deep significance for Hindus and should be considered a temple, not a mosque.
• Petitioners claim that the temple is future site of manifestation of Kalki, the tenth and final incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who will appear during the Kalyuga. His arrival is said to mark the end of this dark age and the beginning of Satyuga.

Historical Significance of the Jama Masjid:

• The Shahi Jama Masjid is a “protected monument” under the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904.
• It has also been notified as a monument of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in 1920.

Places of Worship Act of 1991:

• the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 declares that places of worship existing in 1947 shall maintain their status, and no changes to the religious character of these places shall be made. The Jama Masjid, being a centuries-old mosque, is protected under this Act.