Explainer: Temple vs mosque, the growing battle for sacred sites

Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishti's tomb, famous as Ajmer Sharif, this week entered the growing list of locations at the heart of disputes between Hindu and Muslim sides over the original character of the shrines in question.

On Wednesday, an Ajmer court, taking up a petition by a Hindu organisation, issued notices to the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs and the Archaeological Survey of India. Hindu Sena in its plea cited to argue that a Lord Shiva temple existed at the site in question before the white marble shrine dedicated to the 13th century Sufi saint came up here.

The evidence the Hindu side has cited is a 1911 book by Har Bilas Sarda titled "Ajmer: Historical and Descriptive", which speaks of a Shiva temple predating the dargah in Ajmer.

"We will prove in the court that Hindu rituals used to take place at the site of the dargah before the temple was razed," says Hindu Sena chief Vishnu Gupta, the principal petitioner who has sought an ASI survey of the site.

The case will now be heard on December 20 and has predictably led to a backlash from Muslim side as also from the larger Congress-led opposition, which continues to flag inherent dangers of side-stepping the Places of Worship Act, 1991, which prohibits the conversion of any place of worship from the way it existed in 1947 at the time of Independence and provides for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship.

The law notwithstanding, a growing segment of Hindu petitioners are progressively laying claims to sites on which mosques stand today.

The list continues to grow, with several opposition leaders claiming that trial court orders on similar petitions seeking surveys of existing shrines could lead to communal disharmony as seen recently in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal where four persons were killed in violence that erupted during a court ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid on November 24.

The disputes 

SAMBHAL(UP): Shahi Jama Masjid-Harihar Temple

Eight petitioners filed a suit in Sambhal civil court on November 19 claiming that the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal stood on the site of Harihar Temple. The petitioners sought access to the site. The civil court appointed an advocate commissioner on the day the suit was filed and permitted videography and photography of the mosque.

The order was passed ex parte with the Muslim side claiming that the mosque management did not receive any notice. They said another survey was done five days later with just a five-hour notice to the mosque committee. The Supreme Court will today hear a petition challenging the civil court order allowing the survey. The mosque committee has moved the apex court for a stay.

VARANASI (UP): Gyanvapi mosque-Kashi Vishwanath temple

In 2021, some Hindu women approached the local court for permission to pray at a shrine behind the western wall of Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi. A court-appointed commission conducted videography and found a "shivling" at the site -- which Muslims claimed was a fountain. The Varanasi court at this point ordered a survey of the site to determine if a temple predated the mosque. The Allahabad HC and the Supreme Court allowed the survey by the ASI, rejecting petitions by Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee for Gyanvapi management.

In December 2023, the ASI submitted its report to the Varanasi district court. In January this year, the Varanasi court allowed Hindus to perform pooja inside the mosque cellar and Muslims in the courtyard. On October 25, 2024, a Varanasi Fast Track Court dismissed a plea for an additional ASI survey of the Gyanvapi mosque and the SC upheld it. As of today, both Hindus and Muslims can pray at the site.

MATHURA (UP): The Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute

This is about the Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura, which some claim was built after demolishing a temple at the birthplace of Lord Krishna. The Hindu side argues that a temple was built in 1618, but was demolished to construct the mosque in 1670. The Hindu side also claims that the mosque contains Hindu religious symbols and engravings, including a lotus-shaped pillar. The Shahi Idgah mosque committee and UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, the defendants, argue that the mosque doesn't fall within the disputed land

DHAR (MADHYA PRADESH): Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque

This dispute is over ownership of a site that houses an 11th century monument, Bhojshala, built by the Parmar dynasty king and a mosque dedicated to Muslim seer Kamal Maula. The Madhya Pradesh High Court in March this year ordered the ASI to conduct a scientific survey of the Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex in tribal-dominated Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh. The ASI conducted the survey using carbon-dating equipment. The court orders came on a petition by Hindu Front for Justice seeking to determine the real religious character of the site.

Hindu outfits had moved the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2023 for full ownership of the disputed site, which they claim was a temple of Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati), with the mosque coming up later. While this survey is done, the MP High Court has allowed both Hindus and Muslims to pray at the site.

RSS stand

The ruling BJP's ideological mentor RSS, which led the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid demolition movement, has said Ram temple-like movements were no longer needed. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, in an attempt to calm anxieties around shrines, had said last year: "Do not go looking for shivlings in every mosque." The RSS does not favour mass movements to resolve religious disputes, but believes that people have the right to move courts and the courts can decide.