Hundreds of Muslims in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain have gathered inside the historic Shahi Masjid to prevent its demolition, after residents reportedly stopped a midnight bulldozing operation amid heavy police deployment on Sunday.
The mosque has been marked for partial demolition as part of a road-widening project being undertaken ahead of the 2028 Simhastha Kumbh, a Hindu pilgrimage.
A local sitting inside the mosque as part of the protest, Tauqeer Khan told Maktoob that they have been doing this for over two weeks.
"People have unanimously decided to sit inside the mosque in large numbers, in shifts to save it from being demolished. All the time, there is a large number of people sitting inside the mosque, and all 5 prayers are happening as per schedule every day,” Khan said.
“Last night, the police force was increased, Rapid Action Force was deployed, and bulldozers were brought in with an intention to raze the mosque. However, when people gathered in large numbers inside and outside the mosque, the operations were halted”, he said.
The decision to sit inside the mosque in large numbers, in shifts, was taken by the eleven-member Masjid Numainda committee to oversee matters related to the mosque, as it has been disputed. The committee was constituted with the consent of the community’s responsible members.
Speaking to Maktoob, Prominent cleric of Indore, Mufti Junaid said Muslims had gathered at the mosque after the administration allegedly attempted to carry out the demolition despite the ongoing dispute.
“If this mosque is demolished, there are 28 other mosques that are coming in line and going to their targets, and it is arbitrary; they cannot keep demolishing mosques only because it is coming in the way of something”, Junaid said.
He said, “This is baseless and makes no sense that to establish one religion, you will completely demolish and erase the existence of other religions.”
He alleged that several old mosques in Ujjain were at risk as part of efforts to reshape the city ahead of the major Hindu pilgrimage.
“A large number of Muslims are settled there, and there are so many old mosques. How can we make them demolish it?” he said.
Junaid referred to the earlier demolition of the Takhiya Mosque in Ujjain, saying the administration had repeatedly assured Muslims that it would not be demolished before allegedly acting suddenly and demolishing it.
“They (government) betrayed and demolished the Takhiya Mosque. Similarly, when the issue of the Shahi Mosque came, Muslims decided to disagree with their false promises, gathered themselves and decided to protect the mosque themselves,” he said.
The mosque management had also approached the Supreme Court against the proposed demolition. Junaid alleged that the administration subsequently claimed it had a court order permitting the demolition.
“They had no court order saying the mosque can be demolished. The High Court only declined our appeal to give a stay on the demolition order. It nowhere said that they can go ahead and demolish the mosque”, he said.
He added, “We have been betrayed by the government many times. We cannot keep letting our Masjids be demolished like this one by one.”
“We cannot fight the establishment. But now with all the power we (Muslims) have, we will protect our institutions, even if we have to give our lives”, he said.
Mufti Juned said, “Now we have decided: if they want to run the bulldozer, they can run over us and then they can run it over the mosque. Because if our religious structures are razed, what will we do?”
He added, “We have conveyed this to the administration also. We have said, we can’t fight with them. They can shoot us, kill us, run a bulldozer over us, and if they are done doing that, when the bulldozer is past our dead bodies, they can run the bulldozer over our mosques.”
High Court refuses to stay demolition
The Shahi Masjid is located almost opposite the Mahakaleshwar Temple and near the Kshipra River. The proposed demolition concerns a portion of the mosque to facilitate the widening of a road to 15 metres.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently dismissed two petitions challenging the demolition notices issued by the Ujjain Municipal Corporation.
Justice Sandeep N. Bhatt held that the proposed action was taken in accordance with the applicable statutory provisions and after an opportunity of hearing was provided to those administering the mosque. The court also rejected claims of violations of Articles 14, 25, 26 and 300A of the Constitution.
The court cited the expected arrival of crores of devotees for the 2028 Simhastha Kumbh and the need for traffic management and public facilities, noting the mosque’s location near the Mahakaleshwar Temple and Kshipra River.
The petitions were filed by groups claiming to administer the mosque, which is registered as Waqf property. They argued that the demolition would affect part of the prayer hall, a reported 120-foot minaret and Mazhar Chouk Shahi, and challenged the legality of the municipal action.
The mosque management has described the Shahi Masjid as a more than century-old structure.
Documents cited by the committee include a 1925 letter from the Town Improvement Trust under the Scindia-era Gwalior government referring to land acquisition while directing that the remaining portion of the mosque be kept intact, as well as a 1985 Madhya Pradesh government gazette notification mentioning the mosque and its measurements.
Speaking to Maktoob, Advocate Zaid Pathan from the Association of Protection of Civil Rights said, “The Numainda committee, with their lawyer, is already in the process of approaching the Supreme Court challenging the High Court’s order.”
He said, “For now, people are sitting inside the mosque, as agreed upon unanimously, to protect it and protest against the proposed demolition. As they see this is the resort to prevent it being demolished.”
Reportedly, since last night, the Police have barricaded all sides around the mosque.
At the time of filing this report, at least a thousand people were sitting inside the mosque after offering their zuhr namaz (afternoon prayers). People inside the mosque keep changing as the shifts change, but there are a large number of people inside the mosque at all times.