Hindu Front for Justice demands that only Hindus be allowed to offer prayers inside the premises
Kamal Moula or Bhojshala in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh; (Photo: Pankaj Tiwari)
The 15th-century dargah of Sufi saint Kamal-ud-din Malawi in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, and the 14th-century mosque adjacent to it, are at the center of centuries of controversy. Legendary King Bhoj. With communal politics deepening in the Malwa region, the controversy has been exacerbated since the 1990s.
The term ‘Bhojshala’ was first published in 1903 by the Superintendent of Education, KK Lele, who was also in charge of an archaeological office set up by British political agent Captain Ernest Barnes in the princely state of Dhar. Lele’s tenure links the site to an 11th-century portrait of Raja Bhoj, although the latter was dismissed as a ‘misname’ in the Colonial Gazette of 1908. Nevertheless, the state of Dhar declared it a protected monument in 1909 and banned prayers in it. In 1934, the state put up a board outside it mentioning Bhojshala. Namaz resumed in 1935 and the first Urs was celebrated in 1944.
In 1952, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) took over the complex and reinstated the ban on prayer. In 1998, it allowed Muslims to offer prayers on Fridays and Hindus on Basant Panchami. A modified 2003 order allowing Hindus to pray there every Tuesday was challenged in the Delhi High Court, but the petition was dismissed.
The latest round of litigation began on May 2 this year when the Hindu Front for Justice filed a petition in the Indore High Court demanding that only Hindus be allowed to offer prayers on the premises. The matter will be heard on June 27.
cover story , temple return movement
“The Diwan of Dhar State in the late 1930s allowed prayers and prayers for a day for the health of the ruler. Since then, the Muslim side is present in Bhojshala,” claims Deepender Sharma, secretary of Bhoj Shodh Sansthan. Muslims, whose family has been serving the dargah for nearly 700 years, oppose the claim. As per ASI’s arrangement, Hindus and Muslims offer prayers inside the premises on fixed days. In 2016, the last time Basant Panchami was on a Friday, both sides offered prayers amid heavy police presence.