Budaun’s Jama Masjid Shamsi’s lawyer argued in a local court this week In 2022, a case was filed seeking permission for Hindus Offering prayers in mosques is prohibited under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
Claiming that a mosque was constructed after demolishing a Hindu temple at that location, they have demanded a survey of the structure on the order of the court.
This is the plea made by the petitioners in similar, separate suits filed in local courts regarding Gyanawapi Masjid and Shahi Idgah in Mathura and more recently Shahi Jama Masjid and Dargah Sharif in Sambhal. Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer.
The Fast Track Civil Court (Senior Division), which will hear on Tuesday (December 3), is yet to decide on whether to uphold the writ. The next hearing is scheduled for December 10.
Here’s a brief history of the historic 800-year-old mosque in western Uttar Pradesh and the controversy surrounding it.
What is a dispute, a case in court?
In August 2022, the All India Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM), its convener Mukesh Patel and three residents of Budaun filed a petition in a local court claiming Jama Masjid ‘Shamsi’ (alternatively known as ‘Jami’ Masjid). The Nilakantha Mahadev temple at that place was demolished and built.
The respondents in the case include the Intijamia Committee of the Mosque, the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, the Union of India, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the District Magistrate of Budaun (on behalf of the state government) and the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh.
What is the argument of the Hindu side?
According to the Hindu side, the ancient Nilakantha Mahadev temple was part of the fort of a Hindu king named Raja Mahipala, who worshiped at the temple.
The petition states that the temple was destroyed in the early 13th century by the third Mamluk Sultan of Delhi, Shams ud-Din Iltutmish (1211-36).
Vivek Render, a lawyer for the Hindu side, said that the remains of the demolished temple were still found at the site. He said that there are images of Hindu gods on the two big pillars of the mosque. According to the render, the book published by the Budaon district administration has also identified the place as “Raja Mahipal Fort and Neelkanth Mahadev Temple”.
What is the position of the Muslim side?
The Muslim side rejected the claim that the mosque was built after the demolition of the temple and said that ABHM had no legal standing to file the petition.
The Masjid Committee has claimed that Muslims were regularly offering prayers at the mosque almost eight centuries before the cut-off date of August 15, 1947 was set for determining the religious character of a place of worship. This, the committee argues, effectively bars the suit filed by ABHM.
And what is the history of the mosque?
Jama Masjid Shamsi, located in the Maulvi Tola area of Budaun district, is one of the oldest mosques in North India, and possibly the oldest mosque in the region where prayers continue today.
The mosque has a capacity of 20,000 people, and the premises are spread over an acre of land. It was the largest mosque in India until the construction of the Jama Masjid in Delhi during the reign of Shah Jahan in the 17th century.
The name ‘Shamsi’ derives from the fact that it was commissioned by Shamsuddin Iltutmish (also spelled ‘Altamash’ in some old documents), who served as the governor of Budaun before becoming Sultan of Delhi in 1211.
JF Blackiston, a British-era Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) official wrote, “…the mosque…was built by Altamash in 1223 AD during the reign of his son Ruqan-ud-Din Firoz. It bears four inscriptions, the first of which mentions its construction by Altamsh.” mentioned…” (The Jami Masjid at Badaun and Other Buildings in the United Provinces, 1926).
According to the 1907 District Gazetteer, however, the mosque was built in 1230. (HR Neville, Budaun: a Gazetteer, Volume XV of District Gazetteers of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, 1907).
After it was destroyed by fire in the 16th century, an official of Akbar’s court undertook major repairs, including the construction of the domes that stand today.
What do the historical records show about the claim that the mosque was built after the destruction of the temple?
Blakiston said the structure was built using materials from demolished Hindu temples.
“The mosque, about 12 feet in height, is built almost entirely of sandstone blocks, plundered from many ancient Hindu temples, and above, except for such later additions as the dome, which was restored at the end of Akbar’s reign, belongs to the structure. Brick,” he wrote.
He added: “On either side of the (mihrab) is a dwarf pillar which is probably taken from some Hindu building and shortened to suit its present position.” This matter has been raised by the Hindu petitioners.
But Blakiston does not mention which temple was destroyed and where it stood.
He said, many historical sources point to the existence of Neelkanth Mahadev Temple in Budaon. The above-mentioned Gazetteer mentions that “tradition ascribes the foundation of the chief town under the name of Budhagaon to Budh, an Ahar prince, who is said to have lived in the tenth century of the Christian era … There is nothing improbable in the story. The district was once under the Tomars of Delhi, whose Mahipala was.”
However, instead of Mahipala, the gazetteer attributed the construction of the Neelkantha Mahadev temple to the 12th century Chauhan king Ajayapala. “…In AD 1175…Ajayapala built or rebuilt the fort and the temple of Nilakantha Mahadeva”, it says.
Alexander Cunningham, the founding director of the Archaeological Survey of India, wrote in his report of a tour in the Gangetic Provinces: 1875-76 and 1877-78 that the Jama Masjid of Badaon was built on the site of Harmandar from Badaon to Bihar. He said that the temple was destroyed by the Muslims.
“Mahipal is also said to have built a temple called Harmandar, which was destroyed by the Muhammadans and replaced by the present Jami Masjid. “People are unanimous in believing that all the idols of the temple will be buried under the floor of the mosque in front of the monastery,” he wrote.