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Writer's pictureAsvika Prakash
Dec 12, 20246 min read

Shahi Jama Masjid: Another Victim of Communal Violence in India

Tensions amidst the survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, escalated to violent clashes that led to the death of 4 people on the 24th of November, although the exact cause remains unclear and debated. The survey was being conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India on orders from its apex court.


According to the Economic Times, the Supreme Court had ordered the survey on the 19th of November 2024 based on a petition filed by Shanker Jain, alleging that the mosque had been built over a temple. 


Within three hours of the order being passed, the court appointed advocate commissioner, Ramesh Raghav, reached the mosque to conduct an initial survey. A survey team returned on the 24th to conduct another survey, accompanied by a few police officials as well. 


Shahi Jama Masjid, Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh
Shahi Jama Masjid, Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh. (Image: Wikimedia / File Photo)

A crowd had gathered and started raising slogans, with the police further alleging that people in the mob had started throwing stones as the team was leaving after conducting the survey. This soon escalated into more violence, resulting in the deaths of 4 Muslim persons. 


Protestors, family members of the deceased and opposition party members have claimed that the police had fired guns which led to the deaths of several of the protestors. While the police have denied these allegations, saying that they never used any lethal weapons, videos depicting police firing at the mob have been circulated online. Akhilesh Yadav, current member of the Lok Sabha and ex-chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, was the first to share the video, resulting in more traction. It remains unconfirmed whether the bullets were plastic, as the police claim or live rounds. 


The Shahi Jama Masjid was built by Mughal Emperor Babar and has been listed as a historical monument in the official website of Sambhal district. However, it is shrouded in controversy with  Hindu plaintiffs alleging that the mosque has been built over an ancient temple dedicated to Kalki, an incarnation of Hindu god Vishnu. 


Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal, Zia-ur-Rehman Barq, is said to have opposed the survey on account of the Places of Worship Act, 1991, which protects the mosque. The mandate in the Act prohibits changing the religious character of any place of worship and the reopening of historical disputes. This mandate has been violated multiple times in contemporary India on the basis that it has not been explicitly stated under the Act. One instance of intervention was observed when Former Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud ordered a probe into the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi. 


During the Ayodhya verdict the apex court remarked, as reported by The Wire, “In providing a guarantee for the preservation of the religious character of places of public worship as they existed on August 15, 1947, and against their conversion, Parliament determined that independence from colonial rule furnishes a constitutional basis for healing past injustices. This ensures confidence among religious communities that their places of worship will be preserved. The law binds both the State and its citizens, upholding the equality of all religions and secularism, which is part of the basic structure of the Constitution.”


As of the 25th of November, 25 Muslims have been arrested, and 2,500 individuals have been booked in relation to this violent event. Barq is one of them, accused of instigating the violence with a speech delivered a few days before the firing, opposing the court-ordered survey. 


In an interview given to the Economic Times, Barq shared, " It is so unfortunate, it is a pre-planned incident. Across the country, Muslims are being targeted and such a bad situation has never happened after independence. The way the Places of Worship Act is being violated...one by one pleas are being submitted and hearing is happening on the same day itself and order is also coming, same day DM and SP went and conducted the survey… people were stopped from offering Namaz… What was the necessity of a second survey?"


The mystery that remains unresolved is the killing of the four Muslim persons. The opposition and the family have claimed that it was the police who shot them. According to The Wire, the police have reportedly commented to the family members that, “Before making allegations, [the family of the deceased] should ask why their children were there to pelt stones. They were not going to perform any religious work, holy act, or professional duty.”


The government ordered a judicial probe into the matter on the 28th of November. A three member commission has been formed for the same. 


Later, allegations spread that a few bullets were found near the site where one of the dead bodies lay. Sambhal SP Krishan Kumar Bishnoi made a public statement claiming the cartridges included a fired case marked ‘POF 9mm 68-26’, and made in Pakistan. This has led to speculations, especially by Hindi media, that there was a ‘foreign funded’ angle to this incident.


Opposition leaders and others are worried that this might aggravate the communal tensions and threaten other religious minorities in the country. Following this incident, Hindu mobs have started demanding that various other mosques be surveyed. The most recent victim of such aggressive claims is Khwaja Moinuddin Chisthi (originally Ajmer Sharif Dargah) in Rajasthan.




Edited by Thenthamizh SS and Ananya Karthikeyan


Asvika (she/her) is a student of Political Science at OP Jindal Global University, and a Copyeditor at Political Pandora. Her research interests lie in anthropology, culture, grassroots politics and the intersection between literature and politics.

 

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References:




Keywords:

Sambhal Violence, Shahi Jama Masjid, Archaeological Survey, Supreme Court Orders, Communal Tensions, Muslim Protestors, Police Firing Claims, Places of Worship Act, Kalki Temple Allegations, Mughal Emperor Babar, Judicial Probe Ordered, Communal Tensions India, Foreign Funding Speculations, Religious Minorities Safety, Ajmer Sharif Dargah Claims, Hindu-Muslim Clashes.

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