New Delhi/Dhar, Jan 22 (PTI) A heavy posse of police and paramilitary personnel has been deployed in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh as the Supreme Court stepped in on Thursday to avoid any tension at the disputed 11th-century Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque.
With the Hindu festival of Basant Panchami falling on a Friday this year, both communities had staked claims for worshipping at the site. But on Thursday, the apex court gave a specific time-sharing formula to avoid any kind of communal friction.
As many as 8,000 security personnel, including district police, Rapid Action Force, CRPF, MP Armed Force, SRPF and women police units, have been deployed around the site, and the administration is also relying on drones and CCTV cameras to ensure that no untoward incident happens. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant ruled that religious activities on January 23 will be split, and the Hindu community will be permitted to perform prayers from sunrise to sunset while the Muslim community will be allowed to offer namaz between 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM.
The Supreme Court also directed the Muslim community to provide a list of persons attending the prayers to the district administration in advance.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi made an appeal to both sides to observe mutual respect and cooperate with the state and district administration for maintenance of law and order.
Roads approaching the Bhojshala complex were lined with barricades as security personnel checked vehicles. Officials said more than 200 CCTV cameras have been installed across Dhar and about 10 drones are being used for aerial surveillance. Social media activity related to Bhojshala is also under close watch, with monitoring teams working round the clock.
Inside the Bhojshala premises, preparations for Basant Panchami were clearly visible. The worship area has been decorated with saffron flags, flowers and rangolis. Worship of Goddess Saraswati, also known as Maa Vagdevi, is scheduled to begin at sunrise with puja and `havan’ and continue through the day. An oil painting of the deity will be installed in the sanctum on the occasion, officials said.
Dhar Collector Priyank Mishra said separate places have been identified for both the communities. “The Hindu side will be allowed to worship at the location where puja has traditionally been performed, while the Muslim side will be given an exclusive designated place for offering namaz. All this has been communicated to both the groups and they have agreed to comply with this,” Mishra said.
Separate entry and exit routes would be provided, and only those whose names are submitted by the Muslim side would be permitted to offer namaz.
Superintendent of Police Manish Awasthi said the security personnel were fully prepared to maintain law and order. “A force of around 8,000 personnel has been deployed. CCTV cameras and drones will be used for continuous surveillance,” Awasthi said.
“Social media is also being closely monitored, and SP level officers have been deployed inside and outside the Bhojshala premises,” he added.
Reacting to the Supreme Court decision, Bhojshala Mukti Yagya Samiti convener Gopal Sharma said, “Regarding the status of Bhojshala and its glorious establishment, our Hindu ancestors formed the Maharaja Bhoj Utsav Samiti in 1952 to spread the thoughts of Raja Bhoj, Saraswati, and Bhojshala to the masses, and began celebrating Basant Panchami.
“Hindu society continues to follow this tradition to this day. Basant Panchami falls on January 23, and since it was a Friday, some confusion had arisen. The Supreme Court’s order today stated the Hindu community has decided to observe continuous worship. Therefore, continuous worship will be held from sunrise to sunset,” he said.
Zulfikar Pathan, head of Kamal Moula Namaz Intezamia Committee said the community accepts the Supreme Court’s decision unanimously.
“The Supreme Court’s order mandates that namaz be offered safely and systematically within the premises. The April 7, 2003 order has been upheld. So, my appeal to everyone is to maintain peace and order,” Pathan said, adding the community will further review the order and provide a response.
Former chief minister and Congress Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh welcomed the apex court decision.
Hindus consider Bhojshala, an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)-protected 11th-century monument, to be a temple dedicated to Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati), while the Muslim community calls it Kamal Maula mosque.
Under an arrangement made by the ASI on April 7, 2003, Hindus perform puja on the Bhojshala premises on Tuesdays and Muslims offer ‘namaz’ in the complex on Fridays.
The SC bench said the ASG as well as Advocate General have fairly suggested that, after knowing that how many persons belonging to Muslim community are likely to come tomorrow for namaz between 1 to 3 pm, an exclusive and separate space within the same compound/ premises shall be made available, so that the namaz can be performed at the prescribed time.
“Similarly, a separate space, as per the past practice, shall be made available to the Hindu community to hold the traditional ceremonies on the occasion of Basant Panchami,” the bench said.
It directed the district administration to make law and order arrangements at the site for offering of prayers.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by the Hindu Front for Justice seeking exclusive rights for Hindus to offer prayers on Basant Panchami. The plea filed through advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain was mentioned for urgent hearing on Tuesday.
Jain had said the ASI’s 2003 order does not address situations where Basant Panchami coincides with Friday prayers and sought exclusive, uninterrupted worship rights for Hindus for the entire day on Basant Panchami.
Senior advocate Salman Khurshid, appearing for the mosque committee, submitted that the Friday namaz takes place between 1 PM and 3 PM, and the premises can be vacated after that.
Khurshid stated that the approximate number of persons belonging to Muslim community who will come for namaz on Friday will be furnished to the District Magistrate Priyank Mishra.
Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, for the Centre and ASI, assured the court that the district administration will take care of the law and order situation.
As to the location where the Muslims can offer namaz, the community was presented with options, collector Sharma told reporters in Dhar. “They have expressed their views on this…But I would like to clarify that the Supreme Court’s directive is clear: the location should be separate and exclusive, and the clear interpretation is that there should be separate entry and exit points,” he said.
Muslim community leaders including Shahar Qazi Waqar Sadiq and Shahar Sadar Abdul Samad after meeting with the district administration said that they will follow the Supreme Court order and offer namaz at the designated place from 1 pm to 3 pm. PTI COR AKS MAS SKL BNM KRK
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