Vidisha: Sitting atop the Bijamandal in Vidisha, a group of men chanted ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ on Friday and raised slogans demanding the locks securing a portion of Bijamandal be opened by the administration.
As the crowd slowly swelled with women, children and men gathering each minute, Vidisha BJP MLA Mukesh Tandon, accompanied by a group of men, with a puja thali in hand, and a ‘manjeera’ (cymbals) playing came to offer the customary puja on the eve of Nag Panchami (9 August).
The scene played out at Bijamandal, a day after Vidisha collector Buddhesh Kumar Vaidya turned down a request to open the locks over the gated portion of Bijamandal, which houses idols, to offer prayers on the eve of Nag Panchami. What further angered a little-known local Hindu outfit was that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) — while turning down the request — had identified the monument as ‘Bijamandal Mosque.’
The ASI website, too, identifies the structure as the Bijamandal Mosque.
“Sitting on the site and built out of the old materials of the Paramara temple from the 11th century AD, the mosque was built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Most of the pillars, pilasters and Lintels used in the building, are carved in the style of Parmara temples and some of them contain Sanskrit Inscriptions. On one of the pillar is recorded the name of Paramara King Naravarman (sic),” a board put up by the ASI Bhopal Circle says about the Bijamandal.
‘Sore point for decades’
For the locals, Bijamandal is locally known as the Surya Temple constructed to honour the Goddess of Victory. But, according to 88-year-old Nand Kishore Shashtri who identifies himself as Dharmachari, Bijamandal had been a “sore point for decades” now.
Sharma’s family, including his grandfather, has been associated with the Hindu Mahasabha and carried out agitation to get the custody of what they claim is Bijamandal Temple which has idols of various goddess including Vijaya, Durga, and Jaya behind the locks of gated portion of Bijamandal.
According to Shashtri, before Independence when Vidisha was part of the erstwhile Gwalior empire, the Muslim faction had approached the then ruler Jiwaji Rao Maharaj seeking a place to offer namaz after their Eidgah was submerged in water. The Maharaj then granted them the open land, which was on an elevated platform, to offer their prayers.
The fight to free the temple from their clutches started as far back as 1934, said Shashtri.
In 1951, the ASI took over the monument even as the Muslims continued to offer namaz in its premises.
“It was my father, Babu Lal Sharma along with other members of the Hindu Mahasabha who met the then CM Dwarka Prasad Mishra in 1965 and demanded that the monument be handed over to the Hindus. Mishra asked the Muslims to find someplace else to offer namaz and built an Eidgah on an alternate land and instead of giving the monuments to the Hindus, it was put in the custody of ASI,” Shashtri explained.
According to Choudhary Parvez Ahmed, the convenor of Muslim community in Vidisha, the Bijamandal was a mosque but a compromise was reached in 1965 after which the government bought a land and constructed Eidgah on the said land parcel and in turn handed Bijamandal to the ASI.
“It was in the presence of government authorities that a compromise was reached between representatives of both communities. The Muslim community has to date not offered prayers inside Bijamandal, and we want the status quo to be maintained as we do not want any animosity and want to live in peace,” Parvez told the media.
Also Read: Mosque in Bhojshala complex stands on pre-existing structure from Paramara era, ASI tells MP HC
‘Allow Hindus to worship’
Sitting in his house located about 1.5 km away from Bijamandal, Sharma’s room has pictures of Sharma seated with former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his wife Sadhna Singh Chouhan in the same room.
According to Sharma, the Hindu Mahasabha continued satyagraha movements demanding Bijamandal be recognised as a temple and be handed to the Hindus.
“Constant demands were made to allow Hindus inside, and subsequently about two decades ago, the district administration allowed 11 people to offer puja, outside the locked portion over the elevated area of the Bijamandal. Now, our demand is that the locks over the gated portion be removed and the Hindus allowed to worship in the area,” demanded Shashtri.
On Friday, a day after the request to open the gates over the locked portion to allow puja was denied by the collector, tension brewed in the otherwise sleepy town of Vidisha. A group of young men assembled at Bijamandal and demanded that the locks be opened. As the group raised slogans, heavy deployment of police guarded the locked gates portion of Bijamandal.
“There is a small puja allowed once a year on Nag Panchami just outside the locked portion of Bijamandal. We are here to ensure there is no law and order issue,” a police officer said.
‘Ram Mandir was won in court’
Tandon with a group of men walked to the ASI premises, taking the flight of stairs to the elevated area and offered puja outside the locked portion. The BJP MLA peacefully offered prayers at the premises and walked back.
“We will approach the court demanding that an extensive survey be conducted and the site be rightfully restored as a temple in the custody of the Hindus. Even the fight for Ram Mandir was won in the court,” the Vidisha MLA told ThePrint.
Talking about the locked portion of the Bijamandal, Tandon explained that the room is used as a godown by the ASI in which idols recovered during the excavation are stored and hence it is locked.
“The idols inside the locked portion are not to be worshiped, but if there is faith of the Hindu community, then why should the area not be opened for all? The Hindus offer prayers inside it,” Tandon demanded.
According to Tandon, he has informed the Vidisha MP and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan about the issue and submitted an application demanding the ASI records be amended to reflect the premises in documents as a temple.
But according to Sharma, this is not the first time that Tandon has demanded such a thing and accused politicians of merely using the issue to their advantage.
“Every year on Guru Purnima, Shivraj Singh Chouhan would visit my house and promise that next year the lock on the portion of the premises would be removed. Similarly, Mukesh Tandon last year had swore that he would get the locks removed, but nothing happened. One can trust a snake but never a politician,” said Shashtri.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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