Meerut (UP), Sep 9 (PTI) A local right-wing group on Wednesday demanded an inquiry into claims that an ancient Buddhist monastery exists beneath the Shahi Jama Masjid in Meerut, a day after a lawyer submitted a petition to the district magistrate seeking an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey of the site.
On Tuesday, Advocate Ram Kumar Sharma submitted a memorandum to District Magistrate VK Singh, seeking a scientific survey of the 13th century Sultanate-era mosque.
He claimed that certain architectural features of the existing structure suggested the possibility of an ancient religious site existing there before the mosque was built.
Supporting the demand, a member of Hindu Suraksha Sangathan, Sachin Sirohi, claimed that some portions of the mosque displayed temple-like architectural features and that historians had information about a pillar linked to a Buddhist temple having been found at the site.
These claims, however, have not been independently established through archaeological evidence.
The district magistrate on Wednesday confirmed having received the memorandum.
“We have received a memorandum regarding the mosque. Further action will be taken accordingly,” Singh said.
District officials said that there is no ASI report at present confirming a Buddhist monastery beneath the mosque. They said the historical and scientific status of the claims can be established only after an appropriate archaeological examination.
Meerut’s Jama Masjid is regarded as one of the earliest mosques in the Indian subcontinent, Krishna Kant Sharma, Head of Department of History, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, said.
Situated on the highest ground within the walled city, its construction is believed to have been started by Qutb-ud-din Aibak in the 12th century and completed in the early 13th century by Iltutmish’s grandson Nasir ud din Mahmud Shah, who later became the eighth Sultan of Delhi, Sharma added.
The mosque’s inner walls feature Islamic calligraphy characteristic of the period. It can accommodate around 1,000 worshippers. PTI COR CDN KSI KSI
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