After Ayodhya, Varanasi and Mathura – all located in Uttar Pradesh – another ‘disputed’ place of worship is in the news. This time in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh. Muslims call it Kamal Maula Masjid, Hindus say it is Bhojshala, an ancient temple dedicated to Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati). The site has seen occasional communal flare-ups, the dispute reached court, and Archaeological Survey of India has been tasked with carrying out a ‘scientific survey’ to determine the truth.
Is Dhar’s Bhojshala a 1,000-year-old temple or 700-year-old mosque? Depends on whom you ask. Radheshyam Yadav, former convenor of Hindu Jagaran Manch’s Indore division, is certain the Bhojshala complex with a Vagdevi temple stood at the site for centuries before the mosque was built. Dhar’s shahar qazi Sadiq is equally certain Kamal Maula Masjid was “never a temple or a school” and no idol was ever installed there.
Both sides cite historical and archaeological ‘evidence’. That’s why Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is carrying out a fresh survey of the site after about 120 years.
‘Havan Kund and defaced sculptures’
Hindus point to design features, such as ‘yantras’, Sanskrit and Pali inscriptions, and images of gods and goddesses on pillars, since defaced, to press their claim on Bhojshala. These ‘Hindu features’ have been deliberately defaced to hide their true nature, they say, adding Bhojshala also has a large ‘havan kund’ that proves its origin.
A petition by Hindu Front for Justice (HFJ) says the temple built in 1034 CE by Raja Bhoj was demolished, and a mosque was built at the site in Sultan Alauddin Khilji’s time (early 14th century). The present mosque is a later structure built in the reign of Sultan Mehmood Khilji (II) in 1514 CE.
The ASI survey extends to 50m beyond the mosque periphery, touching some house walls, and ground-penetrating radar is being used to identify spots that need excavating. Bhoj Utsav Samiti coordinator Gopal Sharma, who accompanies the ASI team during the ongoing survey, says three sites towards the back of Bhojshala were excavated to 10 feet and several objects were found. They were photographed, bagged and sent for carbon-dating.
‘Real Bhojshala is 500 metres away’
But the Muslim side differs. “For 700 years, salah/namaz has been offered at Kamal Maula Masjid, how can it be a temple?” says Sadiq. Abdul Samad Khan, president of Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society, says the real Bhojshala is about 500m away from the mosque, near Raja Bhoj’s fort.
Explaining the presence of temple fragments in the mosque, Muslim scholar Naeem Ullah Qazi says it was built using the ruins of other monuments and much of the material came from Gupta-era buildings. “Similar architecture can be seen in medieval mosques all over India,” he argues.
The name Bhojshala caught on after the education commissioner of Dhar Dewas princely state, KK Lele, used it in a paper in 1903, says Qazi, adding, “These mistakes were corrected in the imperial gazette of 1908.”
Do they trust the ASI survey to clear the air around the monument? “We believe in facts and evidence. Surveys in 1902 and 1903 established it was a mosque,” says Sadiq. Khan, who accompanies the ASI team during the survey, says, “We are sure facts will come to the fore.”
Ancient repository of manuscripts
ASI’s survey will reveal the ‘true nature and character’ of the disputed site. Beyond the mandir-masjid dispute, Bhojshala was an important repository of manuscripts on topics ranging from astronomy to economics, meteorology and literature.
Scholars from faraway places gathered here and wrote manuscripts. Up to 500 scholars could stay comfortably at Bhojshala, says Dr Dipendra Sharma, convenor of Bhoj Shodh Sansthan. “They shared their knowledge and exchanged manuscripts with Raja Bhoj for gifts… If a thorough excavation is done, remains of a complete university and its residential area could be found here.”
After a decades-long search, Sharma says, “We have traced most of the Bhoj-era manuscripts to Jaipur Pothikhana… There’s one on medicine that has a cure for leprosy not seen even in Charak Samhita.”
Strain of history
About 5.3% of Dhar district’s 21 lakhplus population is Muslim (2011 Census), but Muslim density is higher around Bhojshala. The area witnessed communal tension in 1944 when the ‘urs’ (death anniversary) of Maulana Kamaluddin Chisti, after whom the mosque is named, was held for the first time. Now, the renewed focus on Bhojshala has stirred up emotions again.
“We have no issues, no fights. Holi was celebrated, so was the tribal festival of Bhagoria, and the holy month of Ramzan. But now everyone is coming here and stirring up tension,” a Hindu homemaker in Qazipura says.“Everything was normal here till you (media) came. Now, Hindus and Muslims gather in numbers to offer prayers. This was not the case earlier,” Umesh Rathod, who runs a paan stall outside Bhojshala’s gates, told TOI.
While ASI experts go about their work, cops, mediapersons, reel makers, gawkers and locals stand behind barricades. Considering the sensitivity, police are not taking chances. Nobody is allowed to take a smartphone inside the complex, not even policemen. Drones are also banned in the vicinity.
Dhar SP Manoj Kumar Singh says 182 police personnel, including a company of special armed forces, secure the site round the clock. They also track social media. “If there’s any inflammatory message, I personally call and warn the offender,” the SP says.
ASI on the clock
Police are preparing for any situation that might arise after ASI submits its report to Madhya Pradesh HC. On March 11, the HC had directed ASI to form a five-member expert committee and submit a survey report in six weeks.
ASI officials are going about their ‘multidisciplinary scientific survey’ with urgency. They troop in every morning and march out at dusk, tight-lipped, but the court had allowed Hindu and Muslim observers during excavation, so the buzz outside grows louder: “today they dug towards the rear… they are looking under the walls too, they found and bagged some stones today…” the rumours swirl.