Sambhal mosque in Uttar Pradesh: Of temples, 'Kalki avatar' and a protracted legal battle in offing

A court ordered survey that witnessed large scale violence resulting in loss of four lives, an alleged ASI report dated back to 1875 claiming existence of a temple and a prophecy that 'Kalki avatar' (final incarnation of God Vishnu at the end of the Kali Yuga) would take place at Sambhal-It appears that another protracted legal battle over yet another Mosque.

As the internet remained snapped for the second day in Sambhal following large scale violence during the court ordered survey of the Jama Masjid on Sunday in which four persons were killed and scores others injured, the Hindu plaintiffs vowed to ‘’take back’’ what they claimed was Shri Hari Har Temple, which had been demolished by Mughal emperor Babar in the 15th century.

‘’It was a Hindu temple and we will take it back ... .there is historical evidence to support our claim,’’ said Rishiraj Giri, a Hindu seer and one of the plaintiffs in the case, currently pending in the district court.

The Hindu plaintiffs have based their claim on an alleged ASI report and ‘Babarnama’ , the memoirs of founder of the Mughal empire Zahi-ud-Din Muhammad Babar.

The petition, quoting a report of the ASI regarding the Sambhal mosque, contended that British archaeologist ACL Carlyle had published a report in 1875 after conducting a survey of the Mosque. He had said in the report that the dome of the structure is said to have been re-built by Hindu ruler Prithvi Raj Chauhan. The report also said that the pillars, inside and outside the mosque appeared similar to the pillars at Hindu temples.

The Hindu plaintiffs claimed that the then ASI report also mentioned an inscription which said that Mir Hindu Begh, a courtier in Babar’s court, had converted the temple into a mosque.

For the Hindus, Sambhal is a sacred place as they believe that Lord Vishnu’s final incarnation will take place there at the end of the ‘Kali yuga’. The ‘'Kalki avatar' of Lord Vishnu would destroy the evil and the wicked and usher in the ‘Sat Yuga’ (an age of purity and truth).

Incidentally there was an under construction Kalki Dham Temple in Sambhal, which was around 20 kilometres away from the disputed mosque. Prime minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of the temple in February this year.

The Kalki Dham temple was being built by former Congress leader and seer Acharya Pramod Krishnam.

Zafar Ali, a member of the Sambhal Jama Masjid Committee, had rejected the contention of the Hindu plaintiffs and said that there was no basis to claim that the Mosque had been constructed after demolishing a temple.