A day after ASI report, surge of devotees and emotions at Madhya Pradesh's Bhojshala: 'Dream coming true'

DHAR: The sun had barely risen over Dhar when devotees began arriving at the Bhojshala complex — moving quietly through the morning air with a sense of purpose that felt different from routine prayer.

It was a Tuesday, the one day of the week when Hindu devotees are permitted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to offer prayers to Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati) at the contested complex. But this particular Tuesday carried a weight of its own; or lack of.


On Monday, the ASI survey report which had come into public domain following a Madhya Pradesh high court order, had concluded that the Kamal Maula Mosque structure in the complex was built using ancient temple remains — a finding that devotees here described as a turning point in a struggle stretching back nearly four decades.

And, as the day wore on, the complex saw a surge of devotees, all talking about the report.

Inside the complex, some women had tears in their eyes as men carefully fixed a photograph of Vagdevi in preparation for the morning aarti. Though the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh high court, where the case around the dispute over the Bhojshala structure is being heard, is yet to deliver its verdict, for those gathered here, the ASI report felt like vindication long overdue.

"I feel that the struggle we started around 1987 is now bearing frui. My life's dream is coming true," said Gopal Sharma, convenor of the Bhojshala Mukti Yagya. Sharma has carried the baton from his father, fighting through the courts for recognition of the Vagdevi temple — a shrine nestled within a series of corridors, the pillars of which bear disfigured Hindu idols.

Approaching the contested zone, the path runs over a gravel patch past the newly painted Kamal Maula Mosque — bright white and green — until it ends abruptly at an old gate fitted with metal detectors.