Hindu devotees throng Bhojshala, no namaz on 1st Friday since HC verdict; Muslims sport black bands

DHAR: The ancient town in MP was abuzz again on Friday with all eyes on Bhojshala, where a packed house of Hindu devotees offered prayers to Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati), but there was no ‘Jumma namaz’. This was the first ‘Jumma’ (Friday) after the MP high court’s order that declared the contested monument a Hindu temple, striking down a 2003 order by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which allotted Tuesdays to Hindus for prayers and Fridays to Muslims for namaz.

It was a day of overflowing emotions on one side, and a silent protest on the other. While thousands of Hindus converged on the site, chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’, Muslims stayed away in compliance with the HC order, and offered the namaz at home and other local mosques. However, they made their opposition visible through black armbands and shuttered shops, while placing faith in the Supreme Court, where a special leave petition has been filed.

An enormous security presence ensured the day passed without any untoward incident. Over 2,000 personnel drawn from the Rapid Action Force, Quick Reaction Force and State Task Force were deployed across Dhar, with flag marches and mounted police keeping the town calm.

The Hindu started streaming into the compound from early morning, with marigold garlands lining the pathways, flowers laid on a red carpet running through the corridors, and cloth screens put up along the passage to shield the mosque building from view.

Even a punishing temperature of around 40 degrees Celsius did nothing to slow the crowds. Women danced to clash cymbals, younger devotees paused for selfies, and elders exchanged congratulatory messages.

The queue wound its way through a four-walled central structure, its pillars intricately carved, several of them mutilated, leading into an east-facing sanctum sanctorum where a three-dimensional cut-out of Goddess Vagdevi stood in place of the original idol that is now with the British Museum in London.

The court had relied heavily on an ASI report documenting idols of gods and goddesses excavated from the site. After the afternoon’s Maha Aarti, demands grew louder for the idols to be displayed and reinstated.