Jalgaon: Here’s how a disputed Jumma Masjid construction was illegally expanded on temple land

On Sunday, July 16, the Jalgaon District administration issued an interim order refraining individuals of the Muslim neighborhood to enter a disputed mosque construction that resembles an outdated temple. The administration has sealed the century-old disputed mosque briefly and has issued an order beneath part 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, instantly banning prayers on the premises.

In the order, the collector has additionally directed police deployment within the space and has requested the native administration to take cost of the mosque, which has been formally declared as ‘disputed’.

This is after an area Hindu group Pandavwada Sangharsh Samiti complained that the construction positioned in Erandol area within the Jalgaon district resembles an outdated temple and that the Muslim neighborhood, the Jumma Masjid Trust Committee has encroached over the temple land.

In the course of May, Prasad Madhusudan Dandawate, the complainant, submitted a plea to Aman Mittal, the Jalgaon district collector. This petition of Dandawate is claimed to have garnered help from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bajrang Dal, and the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS). According to the grievance, the mosque has been illegally constructed over a Hindu place of worship and ought to be taken over by the authorities. The complainant additional asserts that the Hindu character and construction of the neighborhood have been destroyed by the Jumma Masjid Trust who illegally encroached on the world to name it a Mosque. 

Trust managing disputed Mosque strikes to the Bombay HC

Reportedly, the belief managing the Mosque has moved the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court towards the collector’s order banning entry into the premises for providing prayers.

The petition, filed by the Jumma Masjid Trust Committee’s president Altaf Khan claims that the collector handed the ‘arbitrary and illegal’ order on July 11 which directed them at hand over the keys of the Mosque to the Erandol municipal council’s chief officer.

As per the belief, the mosque has reportedly been round for some time, and the Maharashtra authorities has designated its development as an historical and historic monument and that it has been included within the Schedule of Protected Monuments.

The belief additionally says that it has been taking the utmost precautions, and neither the state authorities nor the Archaeological Department have ever obtained any grievances in regard to the construction.

The mentioned petition filed by the belief by means of advocate S S Kazi is slated to be heard on July 18.

History of Pandava Wada in Erandol

The Pandav wada websites within the Erandol area of Jalgaon district, are beneath Islamic encroachments. It is believed that the Pandavas spent their years in exile in Erandol area and that the Hindu and Jain temple-like buildings constructed listed here are 800-1000 years outdated. Later as a result of extreme indifference amongst Hindus, Muslims slowly began encroaching on Pandav Wada greater than 125 years in the past, they usually finally constructed a mosque there whereas claiming it to be Wakf property.

Hindu teams just like the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) and Pandavwada Sangharsh Samiti have been battling to reclaim Pandavwada from the Wakf Board’s intrusions and restore the areas. The contested mosque has data of existence of at the least 100 years, whereas the principal buildings in Pandava wada (constructed within the fashion of Jain and Hindu temples) are reportedly 800-1000 years outdated.

Hindu organizations keep that the mosque was constructed by destroying a Hindu temple that’s talked about within the Mahabharata epic. Further, the related Wakf committee had been working to construct the disputed mosque with a purpose to wreck the Pandavwada’s Hindu tradition as described within the Mahabharata and native chronicles.

How the construction of the disputed Jumma Masjid was illegally expanded?

As per the report by Hindu Existence, the HJS workforce of specialists is claimed to have found that the Jumma Masjid as soon as existed close to Pandav Wada, precisely behind the Pandava Wada. In 1880 AD, the mosque collapsed on account of intensive rainfall. subsequently, the then-British authorities and the mosque’s controlling belief entered right into a contract. The settlement, which acknowledged that the belief would hire area from the federal government for a 25-year interval to maintain sources like wooden and fodder, was attested to by a one rupee stamp paper. It was selected a two rupee annual hire.

Even although the settlement was merely for storage, quite a few vital historic buildings have been finally demolished. Numerous intricately carved stone pillars and window frames have been charred or destroyed. More than 150-year-old bushes have been uprooted. The pillars have been repurposed to assemble platforms and shelters after the beautiful carvings have been eliminated to destroy the Hindu-Jain motifs. The tunnels beneath the floor have been closed. Nothing of the kind was carried out with consent. The Hindu organizations have referred to as this a cognizable offense as a result of Pandav Wada was coated beneath the Ancient Monument Act. The mamledar of Erandol was ordered to behave by the Maintenance surveyor, and a trustee of Jumma Musjid Sandekhan Rahimakha is claimed to have apologized in writing. 

HJS calls it a case of ‘Land Jihad’

Sunil Ghanwat of HJS Maharashtra referred to as it a ‘land jihad case’ and mentioned, “There was a total 4 lakh acres of land with Wakf boards as Wakf property in 2009. But, the lands have been increased to 8 lakh acres as of 2023 in a miraculous way. How can this happen without encroachment over other’s land?”

“In Tamilnadu, an entire village of Thiruchenthurai has been declared as Wakf property including a 1500-old Sundareswarar Chandrasekhara Swamy temple situated in the village. Due to the culpable Waqf law, many places like Dwarka Island and Surat Municipal Corporation in Gujarat; Chandrashekhar Azad Park in Prayagraj, Gyanvapi of Varanasi, and Mathura in Uttar Pradesh have been declared as Waqf property. This aggression of Wakf must stop,” he mentioned.

Disputed Mosque claims collector’s order as unlawful

Meanwhile, the mosque committee continues to carry that the collector’s order to seal the mosque is ‘illegal’ because the mosque stands on a registered waqf property. “It’s only the Waqf tribunal that takes decisions with regard to Waqf properties. The collector has bypassed the waqf tribunal,” the committee says.

The Bombay High Court is slated to listen to the petition filed by the belief of the disputed mosque on July 18.