Clashes over Mughal-era mosque survey in India leave three Muslims dead

Indian Muslim protesters clashed with police on Sunday, leaving at least three people dead. The riots erupted in Uttar Pradesh following a survey of the status of Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, investigating whether the 17th-century Mughal-era mosque was built on the site of a Hindu temple.

Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took over the government in India, the right-wing has become particularly active, with Hindu groups increasingly laying claim to several mosques they alleged were built on top of Hindu temples during the Muslim Mughal empire centuries ago.

On November 14, a local court ordered a survey of the mosque after a Hindu activist filed an application claiming that the mosque, built during the reign of Emperor Babur, was originally a prominent Hindu temple dedicated to Kalki, the prophesied avatar of Vishnu.

The survey team conducted an initial survey within hours of the court’s order. They then returned on the morning of November 24 for a second round of photography and videography.

The survey began around 7:30 a.m. and proceeded peacefully for two hours until a crowd gathered and began raising slogans.

The mosque is believed to have been built on the orders of the first Mughal emperor, Babur, and is recognised as a "historic monument" on the official website of the Sambhal district. Hindu activist Vishnu Shankar Jain claimed that Emperor Babur partially demolished the Hari temple and attempted to convert it into a mosque in 1529.

The court order stated, “The submission of a report of the site might facilitate the court to adjudicate the suit”.

The complainants in the lawsuit wrote that the mosque was a monument protected under Section 3 (3) of the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904 and that they were being “denied access” to the mosque.

They also alleged that the site was a centuries-old Hari Temple dedicated to Kalki and had been “used forcibly and unlawfully” by the Jama Masjid committee.

Zia-ur-Rehman Barq, a member of Parliament from Sambhal, who has opposed the survey on the grounds that the mosque was protected by The Place of Worship Act, 1991, appealed for peace after the violence. 

While police claimed that protesters threw rocks at officers, prompting them to fire tear gas canisters to disperse the crowd, Zia-ur-Rehman promised to raise his voice against "police brutality" in the next session of Parliament.

Initially, reports suggested that two Muslims were killed in the riots, but the Indian news platform The Wire later reported the number to be three.

The three individuals from the local Muslim community who were killed in the firing incident were identified as Naeem, Noman, and Bilal.

The Wire quoted a police official as saying that 15-20 police constables were injured in the stone-pelting incident.

However, fifteen individuals, including two women, alleged to have thrown stones at the police from a rooftop, were detained during the violence.

Several cars and a couple of motorbikes parked in the area were set on fire by the protesters.

Additionally, Vishnu Shankar Jain, the lawyer representing the Hindu activists, stated that the survey was complete and that the advocate commissioner would submit the report to the court.

Meanwhile, the police are searching for those involved in the stone-pelting using CCTV and drone footage. They intend to deal with the suspects under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), which allows for preventive detention to maintain national security and public order.