The swift demolition of a local mosque by state authorities in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh (UP), India, triggered widespread condemnation over the systematic targeting of Muslim places of worship under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) administration.
The demolition was carried out using heavy excavators immediately after local police claimed to have recovered a promotional religious poster bearing the phrase “I Love Muhammad” inside the structural premises.
The incident unfolded rapidly in Sambhal, where local law enforcement personnel used the recovery of the poster to file a FIR [First Information Report] against seven workers of the mosque, under Section 353(2) of the newly implemented Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. This specific statute criminalises the circulation of statements or reports deemed to cause communal enmity, providing the local administration with the pretext to bypass regular legal channels and flatten the ancient building into piles of concrete rubble.
Ali, one of the seven workers at the mosque said: “Where will we go from this mosque? Where will we pray?….We are very scared of the police.”
It further highlights the deep-rooted legal dispute surrounding the land, featuring absolute proof of legitimate ownership. Qasim Jamal, legal counsel representing the local Muslim community, produced historical records demonstrating that the property was explicitly registered under the Waqf Act of 1995, presenting official ledgers dating as far back as 1940.
Disregarding the statutory documents, local officials defended the state action, claiming the immediate destruction was necessary to maintain public order. Local residents expressed immense grief, with an affected woman stating, “What is wrong with it? Do they not take the name of Allah or Bhagwan?”
Human rights organisations state that under the current BJP regime, hundreds of local mosques have been systematically demolished across India under the guise of removing illegal encroachments. The state-backed policy directly mirrors the historical trajectory of the ruling party; critics frequently highlight that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was working as a prominent BJP organiser and key coordinator during the infamous December 1992 campaign that culminated in the violent demolition of the historic Babri Masjid, setting a dangerous precedent for the erasure of Islamic heritage.
