On Wednesday, November 17, members of the Bajrang Dal in Karnataka filed a petition with the High Court, requesting that the Jamia Masjid in Srirangapatna, Mandya district, be vacated. The members of the Hindu outfit have alleged that there are proofs that the mosque was once a Hindu temple.
Jamia Mosque row in Karnataka has come to the forefront with Bajarang Dal submitting a PIL in the High Court demanding to vacate it. The PIL claimed that there are proofs that the mosque was once a Hindu temple. pic.twitter.com/Ox0Q467Ddc
— IANS (@ians_india) November 17, 2022
The PIL stated, “There are traces of Hindu gods and temple structure in the Jamia Mosque of historical Srirangapatna town in Mandya district. Hence, the mosque should be vacated immediately and also, Hindu devotees should be allowed to take bath in the Kalyani (sacred water body) located in the premises of the mosque.”
Bajrang Dal activists have also asked that the mosque be resurveyed along the lines of the disputed structure of Gyanvapi mosque, which stands on top of the original Kashi Vishwanath temple.
According to reports, the PIL was filed by 108 Hanuman devotees including the State president of Bajrang Sene, B Manjunath. Speaking about the decision, B Manjunath said, “108 is an auspicious number for Hindus, which is why we are filing that many petitions.”
He added that the Bajrang Dal activists have also provided evidence of the Mysore Gazetteer, the presence of Hindu architecture in the mosque and inscriptions on Hindu idols, the sacred water body located in the premises of the mosque, and references of British officers to the court to substantiate claims that the Jamia Masjid in Srirangapatna was erected on the site of a Hanuman temple during Tipu Sultan’s reign.
Activists claim Jamia Masjid built on Hanuman Temple, seek permission to worship inside the mosque
Notably, in May this year, some activists petitioned the Deputy Commissioner of Mandya for permission to worship the Anjaneya idol in the Jamia Masjid in Srirangapatna, Karnataka. According to the proponents, the structure was previously a temple that had been converted into a mosque. They asked that they be allowed to do pooja in the mosque.
The Narendra Modi Vichar Manch had claimed the Jamia Masjid in Srirangapatna was erected on the site of a Hanuman temple during Tipu Sultan’s reign. CT Manjunath, Manch state secretary, was part of the group that met with the deputy commissioner of Mandya district on Saturday and presented a memorandum allowing Hindus to perform pooja inside the Jamia Masjid, popularly known as Masjid-i-Ala.
The mosque is located within the Srirangapatna Fort, which was erected under the Vijayanagar Empire and afterwards taken over by Tipu Sultan. He constructed the mosque near his palace. The mosque was constructed in the early 1780s and is now a historic monument managed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). It also operates a madrassa.
The Hindu outfit’s demands related to the Jamia Masjid in Srirangapatna gained traction and momentum after a Shivling was reportedly unearthed inside the wuzukhana of the Gyanvapi mosque during the court-ordered survey of the disputed structure adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi. After the Shivling was found during the survey, Civil Judge (Senior Division) Ravi Kumar Diwakar ordered the disputed Gyanvapi building to be sealed.
