On Thursday (7th March), senior advocate Hari Shankar Jain shared a video from his X handle appealing to Hindus to come forward and start worshiping in the disputed ‘Adina mosque’ in the Malda district of West Bengal. He said that he has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard.
Notably, the disputed ‘Adina mosque’ was built by Sikandar Shah of the Ilyas Sultanate in 1373-1374 using the ruins of the Adinath Mandir which he destroyed at the time. The disputed structure is listed by ASI as a monument of national importance.
Advocate Hari Shankar Jain said, “In the Malda district of West Bengal, there is a so-called mosque. It is called the Adina mosque. It was built by demolishing a grand Hindu temple. This took place during the reign of Sikandar Shah who ruled that area from 1363 to 1374. He demolished the temple and built the mosque.”
सबसे निवेदन है कि आदिना मस्जिद में पूजा आरंभ हो, उसके लिए आगे आए और सरकार से अपने अधिकार पाने का आग्रह करे। @narendramodi @AmitShah @PMOIndia @PIBHomeAffairs @HinduJagrutiOrg @Vishnu_Jain1 @AdvParthYadav @munjal_mani pic.twitter.com/D5W98dsXi6
— Hari Shankar Jain (@adv_hsjain) March 7, 2024
He added, “It was a grand Hindu temple. Many of its symbols are still present. There are not one but as many as thirty-two photographs which clearly show that this was a grand temple and that it was demolished. In this regard, I have written a letter to the honourable Prime Minister. I have requested that Puja worship should take place in this so-called mosque and Hindus should be allowed to worship there. Because it is in the possession of ASI. It is the duty of the ASI that religious processions should take place at the monuments as per their respective religious character. As per section 16 of the Ancient Monuments Act, it is ruled that the place should be used for worship in the way it was originally meant to be as per the religious character.”
He further said, “I have written a letter to the honourable Prime Minister, honourable Home Minister, and all the concerned officials and urged that Hindu Puja Path should be started in this place. I request all my fellows and all the Hindus in the country to come forward to secure their rights.”
Notably, the disputed ‘Adina mosque’ is one of the biggest mosques in West Bengal. It made headlines in May 2022 when the Shivling in the wazukhana of the disputed structure in the Gyanvapi Complex of Varanasi was found during the advocate commissioner’s survey.
At that time, West Bengal’s state BJP vice president Rathindra Bose visited the ASI monument in Malda and shared information about it in an X post. He wrote, “What ancient history is sleeping under the Adina Mosque? Adina Masjid is the largest mosque in West Bengal located at Mauza No. 39 of Gajol Police Station in Maldah District. But this is not universally true.”
1.1 আদিনা মসজিদের তলায় কি ঘুমিয়ে রয়েছে সনাতনী ইতিহাস ?
— Rathindra Bose (Modi Ka Parivar) (@rathindraOFC) May 30, 2022
মালদহ জেলার গাজোল থানার ৩৯ নং মৌজায় অবস্থিত পশ্চিমবঙ্গের সবচেয়ে বড় মসজিদ আদিনা মসজিদ। কিন্তু এটি সর্বৈব সত্য নয়। #AdinathMandir #Malda #Varanasi #Gyanvapi #HarHarMahadevॐ pic.twitter.com/Yb5xe9SXRt
He added, “The Adinath Temple sleeps under this Adina Masjid. Jitu Sardar gave his life to save this temple. That history is unknown to many. He was martyred while protecting the temple from the British and Muslim rulers.”
1.2 এই আদিনা মসজিদের তলাতেই ঘুমিয়ে রয়েছে আদিনাথ মন্দির। এই মন্দির উদ্ধারে প্রাণ দেন জিতু সর্দার। সেই ইতিহাস অনেকেরই অজানা। ইংরেজ ও মুসলিম শাসকদের হাত থেকে মন্দির রক্ষা করতে গিয়ে শহীদ হন তিনি।
— Rathindra Bose (Modi Ka Parivar) (@rathindraOFC) May 30, 2022
He further wrote, “During Adina’s visit to the disputed place yesterday with local MLA Mr Chinmoy Dev Barman, this topic kept recurring in his mind. Kashi’s Baba Vishwanath regained his respect. Is it now Adinath’s turn?”
1.3 গতকাল আদিনা সেই বিতর্কিত স্থান স্থানিয় বিধায়ক শ্রী চিন্ময় দেব বর্মনের সাথে পরিদর্শনকালে বারবার মনের মধ্যে ঘুরে ফিরে এই প্রসঙ্গই আসছিল। কাশীর বাবা বিশ্বনাথ তো সম্মান ফিরে পেলেন। এবার কি তবে পালা আদিনাথের ?
— Rathindra Bose (Modi Ka Parivar) (@rathindraOFC) May 30, 2022
The call by senior advocate Hari Shankar Jain for Hindus to be allowed to worship at Adinath temple provides impetus to the ongoing movement of reclaiming Hindu religious structures and temples which were demolished by Islamists in the Mughal era to built mosques. Hari Shankar Jain’s son Vishnu Shankar Jain is representing the Hindu side in the Gyanvapi case as well.
As for the disputed ‘Adina mosque’, it was last in news in February this year when a group of Hindus led by a young priest named Hiranmoy Goswami performed puja inside its premises.
Goswami, who had visited the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)-listed monument, spotted idols of Hindu deities and a Shivling. Soon after, he along with his followers began performing puja and reciting mantras next to the Shivling.
In the meantime, local Muslims in the area notified the police. Soon after, the Hindu priest was stopped from conducting rituals by assistant sub-inspector Navin Chandra Poddar, who told Goswami that he could not offer his prayers at the disputed mosque.
This led to a heated argument between Hiranmoy Goswami and the police official. On being asked about his crime, Poddar told the Hindu priest, “Your crime is that you are offering ‘pranam’ wherever you want. This cannot be done here.”
