MP High Court Designates Bhojshala As Vagdevi Temple; Hindu Devotees Flock To Site Amid Tight Security
– What happened? A day after the Madhya Pradesh high court designated the controversial Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque complex in Dhar in Madhya Pradesh as a Vagdevi temple, Hindu devotees flocked to the 11th Mosque.he The shrine offering prayers in the century.
But the local administration and police have banned the Bhojshala Sangharsh Samiti, a Hindu community that is waging a legal battle for recognition of the site as a temple, and other devotees from installing any image of the Vagdevi deity in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple in Bhojshala, saying a revised order from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is still awaited.
Amid decades of tussle between Hindus and Muslims over rival claims to the site, the ASI had made an arrangement in 2003 allowing Hindus to pray at the Vagdevi temple every Tuesday and Muslims to offer prayers at the mosque on the other side of the complex every Friday.
The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh high court on Friday granted special worship rights to Hindus while recognizing Bhojshala as the temple of Vagdevi (Saraswati).
Police said the ASI should revise its order accordingly to pave the way for Hindus to worship at the temple every day.
The site is protected by ASI.
As the idol of Vagdevi has been kept in a British museum for over two centuries, Hindu devotees had earlier prayed by hanging an image of Vagdevi in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple every Tuesday.
The high court also directed the Center to initiate efforts to restore the idol from the British Museum and install it in the temple.
Devotees on Saturday appeared excited about the site being recognized as a temple by the high court and were seen reciting the Hanuman Chalisa near the temple.
The sanctum sanctorum was also decorated with flowers that were not images of gods.
Meanwhile, Dhar additional superintendent of police Vijay Dhabar said security has been tightened in and around Dhar town to maintain law and order following the high court order.
He said security forces were heavily deployed across the town and surveillance was carried out in the town by installing CCTV and drone cameras at strategic points to ensure peace and harmony in the area.
While welcoming the high court order designating Bhojshala as a temple on Saturday, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav promised to make determined efforts to bring the Vagdevi idol from the British museum to be installed in the temple.
