The Supreme Court’s bid to balance Hindu worship and Muslim prayers at Madhya Pradesh’s disputed Bhojshala complex may inadvertently fuel division, according to prominent Muslim leader Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi.
Speaking exclusively in Bareilly, Razvi, who heads the All India Muslim Jamat, dissected the court’s Thursday order allowing sunrise puja on Basant Panchami followed by namaz. While ownership of the Dhar site—claimed as both Bhojshala temple and Kamal Maula Mosque—remains sub-judice, this status quo arrangement has Razvi worried.
“Shared sacred spaces breed conflict when crowds gather simultaneously,” he cautioned. The decades-old row intensified recently, with lower courts halting rituals before the apex court stepped in to mandate timed access and prevent clashes.
Razvi prayed for calm but painted a grim picture: rival groups jostling for space could spiral into violence. He highlighted the site’s dual significance—Hindus see it as a 11th-century seat of learning, Muslims as a functioning mosque—making coexistence tricky.
On a related note, Razvi weighed in on Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand’s standoff at Prayagraj’s ongoing Kumbh. The notice barring his ritual bath wounded the revered figure’s dignity, he said, but urged closure.
“As a dharmaguru, he should heed the Chief Minister’s call, drop the dharna, and focus on piety,” Razvi advised. With UP CM intervening personally, prolonging the issue serves no purpose.
Razvi’s interventions reflect broader anxieties in India’s pluralistic fabric, where judicial nods to tradition must not override the imperative of peace. The Bhojshala test case looms large for future disputes.