A Gyanvapi type of situation is emerging in Karnataka with the Narendra Modi Vichar Manch seeking permission to conduct puja and prayers at the Jamia Masjid mosque in Srirangapatna, the erstwhile capital of ruler Tipu Sultan — about 20 km from Mysuru.
The Manch has also asked the Karnataka government to stop the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), under which the mosque comes, from allowing the site to be used as a prayer hall by a section of the community. A petition to this effect has been submitted by the office-bearers to the Mandya deputy commissioner.
The Manch has also sought permission to offer puja at the mosque and the supporters held a sit-in protest in front of the mosque. According to the Manch, the mosque was built where a Hanuman temple once stood. They further said that Hindu deities are still inside Jamia Masjid and that regular pujas and prayers should be resumed.
The activists alleged that the then ruler Tipu Sultan destroyed a Hanuman temple and built the masjid. This is well documented in many books. They claimed that Tipu Sultan had written a letter to a ruler in Persia admitting it. "The masjid has Hindu inscriptions on its pillars and walls," they said in support of their argument.
According to media reports, Manch state secretary CT Manjunath said the district administration must allow Hindus to offer puja to the Hindu deities at the masjid since there’s “documented evidence of a temple existing earlier”.
However, according to a Persian inscription found inside the masjid, Tipu Sultan is said to have built the mosque around 1782. Two minarets were used as watchtowers during his reign.
Meanwhile, former Karnataka minister KS Eshwarappa claimed Muslim leaders have accepted that a temple preceded a mosque.
About 36,000 temples were demolished or damaged during the Mughal rule in India. “Without creating any trouble, we will reclaim all of them in accordance with Supreme Court’s guidelines,” he said.
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