The Basant Panchami festival and Friday namaz prayers at the disputed Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district ended peacefully. Dhar District Collector Priyank Mishra confirmed that both Hindus and Muslims offered prayers at the site without any disturbances to law and order. The Supreme Court’s directives were followed, ensuring a peaceful conduct of the Hindu community’s Basant Panchami program and the Muslim community’s Friday namaz.
According to the District Collector, the celebrations were carried out in adherence to the Supreme Court’s orders, with prayers offered to Bagichi Devi (Goddess Saraswati) by the Hindu community and Friday namaz by Muslims within the designated time slots. The Basant Panchami rituals included traditional Saraswati Puja, attracting a significant number of devotees to the site, necessitating heightened security measures.
The Supreme Court’s intervention allowed both Hindus and Muslims to offer prayers at the disputed premises, with specific time allocations for each community. Hindus consider the Bhojshala monument as a temple dedicated to Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati), while Muslims refer to it as the Kamal Maula mosque. The Archaeological Survey of India had arranged for Hindus to perform puja on Tuesdays and Muslims to offer namaz on Fridays at the site.
In response to the Supreme Court’s directions, the Dhar district administration ramped up security measures, deploying over 8,000 police personnel and Rapid Action Force units in and around the disputed site to ensure a peaceful conclusion to the celebrations.
