Amid the Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Mosque complex case in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi, right-wing activists in Karnataka have approached the Mandya district administration seeking permission to offer prayers at a mosque.
The Narendra Modi Vichar Manch believes the Jamia Masjid in Srirangapatna, 120 km from the state capital of Bengaluru, was built during Tipu Sultan’s regime where a Hanuman temple once stood.
Manch state secretary CT Manjunath was part of the delegation that met the deputy commissioner of Mandya district on Saturday and submitted a memorandum to allow Hindus to offer pooja inside the Jamia Masjid, also known as Masjid-i-Ala.
Manjunath said on Monday, “The documentary evidence of Tipu writing to a ruler in Persia admitting that there was Hanuman temple and the mosque where Hindu inscriptions on its pillar and walls support our stand. We requested them to open the mosque’s doors to offer prayers.”
The district officials could not be reached for comments.
Masjid-i-Ala is situated inside the Srirangapatna Fort, which is believed to be built during the Vijayanagar Empire and taken over by Tipu Sultan. He built the mosque close to his palace. The mosque was built around 1782 and is a heritage site maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). It also runs a madrassa.
Former Karnataka minister KS Eswarappa had claimed that even Muslim leaders have accepted that a temple preceded a mosque and there were about 36,000 temples were demolished or damaged during Mughal rule. “We will reclaim all the temples in accordance with Supreme Court rule without creating any trouble,” he had said.
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