The bustle of roadside shoppers, with devotional songs on Radha and Krishna playing in the background, is a sight to behold at the entrance to the Katra Keshavdev temple of Lord Krishna in Mathura, Uttar PraÂdesh. The queue at the entry gate is full of kids and elderly women holding small brass or steel plates with vermillion paste, urging devotees to wear a tilak and pay dakshina.
Other devotees in the queue click selfies to upload on social media 바카라to let everyone know we바카라d come to see Thakur Ji (Lord Krishna)바카라. They greet each other with 바카라Radhe-Radhe바카라 or 바카라Jai Shree Krishna바카라.
Just behind the temple stands the Shahi Idgah mosque, where, unlike the temple, one needs an AadÂhaar or other identity proof to enter. Muslim devotees hurriedly enter the mosque, squirming under an imagined gaze. Nobody is taking selfies inside the mosque premises.
Security arrangements are tight in both temple and mosque, which stand back-to-back on a 13.77 acre plot that contains other temples and structures. The mosque occupies 2.5 acres, with the temple complex on the rest of the area바카라that includes the Keshavdev temple, another temÂÂple representing the garbhagriha (where Lord Krishna was born, a prison cell) and a step well called Potra Kund. The plot had been acquiÂred by Raja Patni Mal of Benaras in 1815 from the British East India Company, whose descendant sold it to industrialist Jugal Kishore Birla in 1944. Birla set up the Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan in 1951, and handed over ownership of Katra Keshavdev temple to it. The maze of 바카라shell바카라 trusts and other bodies바카라some registered, some not바카라that have been legally contesting the claims on the land on which Mathura바카라s Shahi Idgah mosÂÂÂque stands, are eerily reminiscent of the holdings of old Baniya business families.
On May 20, the district court allowed a plea, seeking removal of the Shahi Idgah mosque in a case of ownership of 13.37 acre land, which the petitioner believes belongs to the deity Lord Krishna Virajman. The litigants claim the Idgah sits on land that belongs to the Katra Keshavdev temple.
Clearly, with Ayodhya in their kitty, Mathura is now the focus of the temple movement fueled by BJP. A slogan that has gained popularity in the last couple of years, 바카라Yeh to sirf jhanki hai, Kashi-Mathura abhi baaki hai (This is just a trailer, KasÂÂhi and Mathura are still pending)바카라, epitomÂiÂses Hindutva aspirations.
During the recently concluded UP assembly elections, BJP made these instrumental in their campaigns. Many believe it helped them win the election. For instance, five days before December 6 (the date of the Babri Masjid demolition), Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad MauÂÂrya tweeted that preparations were on in MatÂhura to build a Krishna temple. The OppÂosÂiÂtion accused him of raising communal tension for electoral benefit.
UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath had also staÂtÂed his government바카라s intent to build the temple. At a rally in December 2021, he said, 바카라We바카라d promised to start work on a grand Ram temple at Ayodhya. Modi ji has done that, isn바카라t it? Also, a grand abode of Lord Shiva is coming up in Kashi. You바카라ve seen it, right? Then, how can we leave behind Mathura and VrinÂdÂavan?바카라
The demand for the remoÂval of the Shahi IdgÂah mosÂque has fanned communal tensions in Mathura over the last few years. In 2021, a HinÂdutva outfit, Akhil BhaÂrat Hindu MahasaÂbha, thrÂeÂaÂtened to install a Krishna idol inside the Shahi Idgah on the anniversary of the demolition of the Babri MasÂjid. 바카라Tensions have increÂaÂsÂed in the last couple of years. We have to stay vigilÂant all the time,바카라 says a sub-Âinspector on duty near the temple.
Though the city has largely remained peaceful, 바카라low intensity scuffles have started to happen바카라, the SI adds. In June 2012, a minor scuffle led to a riot, leaving four dead in the Kosi Kalan region of Mathura. Now, with the temple-mosque debate flaring up, Muslim residents are fearful of fresh riots. 바카라Mathura is peaceful, but I바카라m afraid of outsiders. We can바카라t afford any violence. The struggle to run a family is huge,바카라 said Shahid, who runs a tyre repair shop near the mosque.
Hindus living in the area believe the mosque land belongs to the Katra Keshavdev temple, and stands on the ruins of its garbagriha. Pawan KumÂar Shastri, one of the petitioners who lives near the temple, says, 바카라The great-grandson of Lord Krishna Virajman built four temples바카라the Keshavdev temple in Mathura, Haridev temple in Vrindavan, the Baldeo temple in Dauji, and the Govinddev temple in Govardhan. The prison cell/garbhagriha of the Keshavdev temple was destroyed by Muslim rulers, who built the Shahi Idgah mosque on it. I바카라m just doing God바카라s work and have no other purpose.바카라 Â
In 1956, the Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva SanÂgh (SKJSS) was established by Shri Krishna Janmasthan Sansthan to manage the affairs of the temple. It took up the cause of the Hindu claim in courts in 1967. A 바카라compromise agreemÂent바카라 was signed out of court between the SKJSS and the Shahi Masjid Idgah Trust in 1968, in whiÂch it was agreed that the mosque will not be remÂoved. This has now become a bone of contention. The Shri Krishna Janmasthan Sansthan claims the SKJSS had no right to strike an agreement on its behalf, because the land belongs to it.
Deepak Sharma, one of the lawyers representing the petition in the district court, says, 바카라Even the court has admitted that the compromise strÂuck in 1968 is invalid. Now, the fight is on for ownership rights of the land, which doesn바카라t belong to the Shahi Idgah mosque.바카라
Local Muslim residents say dragging the issue to court disturbs peace. 바카라The ownership of the mosÂÂque land was settled in an agreement betÂwÂeen the Shri Krishna JanÂmasthan Sansthan and the Idgah Trust. We should not fight over it,바카라 says a Muslim resident of Mathura, who came to pray at the mosque.
Another local, Shahid, echoes his sentiments. 바카라The mosque is there under an agreemÂent. We don바카라t want any dispute over it.바카라 He says a majoÂrity of Muslims in Mathura are daily wagers and are only interested in peace. 바카라Muslims of MathÂura are very poor. Unlike Aligarh and othÂer cities, most Muslims here run rickshaws and small shops.바카라
Shahid바카라s father Usman quips, 바카라We can even pray on the roads.바카라 Usman believes 바카라outsiders are disturbing the peace in this region. Locals are good people.바카라Â Z. Hassan, president of the Shahi Masjid Idgah Trust, told Reuters in January 2022 that the mosque and the temple had remaÂiÂned like 바카라two sisters바카라 until 2020, when legal actÂion to demolish the mosque was launched.
Construction worker Khillu Ram, a local, disagrees. 바카라Ruins of ancient temples lie buried across this entire land. On the plot where the Idgah now stands, was the jail in which Lord KriÂsÂhna바카라s maternal uncle Kamsa had imprisoned DevÂÂaki and her husband Vasudeva. The Lord was born in it. No point in keeping the mosÂque here,바카라 he says.
Many Hindu and Muslim residents believe this place is an example of syncretic traditions. Md. BarÂkat Ali, an artisan who makes crowns for Lord Krishna idols in every temple across the city, says, 바카라Around 1,500 Muslim workers across MatÂhÂura are involved in this work, which we do for our Hindu brothers. The crowns and costumes of Thakur ji (Lord Krishna) we make are also used by devotees the world over. It바카라s an example of MatÂhura바카라s harmony for the world. This is the land of Thakur ji. Our livelihood runs by his grace. We feel honoured to do this for our Hindu brothers.바카라
On the burning debate, Ali says, 바카라We shouldn바카라t fight. We should be aware that politicians use this for their benefit. The mandir-masjid compÂlex is an epitome of brotherhood.바카라
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What is the controversy?
In 1670, Mughal emperor Aurangzeb built the Shahi Idgah mosque on land that Hindus believe is where once stood the prison cell in which Lord Krishna was born, later converted into a temple. They believe the garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) of that temple is buried under the mosque. There is a demand for carbon-dating and ASI-led videographic survey to ascertain the presence of the garbhagriha.
While allowing the plea seeking removal of the mosÂque on May 20, the district court observed that a 바카라coÂmÂpromise decree바카라 between Shri Krishna JaÂÂnÂÂmÂaÂsthan Seva Sangh (SKJSS) and the Idgah TruÂst had been sigÂned before the Places of WorsÂhip (SpÂecial PrÂovisions) Act, 1991, was enacted, and is thus not applicable.
Members of the Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva SanÂsÂÂthan (name adopÂted by SKJSS in 1977) have already started voicing this line of argument. In a press conference on May 19, Gopeswar Nath Chaturvedi, a member of Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan said a SKJÂSS secretary had filed a case in a civil court in 1967 for removal of the mosque built on 바카라property belonging to the Katra Keshavdev temple바카라. 바카라This secretary had sigÂned a compromise agreement on November 12, 1968. But when Shri Krishna JanÂmasthan Sansthan heard the news, he was remoÂved and SKJSS was renaÂmed as Shri Krishna JanmaÂsÂthan Seva Sansthan, as the SKJSS executive member had no right to sign any agreement on land that belonged to the Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan.
(This appeared in the print edition as "Another Mosque, Another Temple")
