Basant Panchami puja held at Bhojshala in MP’s Dhar amid heavy security

Basant Panchami puja began at the disputed Bhojshala–Kamal Maula complex under heavy security after a Supreme Court time-sharing order. Hindu prayers continued smoothly amid tight policing, while separate arrangements were made for Friday namaz to prevent communal tension

Indore: The Basant Panchami puja began at the 11th-century Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque complex in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district in the early hours of Friday under a heavy security cover, as faithfuls gathered in large numbers for worship at the disputed site.

Around 8,000 police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in the city to prevent any untoward incident, as the Hindu festival and Friday prayers of the Muslim community have fallen on the same day.

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The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a specific time-sharing formula to prevent communal friction, ruling that the Hindu community will be permitted to perform prayers from sunrise to sunset, and the Muslim side will be allowed to offer namaz between 1 pm and 3 pm.

Devotees began gathering at the historic site, decked in saffron flags and flowers, at sunrise.

Members of the Bhoj Utsav Samiti, a local organisation, began the puja by installing an image of Goddess Saraswati, also known as Maa Vagdevi, amidst chanting of Vedic mantras, and the ‘Akhand Puja’ (a continuous sequence of prayers from sunrise to sunset) was initiated by offering oblations in the ‘havan kund’.

Security personnel have covered every corner of the disputed complex.

The Hindu community’s prayers are proceeding smoothly amid tight security arrangements, District Magistrate Priyank Mishra said.

“We have made arrangements to ensure that prayers of both the Hindu and Muslim sides can be conducted without any interruption,” he said.

While Mishra did not disclose the number of people who will be gathering for namaz at noon, he said that they have been given alternative places to pray.

Superintendent of Police Mayank Awasthi said that the entire city has been mapped and sensitive areas have been identified.

He said that the disputed complex has been divided into six sectors, while the city has been divided into seven zones, and every street is being monitored.

Drones and CCTV cameras are also being used to scan the area, he added.

Awasthi said that social media is also being monitored to prevent the spread of any inflammatory messages.

Meanwhile, as the day progressed, the number of Hindu devotees at the disputed complex began to increase.

“We are delighted. We made grand preparations for the Basant Panchami puja. We are grateful to the Supreme Court for allowing Akhand Puja at Bhojshala,” Ashok Jain, a patron of the Bhoj Utsav Samiti, told reporters.

He said that namaz won’t be offered at the site of the puja, as the district administration has made separate arrangements for it.

Sarika Sharma, who attended the puja with her family, said, “We are happy to get the darshan of Goddess Saraswati on Basant Panchami day. We want a permanent solution to the Bhojshala issue soon.” The Hindu community considers Bhojshala to be a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, while the Muslim community refers to the monument as the Kamal Maula Mosque. The complex is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

The ASI issued an order on April 7, 2003, which allows Hindus to worship at Bhojshala every Tuesday, while Muslims are permitted to offer prayers on Fridays.