MUSLIM COMMUNITY RESISTS DEMOLITION DRIVE AT 630-YEAR-OLD SHAHI MASJID IN INDIA’S UJJAIN

Mon 28 September 2026:

Tension escalated in Ujjain on Monday during protests against the proposed removal of a portion of the historic Shahi Masjid for road widening ahead of Simhastha 2028. Police fired tear gas shells after a stone-pelting incident was reported in the area.

Heavy police deployment remains around the mosque as authorities try to control the situation.

The developments came on the day the Madhya Pradesh High Court was scheduled to hear an appeal filed by the mosque authorities against the proposed removal of part of the structure.

For three nights in a row, thousands of Muslims in Ujjain have held a determined and largely peaceful vigil inside and outside the historic Shahi Masjid, physically shielding the centuries-old mosque as bulldozers and nearly 2,000 police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel remained stationed outside to enforce a partial demolition order.

Muslims Resist Bulldozer Action Against 630-Year-Old Shahi Masjid in MP’s Ujjain

Tension escalated in Ujjain on Monday during protests against the proposed removal of a portion of the historic Shahi Masjid for road widening ahead of Simhastha 2028. Police fired tear gas shells… pic.twitter.com/4JYj5XcXG1

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) September 28, 2026

What the administration calls a routine road-widening exercise for a major Hindu gathering — the 2028 Simhastha Kumbh — the community sees as an erasure of living heritage and faith.

The resistance, which began after midnight on Saturday, September 26, has so far prevented the machines from moving in.

According to residents and local media, the Ujjain Municipal Corporation (UMC) reached the site near Chhatri Chowk on Saturday night to demolish a 10-foot portion of the mosque, even as a fresh petition was pending before a larger bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Indore.

Word spread quickly, and within hours hundreds, then thousands — youth, elders and women — gathered at the mosque. Videos from the spot showed residents sitting inside the prayer hall and on the road outside, raising slogans to save the mosque. The mosque, registered as a Waqf property, is described by community members and historians as dating back to 1390 — more than 630 years old — making it one of the oldest Islamic heritage sites in Ujjain.

The proposed demolition would cut through part of the prayer hall, its iconic 120-foot minaret and the Mazhar Chowk complex.

Allegations have emerged that, during clashes over the removal of part of the Shahi Mosque in connection with the Ujjain road-widening project, police personnel brutally beat members of the Muslim community who were protesting. pic.twitter.com/bTF76hbwD8

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) September 28, 2026

Why the Community is Resisting

For the protesters, this is not just about one mosque.

The UMC plans to widen a 730-metre to 900-metre stretch from Khajur Wali Masjid/Kanthal Square to Gopal Mandir/Ganesh Chowk into a 15-metre-wide road to manage crores of pilgrims expected for Simhastha 2028, held once every 12 years on the banks of the Shipra. Officials say 272 structures have been marked across the city for removal, including around 60 to 80 religious structures on this route alone.

But residents point out that while portions of 10 temples and other structures have already been removed, the Shahi Masjid — a heritage Waqf site — is being targeted despite the availability of alternatives.

“If this mosque is demolished, there are 28 other mosques that will be in line. It is arbitrary. They cannot keep demolishing mosques only because they are coming in the way of something,” said prominent Indore cleric Mufti Junaid, who joined the protest.

“This is baseless and makes no sense. To establish one religion, you cannot completely demolish and erase the existence of other religions,” he added.

During the tensions surrounding the demolition of a portion of the Shahi Mosque, a Muslim man was chased and brutally beaten. He kept saying, “I have done nothing.” Despite the brutal beating, he was not released, after which a person said , “What will happen if he dies?” pic.twitter.com/ajI67Mfbxd

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) September 28, 2026

The crowd swelled again on Sunday night as the bulldozers refused to leave. Late into the night, tension escalated when police attempted to clear the sit-in. According to local media and police sources, stone-pelting was reported and police fired more than a dozen tear gas shells to disperse the crowd. Drone surveillance, barricades and heavy deployment continue.

Significantly, even during the clashes, community leaders stressed non-violence. In one incident, Crime Branch TI Pushpa Panchal sustained a minor cut on her hand while women police personnel were trying to move a group of women protesters who had covered themselves with a sheet. Police confirmed that none of the protesting women were injured.

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Heritage vs Development

The resistance has found support beyond Ujjain.

Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi said: “The administrative efforts to demolish the Ujjain Shahi Masjid under the pretext of road widening should be a bit more sensitive. Demolishing a 600-year-old heritage site just for road widening and development in the name of progress is the height of hatred… Thousands of youths in Ujjain are continuously raising their voices on this issue. My request to the Ujjain administration is to respect public sentiments and acquire the necessary land for road widening from the other side.

“Ujjain Municipal Corporation Chairperson Kalawati Yadav has defended the plan, citing the scale of Simhastha preparations — 29 kilometres of new ghats, dams, diversion projects and road widening for millions of devotees expected from March 27 to May 27, 2028.

Legal Battle

On September 9, the Madhya Pradesh High Court (Justice Sandeep N. Bhatt) dismissed two writ petitions challenging the UMC notices, holding that the action was in accordance with statutory provisions after giving a hearing and was in the larger public interest for traffic and pilgrim safety.

However, trustees have filed a fresh petition before a larger bench. Advocate Zaid Pathan of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights said its lawyers are also approaching the Supreme Court to challenge the High Court’s order.

Community members argue that the matter is still sub judice and question the urgency of laying siege to the mosque with bulldozers before the courts have taken a final decision.

As of Monday afternoon, the mosque still stands — not because of a stay order, but because of the people sitting inside it. Hundreds of Muslims continue their peaceful sit-in inside the historic Shahi Masjid to prevent its demolition amid heavy police deployment, turning the 14th-century structure into a powerful symbol of constitutional resistance to bulldozer justice.

Allegations of Selective Enforcement

Muslim community organizations, local residents, and human rights advocates frequently describe these administrative actions as a systematic effort to erase Islamic heritage and restrict religious freedoms.

Loss of Living Heritage: Critics point to the removal or partial destruction of historic structures, such as a centuries-old mosque in Ujjain undergoing road-widening adjustments, the flattening of the Medina Mosque in Delhi, and the removal of the 600-year-old Akhonji Mosque in Mehrauli. They argue these structures are irreplaceable components of India’s multicultural history.

Community leaders argue that anti-encroachment and land-use laws are weaponized selectively against Muslim properties while unauthorized structures of the majority faith are rarely subjected to the same immediate destruction.

Civil Society Criticism: International groups like Amnesty International and domestic observers have termed the widespread use of heavy machinery against minority properties as “bulldozer injustice,” alleging it functions as collective punishment without due process.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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