Administration Demolishes 150-Year-Old Mosque in India
Bulldozers were used by the local government in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh to destroy the ‘Garib Nawaz Al-Maruf’ mosque, an approximately 150-year-old traditional mosque inside the Saharanpur Collectorate. Around five in the morning, the operation started in the midst of a strict security blockade that included a sizable police force, the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), and security guards who guarded every point of access. The decision came when a former Bajrang Dal leader filed a complaint in 2025 alleging that the construction was encroaching on government land, leading the tax department to launch a probe. According to the Uttar Pradesh Public Premises Act, the municipal magistrate found the mosque to be an unauthorized building in July of that year, ordered its removal within 30 days, and issued an eviction fine of almost 64.1 million rupees.
The mosque management committee strongly disagreed with the administration’s justification, arguing that reliable legal records demonstrate the building’s British origins and predate the collectorate building itself. According to Mr. Tanveer Ahmed, the mosque’s mutawalli, or custodian, historical documents show that power connections were made on the property as early as 1911. The group filed an appeal with the district court after the municipal magistrate’s verdict. The district court affirmed the eviction order and dismissed the appeal on September 2, but it did not give a direct mandate or urgent instruction allowing the ancient building to be physically demolished.
Following the district court’s decision, the district administration moved quickly to begin the demolition procedure early in the morning. The abrupt demolition of the 150-year-old mosque has heightened tensions in the area and prompted harsh criticism from community members. While local authorities defend the action as a legitimate recovery of state revenue property, legal representatives for the mosque committee argue that the administration circumvented due process by carrying out the demolition before additional judicial remedies could be pursued, leaving the future of the historic site and its caretakers uncertain.
Source: The Indian Express
