India’s Demolition of Historic Mosque Condemned by Madani, Owaisi

Prominent Muslim leaders have strongly condemned the demolition of a historic mosque located within the premises of the Saharanpur Collectorate, or district administrative building, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Maulana Arshad Madani, president of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, and Asaduddin Owaisi, chief of AIMIM and a Member of Parliament from Hyderabad, strongly criticised the incident. They questioned whether the right to religious freedom guaranteed by the Indian Constitution applies to Muslims in the country.

Early Saturday, the Saharanpur district administration demolished the mosque in the presence of a large contingent of police and paramilitary forces. Arshad Madani said, “Bulldozers are no longer a means of delivering justice; rather, they have become a tool of revenge, bias and hatred.” He added that if illegal encroachments on government land or public places are to be removed, the same rules and standards should apply to places of worship of all religions. The Constitution guarantees equal rights to every citizen of India, he said.

Citing the mosque committee, both Arshad Madani and Asaduddin Owaisi claimed that the mosque is clearly mentioned in government records from 1911, as well as old municipal and land revenue documents. They said the mosque was built on land donated by an individual before the present Collectorate building was constructed and that it is a waqf property registered under number 451. They further claimed that the structure was entitled to legal protection under the Places of Worship Act, 1991, and the principle of “waqf by user.”

Owaisi also posted about the matter on social media platform X and questioned the timing of the demolition while speaking to journalists. Asking why the operation was suddenly carried out around 5am on Saturday, he said the mosque committee should have been given an opportunity to approach the High Court. He described the action as contrary to natural justice. Strongly criticising Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s government, Owaisi said, “You cannot demolish our mosque with bulldozers simply because you want to. Muslim religious sites are being selectively targeted in Uttar Pradesh.”

Meanwhile, the Saharanpur district administration said the action was taken in accordance with legal procedures. In July, the Saharanpur City Magistrate identified the mosque as an illegal encroachment covering around 315 square metres of government land and ordered its removal. A fine of around Tk 6.41 crore was also imposed. Although the mosque committee appealed against the order in the district court, the court dismissed the plea. The administration subsequently carried out the eviction operation to implement the court’s decision.

The area remains tense following the incident. However, the affected parties and Muslim leaders have announced that they will continue to fight what they describe as an injustice through legal and political means.