BHOPAL: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Saturday granted Hindus unrestricted access to the Bhojshala complex in Dhar district, a day after the Madhya Pradesh High Court held that the ASI-protected site was a temple dedicated to Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati).
“Since the Bhojshala has been a Centre of Learning and Research on Sanskrit language, grammar and literature and also, was a temple dedicated to the worship of Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati), therefore, Hindu community shall have an unrestricted access to the Bhojshala Complex in connection with the ancient practice of learning and worship of Goddess Saraswati,” the ASI order, issued in compliance with the High Court’s Friday ruling, said.
The ASI further said: “Bhojshala Complex shall continue to be a protected monument under the AMASR Act 1958, therefore, the time of entry of visitors/ Hindu devotees to the monument shall be determined by the Superintending Archaeologist in consultation with the Dhar district administration.”
The ASI order, issued from New Delhi, also stated: “The permissible activities in pursuance of learning and worship by the Hindu community shall be determined by the Superintending Archaeologist in consultation with the Dhar district administration, ensuring the conservation and protection of the monument under AMASR Act 1958.”
The notification added that the latest order would supersede all previous orders issued in the matter.
On Friday, the division bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Indore, while delivering a 240-page verdict on a batch of petitions related to the centuries-old disputed complex, held that it was a temple dedicated to Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati).
The court also quashed the ASI director’s April 7, 2003 order to the extent that it restricted the rights of Hindus to worship within the Bhojshala complex and permitted prayers by the Muslim community.
Since April 2003, under an ASI order, Muslims had been offering prayers every Friday, while Hindus were allowed to worship every Tuesday and on Basant Panchami at the site.
Meanwhile, a day after the High Court ruling, members of various Hindu groups and committees offered flowers and prayers inside the ASI-protected complex on Saturday.
Members of Hindu organisations, including veteran leaders Gopal Sharma and Ashok Jain, who have long demanded that the site be declared the Bhojshala-Maa Vagdevi (Saraswati) Temple, offered flowers at the complex, particularly near the Yagna Kund and traditional prayer spots where rituals are conducted every Tuesday and during Basant Panchami.
Devotees later recited the Hanuman Chalisa, followed by prayers by women devotees amid heavy deployment of police and RAF personnel. Several devotees said they were able to worship without hindrance after many years.
Gopal Sharma, convener of the Bhojshala Mukti Yagya Samiti, said, “Every particle of Bhojshala indicates that it is a temple. The Muslims have complete freedom to go to the Supreme Court, but Bhojshala was a temple, is a temple, and will always remain a temple.”
Meanwhile, legal proceedings in the matter are set to continue. The Muslim and Jain sides are reportedly preparing to challenge the May 15 High Court order, while the Hindu Front for Justice (HFJ), the main Hindu petitioner before the court, has filed a caveat in the Supreme Court seeking that no adverse order be passed without hearing its side.
On Friday, the Indore bench of the High Court, comprising Justices VK Shukla and Alok Awasthi, ruled that the disputed complex was a Saraswati Temple of Hindus, granting them the right to worship there and partially quashing the earlier arrangement that allowed Muslims to offer namaz every Friday.
The court also observed that the state government could consider allotting land in Dhar district to Muslims for constructing a mosque, while the Centre could consider representations seeking the return of the idol of Maa Vagdevi (Saraswati) from a museum in London for reinstallation at Bhojshala in Dhar district.
Welcoming the verdict, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said, “The directive to the central government to consider bringing the idol of Maa Vagdevi back from the UK to India is commendable. The state government will also make necessary efforts in this direction. The dignity of Bhojshala will be further strengthened under the protection and management of the ASI, and the right of devotees to perform worship will be ensured.”
The High Court also dismissed petitions filed by the Muslim and Jain sides. Jain petitioners had argued that the site was linked to Jain heritage and that the idol in the British Museum was of Ambika, but the court rejected the claim, saying historical records and ASI surveys did not support the assertion that the site was a Jain temple.
The court observed: “None of the historical, archaeological and ASI surveys indicate that the disputed area was a Jain Temple… Whether the idol is of Saraswati or of Ambika would not render much assistance to his submission that the disputed area was a Jain temple as we held that no material has been placed before us either by way of historical literature, architectural features or in ASI survey suggesting that the disputed area was a Jain temple.”
