Dhar remained under tight security after religious slogans, rival claims and a High Court ruling declaring the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula complex a temple sharpened communal sensitivities around the protected monument.
Hindu groups held large-scale prayers at the site after the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s May 15 order, while sections of the Muslim community avoided the complex on the first Friday after the verdict, offering namaz at home, wearing black bands and closing markets as a peaceful protest. The parallel displays of assertion and dissent underscored how quickly the legal outcome has altered the public atmosphere around one of central India’s most contested religious sites.
The Indore bench of the High Court held that the religious character of the Dhar complex was that of a temple dedicated to Goddess Vagdevi, also identified with Saraswati. The court also set aside the Archaeological Survey of India’s 2003 arrangement that had allowed Hindu prayers on Tuesdays and Muslim prayers on Fridays. That administrative order had governed worship access for more than two decades and had often required heightened security when festivals and Friday prayers coincided.
Police and district authorities deployed a large security force across Dhar as crowds gathered near the site and in adjoining areas. Officials said only activities permitted under the court order would be allowed inside the premises. Barricades, access checks and route controls were put in place around the complex, with senior officers monitoring movement through the town to prevent confrontations.
The first major Hindu prayer gathering after the verdict drew thousands of devotees, with chants, processions and rituals marking what Hindu organisations described as a long-awaited restoration of worship rights. On the first Friday after the ruling, a “maha aarti” was conducted at the complex under police watch, while Muslim residents stayed away from the site. Several shops in Muslim-majority areas remained shut, turning the protest into a visible but largely restrained expression of disagreement.
Religious slogans from both sides added to unease in a town already familiar with periodic tensions over the monument. Hindu groups raised devotional slogans around prayer events, while reports of Muslim groups chanting slogans away from the protected site drew close police attention. Authorities treated the situation as a public order challenge rather than a localised dispute, given the symbolic importance of Bhojshala to competing narratives of history, worship and identity.
The Muslim side has moved the Supreme Court against the High Court order, arguing that the ruling has disrupted established worship rights and altered the status of a site also identified by the community as Kamal Maula Mosque. Hindu petitioners maintain that the structure’s architectural and historical features establish its origin as a temple and seat of learning associated with Raja Bhoj. The next phase of litigation is expected to determine whether the High Court’s findings will stand or be modified by the apex court.
Bhojshala is an Archaeological Survey of India-protected monument in Dhar, a town with deep historical links to the Paramara period. Hindu groups regard it as a temple of Saraswati and a centre of Sanskrit learning. Muslim groups have long referred to the site as Kamal Maula Mosque, pointing to centuries of prayer and use. These claims have produced recurring disputes over access, especially on Basant Panchami when the festival has coincided with Friday prayers.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s visit to the complex on May 25 added political weight to the developments. He offered prayers at the site and announced plans for a Saraswati Lok project and a Raja Bhoj Research Institute in Dhar, framing the monument as a centre of cultural and educational heritage. His visit was also politically significant because it came ten days after the court ruling and amid mobilisation by Hindu organisations celebrating the verdict.
The court order has also brought administrative questions to the fore. Officials must now manage crowds, protect a monument of national importance and prevent public mobilisation from turning confrontational. Police action over allegedly inflammatory online posts linked to Bhojshala has shown that authorities are extending surveillance beyond the site itself, treating social media as a potential trigger for unrest.
For Muslim residents, the home prayers and black-band protest reflected a decision to avoid confrontation while signalling opposition to the verdict. Community representatives have urged legal recourse and restraint, even as concerns remain over loss of access to a place where Friday namaz had been permitted under the earlier arrangement. Hindu groups, meanwhile, are pressing for expanded worship and heritage development at the complex.
