Bhojshala Is a Hindu Temple And Now, Hindus Say They Will Worship There Freely

After a decades-long legal fight, the Madhya Pradesh High Court declared the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula complex a Hindu temple, the Hindu side’s lawyer called it historic, while the Muslim side vowed to take the battle to the Supreme Court.

A Landmark Ruling Ends Decades of Shared Worship

A years-long dispute over a sacred 11th-century site in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district finally reached a turning point. The Madhya Pradesh High Court’s Indore bench comprising Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi declared the Bhojshala complex a Hindu temple on Friday, May 15. The ruling overturned a 2003 Archaeological Survey of India order. That order had allowed Muslims to offer Friday prayers at the site while permitting Hindu worship only on Tuesdays.

Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, who represented the Hindu side, described the judgment as nothing short of historic. “The Indore High Court has delivered a historic verdict it has partially set aside the ASI’s order dated April 7, 2003,” he said. “The Court has granted the Hindu side the right to worship and has recognised the Bhojshala complex as belonging to Raja Bhoj.” He also confirmed that from here on, only Hindu worship will take place at the complex.

What the Court Actually Said

The bench’s observation cut to the heart of the controversy. It noted clear evidence of a Sanskrit learning centre and a temple of Goddess Saraswati also known as Vagdevi at the site. “We have noted the continuity of Hindu worship at the site, though regulated over time,” the court stated. “We record the finding that historical literature establishes this place as a centre of Sanskrit learning associated with Raja Bhoj it indicates the existence of a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati at Dhar. Therefore, the religious character of the area is held to be Bhojshala with a temple of Goddess Vagdevi Saraswati.”

The court also directed the Central government and the ASI to decide on the management and administration of the Bhojshala temple. The ASI will continue to hold overall administrative authority over the monument but the right to perform religious rituals now rests exclusively with the Hindu community.

The ASI Survey That Shifted the Case

A 98-day scientific survey ordered by the court in 2024 played a decisive role in the verdict. ASI teams documented relics, Sanskrit inscriptions, Hindu motifs, and architectural layouts characteristic of an 11th-century temple. The survey pointed to structures built during the Paramara dynasty the same era as Raja Bhoja’s reign. Investigators also noted that human and animal figures at the site had been “chiselled out or defaced” a detail the court found significant.

Pillar inscriptions dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries were found engraved in the script of that period including Sanskrit stanzas praising Udayaditya and Narvarman, the Paramara kings who followed Raja Bhoja. One inscription explicitly attributed the text to Udayaditya leaving little doubt about the site’s original identity as Raja Bhoja’s centre of Sanskrit scholarship and devotion to Goddess Saraswati.

The Idol in London and What the Court Directed

One of the more striking elements of the verdict involved an idol currently held at the British Museum in London. Jain revealed the court’s directive on this front as well. “Regarding our demand for the repatriation of the idol currently housed in a London museum, the Court has directed the government to consider this request,” he said. “The Court also noted that the Muslim side is free to present its views before the government as well.”

The court acknowledged that the Hindu petitioners had already made multiple representations to the Government of India on this matter. It directed the government to consider bringing the Pratima of Goddess Saraswati back from the London Museum and re-establishing it within the Bhojshala complex.

Muslim Side Vows Supreme Court Challenge

The ruling did not go unchallenged. Ashar Warsi, the lawyer representing the Muslim side, made his position clear immediately after the verdict. “We are not satisfied with the High Court’s decision. We will challenge it before the Supreme Court as soon as possible,” he said. He argued that the ASI survey contained fundamental flaws and that the dispute should have first gone through a civil court under ordinary procedures, rather than under Article 226 writ jurisdiction.

The court, however, took a conciliatory approach toward the Muslim community. It suggested that if the Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society applies for a land allotment to build a mosque elsewhere in Dhar district, the state government should consider that request favourably.

Heavy Security, Tense Atmosphere on Verdict Day

The timing of the verdict a Friday, coinciding with Jumu’ah prayers kept the administration on edge. Dhar district deployed over 1,200 police personnel in and around the complex. District Collector Rajeev Ranjan Meena issued a stern warning against the spread of objectionable content on social media. Barricades went up at the site and officials appealed for calm as news of the ruling spread.

The Bhojshala complex has been a flashpoint since at least the 1990s tensions escalated sharply after the Babri Masjid demolition in December 1992. The 2003 ASI arrangement which split worship days between the two communities had long been a source of friction. Friday’s verdict marks a definitive end to that arrangement.

A Hindu Petitioner Moves the Supreme Court

Even before the Muslim side could formally file an appeal, a key Hindu petitioner Jitendra Singh Vishen approached the Supreme Court. He sought a hearing before any order relating to the High Court verdict could be passed. His move signals that both sides are bracing for a protracted legal battle at the apex court level even as the Bhojshala complex transitions into its new identity as an exclusively Hindu place of worship.