Five people killed in violence sparked by mosque survey in north India

Clashes erupted as authorities arrived at the Shahi Jama Mosque, which Hindus claim was built on the site of a temple demolished in 1529

The Shahi Jama Mosque in the city of Chandausi, in Uttar Pradesh state. Photo: @syedurahman / X

Five people were killed in clashes at the site of a 15th-century mosque in northern India, prompting authorities on Monday to suspend internet services and impose restrictions on movement.

Violence broke out on Sunday between Muslim residents and police in Chandausi, in the Sambhal district of northern Uttar Pradesh state, when a team arrived at the Shahi Jama Masjid to carry out a site survey. The mosque is the subject of a claim by Hindus that it was built on the ruins of a Hindu temple in 1529 by emperor Babur.

A court ordered an initial survey on November 19 after it received a petition from the Hindu community that day requesting it be done to strengthen their claim. The judge appointed a lawyer to carry it out, demanding a report by November 29.

Without specifying a reason, officials then scheduled a second survey for Sunday, but violence broke out when the surveyor team reached the mosque. They faced resistance as locals threw stones at police and security personnel to try to stop them. Police used tear gas and batons to disperse the crowd, while some people set fire to vehicles. At least five people were killed in the clashes.

Armed police stand guard after religious violence near the Shahi Jama Mosque in Sambhal on Sunday. AFP

“The reason for the death of two of them is clear bullet wounds,” senior police officer Rajender Pensiya said.

On Monday, authorities cut internet services and shut schools for the day. Officials also barred people from outside the area from entering Sambhal without official permission until November 30.

The dispute echoes several similar claims over the origins of places of worship in Uttar Pradesh, including the 17th-century Gyanvapi Mosque, the Shahi Idgah mosque and the Taj Mahal, which right-wing Hindu groups have also claimed were built over Hindu temples.

In Ayodhya in January, a new Hindu temple was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the site of the 16th-century Babri Mosque, which had been demolished by supporters of Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and other Hindu right-wing groups in 1992.

Muslims contest the Hindu claims, saying the mosques are protected under an Indian law from 1991. The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act was passed to protect historical, contentious religious sites. It mandates that the nature of all places of worship should be maintained as it was on the day India gained freedom from British rule in 1947.

The Shahi Jama Mosque has been declared a “monument of national importance” by the Archaeological Survey of India.