In Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district, a portion of the historic 185-year-old Noori Jama Masjid was demolished on Tuesday. Authorities claimed the action was necessary as the structure encroached upon land earmarked for the widening of a state highway, according to The Hindu.
The mosque committee had approached the Allahabad High Court seeking relief from the demolition. However, the district administration maintained that the section in question was a recent addition, constructed within the last two to three years, as supported by satellite imagery and historical records, reported PTI. The main building of the mosque was reportedly left intact.
The issue began in August when the administration served notices to the mosque committee, along with 139 other individuals and businesses, asserting that portions of their properties encroached onto the Banda-Bahraich state highway. This encroachment, the Public Works Department (PWD) argued, obstructed plans to strengthen the road and construct drainage systems.
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Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Avinash Tripathi explained that while most recipients complied by removing the encroachments in September, the mosque committee only partially acted by demolishing encroaching shops adjacent to the mosque. The committee assured us they would clear the mosque’s encroaching portion but failed to follow through,” Tripathi told The Hindu.
In a rush to widen roads, the @UPGovt‘s PW Dept is presently demolishing an alleged ‘unauthorised’ part of the 180-year-old Noori Jama Masjid in #Fatehpur, even as a petition challenging the demolition is still pending in the #AllahabadHighCourt. pic.twitter.com/xV1vFHYEbK
— Sparsh Upadhyay (@ISparshUpadhyay) December 10, 2024
On the day of the demolition, significant police presence, including Rapid Action Force personnel, was deployed to maintain order. According to Tripathi, the drive proceeded without any protests.
However, the action drew criticism from opposition leaders. Congress leader Shahnawaz Alam accused the state government, led by Chief Minister Adityanath, of selectively targeting Muslim religious structures. “If a structure has stood for 180 years, there should be mechanisms to preserve it,” Alam said, as quoted by The Hindu. “When a community is targeted with the intent to humiliate, incidents like this occur. It reveals a bias within the state apparatus against the Muslim community.”
The incident has ignited debates over heritage preservation, encroachment policies, and communal harmony, with critics questioning the rationale behind targeting a historic religious site while purportedly sparing others.
