Demand to recite Hanuman Chalisa at historic Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra stokes fresh fears of a nationwide campaign targeting Islamic heritage sites
NEW DELHI — Tensions are flaring in Ajmer, Rajasthan, where a right-wing Hindu outfit has formally asked authorities for permission to recite the Hanuman Chalisa inside the 12th-century Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra mosque. The group, Maharana Pratap Sena, claims the ASI-protected monument was once a Hindu temple and a Sanskrit school before it became a mosque.
Built in 1199 CE by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, a Turkic general under Muhammad Ghori, Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra stands as one of northern India’s oldest mosques. Later expanded by Delhi Sultan Iltutmish, it’s famed for its Indo-Islamic architecture — soaring arches, delicate stone latticework, and Qur’anic inscriptions etched into sandstone.
But the Hindutva group’s application this week frames the monument differently. Pointing to carvings and architectural motifs, members argue the site’s roots are Hindu. Their petition is the latest flashpoint in a widening trend: Hindu groups laying claim to centuries-old mosques and Islamic monuments, insisting they were erected atop demolished temples.
The claim slots into a familiar playbook. Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, Hindutva-aligned groups have increasingly challenged the status of Islamic-era structures, citing medieval Muslim rule. The campaigns often move on three fronts — court petitions, calls for archaeological surveys, and public rallies — with backing from leaders linked to Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
For Muslim groups and civil rights advocates, the pattern is troubling. They see a coordinated effort to symbolically and legally reclaim Islamic heritage sites, chipping away at India’s secular framework and deepening anxiety among the country’s 200 million Muslims.
Local authorities in Ajmer aren’t moving yet. They’ve asked the Archaeological Survey of India for detailed feedback on whether allowing the recitation could trigger public unrest.
The Ajmer dispute doesn’t exist in isolation. It echoes high-profile legal battles over the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, the Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura, and the Shahi Masjid in Sambhal — all sites where Hindu groups assert a temple once stood.
And the momentum appears to be shifting. Just last week, Madhya Pradesh High Court recognised the 700-year-old Kamal Maula Mosque complex in Dhar as a Hindu temple to goddess Saraswati, following petitions by Hindu groups. That ruling has amplified Muslim concerns that courts and political machinery are increasingly siding with such claims.
Historians and archaeologists remain divided on many of these assertions. But on the ground, each petition, each rally, and each court filing adds weight to a larger question: whose history gets to stand, stone by stone, in modern India?
