ASI allows Hindus unrestricted access to Bhojshala temple after Madhya Pradesh High Court verdict

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has granted the Hindus unrestricted access to the monument at the Bhojshala complex in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh for worship and other purposes. The ASI’s decision came a day after the Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled that Bhojshala in Dhar was a temple of Goddess Saraswati.

Quoting the ASI’s order, an official said that Bhojshala was a centre of learning and research on the Sanskrit language, grammar and literature besides being a temple. The official further said that the Hindu community shall have unrestricted access to the complex in connection with the ancient practice of learning and worship of Goddess Saraswati.

Earlier on Friday, the Madhya Pradesh High Court declared that the Bhojshala complex in Dhar district is a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, and the Centre and ASI can decide on its administration and management. The High Court’s Indore bench also quashed the April 7, 2003, order of the Archaeological Survey of India that allowed Muslims to offer namaz inside the Bhojshala complex every Friday.

The bench, which was hearing the case, also said the Muslim community, which called the 11th-century, ASI-protected monument Kamal Maula Mosque, may approach the state government for allotment of separate land in the district for the construction of a mosque.