The Hindu : 'Bhojshala, property of Waqf Board'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 10, 2003

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'Bhojshala, property of Waqf Board'

Bhopal March 9. The controversy over the Bhojshala in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, has taken a new turn with the State Minorities Commission declaring that the complex is the property of the Waqf Board and that it is a mosque.

The president of the commission, Ibrahim Quereshi, said in his interim report to the State Government on Saturday that all related disputes could be resolved only by the Waqf tribunal.

"The Jama Masjid Bhojshala is a property of the Waqf which was last published in the State gazette on January 18, 1985, under the Central Waqf Act, 1954, which states that any dispute related to the Waqf property can only be solved through the Waqf tribunal,'' the report said.

"The Bhojshala-Jama Masjid is a protected monument under the Religious Places Special Provisions Act, 1991, which prohibits any alteration to religious places and as far as the role of the Archaeological Survey of India is concerned, its responsibility is only conservation and protection of monuments of historical importance.''

The commission said neither the State Government nor the Centre had the right to alter the structure or usage of any religious place protected under this Act. If the Central Government wanted to alter the monument, amendments would have to be made to the Central Waqf Act and the Religious Places Special Provisions Act. Mr. Quereshi said any change to the Bhojshala complex would convey a wrong message to the minorities and urged the Centre and the Madhya Pradesh Government to take steps to protect the monument.

UNI

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'Bhojshala, property of Waqf Board'