NEW DELHI, July 25: A Extremist Hindutva organization in India’s eastern state of West Bengal has announced plans to install a 3.6-foot-tall Shiva Lingam outside the historic Adina Mosque in Malda district, sparking fresh controversy over one of the Indian subcontinent’s oldest and largest medieval mosques.
The campaign is reportedly being led by local BJP functionary Kajal Goswami and members of the Adinath Puratan Shiv Mandir organization, who also plan to perform Hindu religious rituals near the 14th-century mosque. Organizers claim the mosque was built after the destruction of an ancient Shiva temple and say they will seek a court-ordered archaeological survey of the site.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has clarified that the Adina Mosque, a centrally protected monument of national importance built in 1373 during the Bengal Sultanate under Sultan Sikandar Shah, cannot be used for religious ceremonies within its protected premises. Authorities have warned that legal action will be taken against any unauthorized religious activity inside the monument.
Police have increased security around the site to maintain law and order ahead of the proposed event. Organizers, however, maintain that the Shiva Lingam will be installed outside the ASI-protected boundary after obtaining the necessary permissions.
The dispute follows earlier controversies surrounding the Adina Mosque. In recent years, several Extremist Hindutva leaders have claimed the mosque was constructed using remains of a pre-existing Hindu temple, drawing comparisons with other high-profile temple-mosque disputes in India. Muslim groups and opposition leaders have rejected those claims, accusing right-wing organizations of attempting to inflame communal tensions.
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The Adina Mosque remains one of the most significant surviving monuments of medieval Islamic architecture in South Asia and is protected under India’s heritage conservation laws.
