Indore, May 6 A Jain petitioner on Wednesday appealed to the Madhya Pradesh High Court to grant his community the right to worship at the disputed Bhojshala complex in Dhar district, claiming it was a medieval Jain temple and gurukul (traditional residential school system).
The Hindu community considers Bhojshala a temple of Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati), while the Muslim side identifies the monument as Kamal Maula Mosque.
Delhi-based social activist Salek Chand Jain has made the claim in a PIL, which has been filed at a time when cases filed by Hindu and Muslim parties, contesting the religious nature of the monument protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), are already pending in the HC.
Jain's lawyer Dinesh P Rajbhar challenged a 2003 ASI order before Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Rajesh Kumar Gupta of the Indore bench.
Under this order, Hindus are allowed to worship inside the Bhojshala complex every Tuesday, while Muslims are permitted to offer namaz at the site on Fridays.
Rajbhar claimed that the Bhojshala complex once housed a Jain temple and a gurukul.
Emphasising the secular nature of the Constitution, he said, "Under the Constitution, followers of Jainism have the right to worship at the Bhojshala complex."
Rajbhar argued that King Bhoj of Dhar was a patron of scholars from both Hindu and Jain religions.
According to him, Jain scholars were also present at the educational centre operated at the 11th century monument.
Rajbhar, citing historical accounts and archaeological material, claimed that some parts of the Bhojshala structure clearly reflect the influence of Jain architecture.
He cited a report published by the Government Central Press of Shimla in 1882 and other publications, which stated that parts of the mosque in the disputed complex were built from the remains of buildings associated with the Jain community, and compared some of its domes and pillars to the famous Delwara Jain temples in Mount Abu (Rajasthan).
Citing photographs and museum records, Rajbhar argued that a statue kept in London's British Museum, which the Hindu community claims depicts Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati), is actually a statue of Jain Yakshini Ambika.
He argued that the statue bears symbols of Jain Tirthankaras (supreme spiritual teachers), and this distinctive feature distinguishes it from Hindu-style statues of Goddess Saraswati.
Rajbhar claimed the ASI ignored the Jain community's historical connection to the monument in its report on scientific survey of Bhojshala conducted on the HC's direction in 2024.
He said the government appears to be directly supporting the claims of one community regarding the disputed monument, and this attitude raises suspicion.
The hearing in the Bhojshala case will continue on Thursday.
The HC's Indore bench has been regularly hearing five petitions and one writ appeal filed since April 6 regarding the religious nature of the Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex.
