In a striking scene in the Indian city of Ujjain, Muslims dismantled part of the historic Shahi Mosque with their own hands while in tears, seeking to prevent authorities from bringing in bulldozers following a court-backed settlement in Madhya Pradesh.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court had upheld a decision by local authorities to remove part of the mosque’s hall and minaret, rejecting petitions filed by the mosque administration, which argued that the property is officially registered as an Islamic waqf.
Protests erupted on Monday against the demolition decision, with police moving to disperse demonstrators and using tear gas against those gathered around the mosque.
Tears as Parts of the Mosque Come Down
Videos circulated by Indian accounts on Monday showed emotional scenes of Muslims crying as they dismantled sections of the Shahi Mosque, which dates back around 600 years.
Members of the mosque committee manually removed a protruding section extending about three feet from the building to prevent authorities from using bulldozers to carry out the demolition.
According to the Indian Express, police and municipal teams arrived on Sunday night with bulldozers and other heavy machinery. Protesters gathered outside the mosque and prevented the demolition from beginning, while others spent the night inside, insisting that no part of the building should be removed.
Footage shared on social media showed hundreds of people gathered in the mosque courtyard and prayer area, where they remained throughout the night and refused to leave.
Why Is Part of the Mosque Being Demolished?
The partial demolition is linked to a Ujjain municipal project to widen a local road to 15 metres ahead of the Simhastha festival, a Hindu pilgrimage event scheduled for 2028.
According to the Indian Express, the mosque committee and members of the local Muslim community called for the road to be widened through an alternative route or by removing buildings opposite the mosque instead.
They challenged the demolition decision twice in court, arguing that the mosque was registered as an Islamic waqf. The Madhya Pradesh High Court, however, rejected the petitions.
The mosque management committee later reached a settlement with the state administration under which only the protruding section, where prayers are not performed, would be removed. This replaced an earlier demand by the administration to cut approximately 9.5 feet from the mosque.
The mosque’s imam, Mohammed Ibrahim, said places of worship should be exempt from road expansion projects.
“This is a religious city, and none of the religious sites should be demolished. The expansion should be carried out without affecting these sites,” he said.
Protests and Clashes With Police
The manual dismantling followed confrontations between Muslim protesters and Indian police, who increased their presence in the area on Monday morning after authorities erected barricades and positioned bulldozers around the mosque in preparation for demolition.
This came despite the agreement stipulating that the mosque committee itself would carry out the required removal.
Videos documented clashes between police and protesters who had staged a sit-in and formed a human shield around the building in an attempt to protect it.
Indian social media accounts also circulated footage showing a young man standing directly in front of police officers as tear gas was fired to disperse demonstrations organised by members of the state’s Muslim community.
The footage showed a heavy police presence behind security barricades surrounding the Shahi Mosque, while the young man remained standing in front of them amid thick clouds of tear gas.
The controversy is not the first linked to preparations for the Hindu festival.
In 2025, Ujjain witnessed demolitions affecting mosques and homes in the Muslim-majority Nizamuddin neighbourhood as part of a project to expand the Mahakaleshwar temple corridor ahead of the 2028 festival.
