23 Muslim religious sites razed in 45 days by authorities in India
Mosques, shrines and Islamic schools have been razed across six BJP-ruled states, fueling concerns over religious freedom, heritage protection and equal enforcement of law
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — At least 23 Muslim religious structures, including mosques, shrines, Islamic schools and Eid prayer grounds, have been demolished across six Indian states in just 45 days, a wave of actions that has intensified concerns over the treatment of Muslim places of worship under governments led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The demolitions, documented between early May and mid-June, were carried out in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana.
Among the most prominent cases was the demolition of Delhi’s nearly 200-year-old Dargah Panch Peeran, a Sufi shrine long regarded as a local spiritual landmark.
In Rajasthan, authorities razed Jaipur’s Noorani Mosque as part of a road expansion project despite objections from the state Waqf Board, which said the site was legally recognized as Muslim religious property.
Mumbai witnessed multiple demolitions within days, including two neighborhood mosques in Bandra, the decades-old Hazrat Syed Barkat Ali Shah Pir Baba Dargah in Goregaon and Noori Masjid in Bhayandar. Several operations were carried out under heavy police deployment and were followed by protests from local residents.
Uttar Pradesh accounted for several of the reported cases. Authorities demolished a dargah in Sambhal, removed parts of an Eidgah complex and razed Masjid Mustafa Qadri while simultaneously registering a criminal case over posters reading “I Love Muhammad” that had allegedly been found inside the mosque.
In Etawah, an approximately 800-year-old shrine known as Sayyed Shah Baba Mazar was bulldozed after officials declared it an illegal structure on protected forest land.
Varanasi, parliamentary constituency of PM Narendra Modi, has emerged as another flashpoint. Earlier this month authorities demolished the historic Ajgaib Shaheed Mosque during a railway redevelopment project, while a separate notice ordering the evacuation of Masjid Ganj Shaheeda has raised fears that another centuries-old mosque could soon be removed.
The mosque committee says the structure predates the railway station itself and plans to challenge the order in court.
Gujarat authorities also demolished three shrines and a Muslim graveyard during a single anti-encroachment drive, while four mosques in Rajasthan’s Barmer district were razed one day after notices were issued, despite community members saying legal proceedings were still underway.
Many of the affected structures were decades or even centuries old, with local communities describing them as important religious and cultural landmarks rather than recent constructions.
Lawyers and community organizations have repeatedly alleged that demolitions were carried out without adequate notice or while legal challenges remained pending. They have also questioned why nearby Hindu religious structures allegedly lacking authorization were left untouched.
The developments come amid growing scrutiny of India’s increasingly common use of bulldozer demolitions that are disproportionately directed at Muslim homes, businesses and religious institutions.
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