In a podcast on YouTube, veteran historian Ramchandra Guha recently explained the core agenda of the right wing in India. He said, (if you want me to compress their objective), It will be six words and no more: “We shall show Muslims their place. That is what emboldens them: Let us humiliate Muslims, let us taunt them, mock them and say…Not necessarily kill them. That could be a step that sometimes happens, but I don’t think that’s a core part of the ideology. Unlike Hitler, where exterminating all Jews was a core part of his ideology, here it is: make them feel humiliated, cowed and submissive, so that they can live in our rashtra at our mercy.” The pre-dawn demolition of the century-old mosque inside the Saharanpur Collectorate complex on September 5, 2026 can be cited as a practical manifestation of Guha’s aforesaid hypothesis about the right wing.
Timeline
Let us look at the chronology of events. On July 16, the Saharanpur City Magistrate’s court declares the mosque an illegal structure, ordering its management committee to vacate the premises within 30 days and imposing a steep penalty of ₹6.41 crore. The masjid committee promptly challenges this eviction notice, but after weeks of deliberation, the District Judge dismisses their appeal on September 2, effectively clearing the legal hurdles for the local administration to initiate its demolition.
With the judicial green signal, authorities move swiftly. On September 4, police seal off the Collectorate complex and restrict the movement of several opposition leaders to prevent protests. In the early hours of September 5, a large contingent of heavy security and bulldozers flatten the structure. Debris clearance commences the following day, September 6, uncovering a 100-year old well and other historical artifacts from the site. On September 11, the Allahabad High Court intervenes to issue a formal stay on the ₹6.41 crore penalty previously levied against the masjid management.
Khasra versus Khewat
The demolition of the Saharanpur mosque raises troubling questions about title, Waqf and due process regarding the protection of religious places. The mosque situated inside the Saharanpur Collectorate complex is more than a century old. So why did the administration treat it as an unauthorised religious structure standing on government land? The government’s case centres on Khasra No. 539 in village Pathanpura A khasra (officially known as Form P-II) is a foundational legal document that serves as the agricultural logbook and possessory record for a specific plot of land that is maintained by the local land revenue official (the Lekhpal) and is updated annually during field inspections (partal). According to the administration, Khasra No. 5339 says the masjid land is recorded as government/Collectorate land. The administration further maintained that the site was originally a public rest house and subsequently converted into a masjid without authorisation.
The Muslim side disputes this interpretation of the land records. The mutawalli of the Masjid Committee, Mohammad Tanveer Ahmed argues that the land was historically recorded as zamindari land in the Khewat (proprietary ownership rights that belonged to the Zamindars prior to the abolition of the feudal land system) rather than government public-premises property. The land continues to be recorded in the names of Wahid Khan and Yaqub Khan, within whose zamindari the mosque was built. Thus, the land does not fall within the scope of the law under which the eviction proceedings were initiated.
Tenant Evicts the Owner
The mosque was reportedly registered as Waqf No. 451 and had been recognised as such in municipal records since 1957. Further, the Union government had executed a lease for a post office operating on the premises and that rent had been paid to the mosque since 1960. If true then how did the status of the owner of the masjid land change to an illegal occupant? Isn’t the reported rent arrangement between the Masjid committee (under Waqf) and the post office specifically, a proof that the entire Collectorate was a tenant of the Waqf. The Saharanpur masjid episode is a baffling and bizarre case of the tenant evicting the owner. Even more troubling is that the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board was not made a party to the proceedings, despite the property allegedly being registered as Waqf No. 451.
Demolishing Due Process
Again, the City Magistrate’s July 16 order was an eviction order under the Uttar Pradesh Public Premises law. The district court subsequently upheld that decision on September 2. However, the eviction order was clearly violated as three days later, on September 5, bulldozers brought down the mosque. How can a judicial order to evict an alleged unauthorised occupant be used to authorise the destruction of a historic religious structure? Was it not a clear violation of the due process? The Saharanpur episode is a textbook violation of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which strictly prohibits changing the religious character of any place of worship from what it was on August 15, 1947. The Saharanpur Collectorate mosque was an established religious structure well before this statutory cut-off date. Those who went to the demolished site and collected its bricks showed before TV cameras the year the bricks were made. The bricks are more than 100 years old. The discovery of a well beneath the demolished mosque showed that it was constructed with Lakhori bricks associated with earlier periods.
Muslims will Remain Resolute
The underlying reasons for the masjid demolition was best articulated by the press statement of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. The JIH Vice President Malik Moatasim Khan said, “The incident is a demonstration of how the entire administrative machinery in Uttar Pradesh is responding and competing vigorously to the dog-whistling by its top political leadership to harass and intimidate the Muslim community by any means possible. Those espousing hate politics to garner votes in the upcoming assembly elections believe they can divert people’s attention from the core issues of economic development, employment, health, and education. However, the people of this country have realised this facade of majoritarian politics. They will not fall prey to this pretence of reviving lost glory by oppressing Muslims and destroying their places of worship.
“Despite the illegal actions of the Uttar Pradesh administration, Muslims in Uttar Pradesh will not allow their connection with their faith, religious identity, culture and traditions to be weakened in any way. No government authority should mistake the destruction of a place of worship for the resolution of a legal dispute. Justice, due process and constitutional rights must prevail over arbitrary exercise of power.”