Hindu bodies seek permission to perform puja at Srirangapatna mosque

Mandya: Various Hindu organizations on Monday submitted memorandums to the Deputy Commissioner, urging him to allow them to perform a pooja inside Jamia mosque, which they claim was an old Anjaneya temple in Srirangapatna.

Narendra Modi Vichara Manch office-bearers told reporters that the Jamia mosque was an old Anjaneya temple, which was converted into a mosque by Mysuru ruler Tippu Sultan in the year 1784. They said Tipu himself wrote letter to Calipha of Turkey that his soldiers destroyed the Anjaneya temple. They further claimed that there is a Kalyani inside the mosque and every pillar has lion stone carvings and Hoysala kingdom emblem.

Kali mutt pontiff Rushi Kumara swamiji said that during the Tipu regime hundreds of temples in Mysuru region were destroyed and mosques were built in their place. He warned of organising a huge procession of Hindu devotees to the Jamia mosque to offer pooja to Lord Anjaneya. He said many historians as well as Archaeological Survey of India confirmed in the year 1935 itself that the temple was converted as mosque.

Meanwhile, Jamia mosque Moulvi Seyyed Gulzar Pasha said that he has many Hindu friends. "All the communities are living in harmony in Srirangapatna. If it is a temple, they should produce documents to corroborate their claim."

Reacting to the demand of Hindu organizations, Chief Minister Basavaraja Bommai said that they should take legal recourse and the government will act as per law.