After 700 years, no namaz offered in Bhojshala on Friday; Hindus perform Akhand Puja

Henceforth, no namaz on Fridays; Only Puja permitted

Dhar (Madhya Pradesh) – On the very first Friday following the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s judgement, a large number of Hindus gathered at Bhojshala. Such an event occurred for the first time in 700 years. Instead of namaz being offered at Bhojshala on Friday, only chants of “Jai Siyaram” echoed throughout the premises. From the morning itself, a large crowd of Hindu devotees had assembled there. In its decision, the High Court had withdrawn permission for offering namaz in the mosque situated within the Bhojshala complex. Consequently, Muslims were unable to offer namaz there.

Hindus perform Akhand Puja

From the very next day after the judgement, Hindus had begun Akhand Puja (continuous worship) at Bhojshala. Since the morning of 22 May, Hindu devotees had been arriving at the Bhojshala temple to offer prayers. Along with this, an aarti of Goddess Vagdevi was also performed. Large numbers of people from Dhar and nearby districts were arriving for darshan and worship.

According to a tradition followed for many years, the Hindu community used to perform Puja in the Bhojshala complex on Tuesdays, while Muslims had permission to offer namaz on Fridays.

BJP MLA visits Bhojshala

MLA Neena Verma visited Bhojshala, had darshan of the oil painting of Goddess Shri Vagdevi, and offered worship. She also sought blessings by touching the feet of elderly activist Vimal Godha, who had long been associated with the Bhojshala movement. On this occasion, she also sat with devotional singing groups (bhajan mandals) and participated in bhajans and kirtans.