Hindus’ side to be heard in the case of ‘Teele Wali Masjid’ in Lucknow, UP

Lucknow (UP) – On the left bank of the Gomti River lies the ‘Teele Wali Masjid’. Hindus have filed a petition in the Court stating that this is ‘Lakshman’s Hill’. This issue has been pending in the Court since 2013.

Advocate Napeendra Pandey, representing the Hindu side, said that Muslims, who call it ‘Teele Wali Masjid’, should understand it as ‘Lakshman’s Hill’. This city was inhabited by Shriram’s brother Lakshman, and there was a hill on the bank of the Gomti River, known as ‘Lakshman Ka Teela’. During Aurangzeb’s reign, this hill was demolished, and a mosque was built there. Our worship was already being held there. In 2001, riots occurred here, and our Teleshwar Mahadev Temple was demolished. Why are we being prevented from worshipping there ? Whenever we went there to worship, Muslims behaved rudely. Muslims have stated in Court that this case should not be kept pending indefinitely because the reasons behind it are not clear. The Court has now decided to hear the Hindu side after rejecting the Muslim side.

Maulana Fazlul Mannan, the cleric of Teele Wali Masjid, said that this mosque is famous worldwide. It is entirely wrong to say that mosques are built on all Hindu religious sites. This statement is intended to mislead people. I deny these allegations. If the mosque had been built by demolishing Lakshman’s Hill, then where would you have been ? They posed this question to Hindus.

This case has been ongoing since 2013. H.H. Hari Shankar Jain had filed the first petition in the Lucknow Court regarding this matter. The entire area belongs to the Shiva temple, and there was a demand to remove the mosque and give this area to Hindus. Then, in 2018, there was a dispute over installing Lakshman’s statue in the courtyard of the mosque. After the BJP Government came to power in the State, BJP councillors Rajneesh Gupta and Ramkrishna Yadav proposed to erect a 151-foot statue of Lakshman inside the mosque premises of the Lucknow Municipal Corporation. However, after opposition from Muslims, the matter was resolved peacefully.

Editorial Perspective

The construction of mosques by demolishing Hindu religious sites is a historical fact. Hindus should not be compelled to make such demands for every site; hence, the Union Government must intervene now.