Dhar (Madhya Pradesh): Following the verdict of the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the historic Bhojshala complex in Dhar witnessed its first formal day of daily Hindu worship on Saturday.
The court, in its ruling delivered on Friday, May 15, officially recognised the eleventh-century structure as a temple dedicated to Goddess Vagdevi Saraswati.
This decision effectively ended a decades-old arrangement and triggered an atmosphere of immense jubilation among devotees who thronged in large numbers to celebrate the restoration of their religious rights.
The proceedings on Saturday morning were marked by traditional rituals and the collective recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa.
Members of the Bhoj Utsav Samiti joined hundreds of devotees to perform puja in strict adherence to Vedic customs. Amid tight security arrangements, devotees and officials from the Bhoj Utsav Committee arrived at the complex. These included patron Vishwas Pandey, Bhojshala Mukti Yagna coordinator Gopal Sharma, Shreesh Dubey, Keshav Sharma, and Ashok Jain.
All of them offered flowers and prostrated before the shrine of Goddess Vagdevi and the Yagya Kund. Patron of the Bhoj Utsav Committee, Ashok Jain, said the judgment came after a long legal and social battle.
Speaking to the media, Jain recalled that every year on Basant Panchami, committee members would visit the site to press their demand to retrieve the idol of Goddess Saraswati from London.
He said the situation escalated in 2003 when the Congress government led by Digvijaya Singh issued an order stipulating that members of the Hindu community could visit the Bhojshala to offer prayers on only one day of the year — Basant Panchami. The order met with significant opposition.
“On Basant Panchami in 2003, while members of the Hindu community were gathered there to press their demands, the police resorted to a lathi-charge. Three individuals were killed, and many others sustained injuries during that incident,” Jain said.
Recalling the events, he noted that on February 18, three members of the Hindu community lost their lives and many others were injured as a result of the police lathi-charge.
“This victory has been achieved only after a prolonged struggle spanning many years. Today is a day of great joy as a large number of devotees are visiting the temple with enthusiasm for darshan,” Jain added.
To maintain law and order in the district, the district and police administration conducted a flag march on major roads in the city on Friday, and the police force remained deployed in full strength on Saturday.
By recognising the site as a temple, the court also ruled that the Muslim community would no longer offer Friday prayers within the premises, though it granted them the right to seek alternative land within the Dhar district for the construction of a mosque.
District officials continue to monitor the situation closely, using executive magistrates and digital surveillance to prevent any disruptions.
(IANS)
