Hindutva group plans to install Shiv Ling at historic Bengal mosque
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Malda/West Bengal: A Hindutva organisation has announced plans to install a 3.6-foot-tall, 1.5-tonne Shiva Linga outside the 650-year-old Adina Mosque in Malda, West Bengal, triggering communal tensions in the area. The campaign is being led by BJP leader and Adinath Puratan Shiv Mandir office-bearer Kajal Goswami, who has also called for Hindu religious rituals near the mosque.
Police have clarified that no religious ceremonies will be permitted within the protected monument premises under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and warned of strict legal action to maintain law and order.
Organisers claim the Shiva Linga will be installed outside the ASI-protected boundary with due permission. They allege the mosque was built after demolishing an ancient Adinath Shiva temple and contend that Hindu and Buddhist symbols exist within the structure. The group has also said it will approach the Calcutta High Court seeking a survey of the site.
Built in 1373 by Bengal Sultanate ruler Sikandar Shah, the Adina Mosque is among the largest surviving medieval mosques in the Indian subcontinent.
The development comes amid sustained claims by BJP and Sangh Parivar leaders against the mosque, drawing parallels with the Ayodhya dispute. In February 2024, a group led by priest Hiranmoy Goswami entered the mosque and conducted Hindu rituals, prompting protests and an ASI complaint to the police. More recently, West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, BJP MLA Tarunjyoti Tewari and other leaders made statements targeting the mosque, while BJP leader Rahul Sinha claimed the site resembled the Babri Masjid dispute. The latest move to install a Shiva Linga outside the mosque marks a further escalation of the campaign targeting the historic monument.
