Muslim Homes, Mosques under Threat of Demolition in India’s Varanasi
The threatened mosques are located in Dalmandi, one of Varanasi’s oldest Muslim localities, where authorities are carrying out an aggressive road-widening project that residents say is rapidly displacing families and endangering centuries-old Islamic heritage sites.
Among the mosques reportedly marked for removal is the Karimullah Beg Mosque, which local caretakers say is more than 226 years old. Other mosques identified in the demolition plan include Marble Wali Masjid, Ali Raza Khan Mosque, Nisaran Mosque, Rangeele Shah Mosque and Langde Hafiz Mosque.
The demolition campaign has intensified in recent days as bulldozers moved through narrow lanes lined with old homes, shops and religious buildings in the historic quarter.
Residents and Muslim organizations say the operation has created fear and anger within the community, with many accusing authorities of targeting Muslim neighborhoods and religious structures under the guise of urban redevelopment.
The campaign is unfolding in the state of Uttar Pradesh, ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under hardliner Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, whose administration has repeatedly targeted Muslim homes, businesses and religious sites through demolition drives commonly referred to as “bulldozer politics.”
Authorities say the Dalmandi project is intended to widen roads, reduce congestion and modernize infrastructure in the crowded commercial district.
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Officials from the Public Works Department said at least 107 houses have already been demolished and warned that more structures identified under the project would soon be cleared.
Local residents, however, say entire families have been displaced while livelihoods connected to shops and businesses in the area have been devastated.
The administration has deployed multiple bulldozers and more than 100 workers daily as it seeks to complete the project before the end of May.
Officials said compensation would be provided in cases where ownership documents establish that mosque land belongs to the Waqf Board, the statutory body responsible for managing Muslim religious endowments in India.
Authorities also suggested that mosques could be relocated if ownership rights are disputed or if relocation becomes necessary under government rules governing religious structures.
The proposed demolition of the mosques has nevertheless triggered deep concern among local Muslims, who say the issue goes beyond infrastructure and reflects a broader pattern of pressure on Islamic religious spaces in India.
Babu Jaan, the muezzin of the Karimullah Beg Mosque, said the community would cooperate with any lawful process but warned against unconstitutional action.
“If there is any legal process, then the administration will be supported in it, but if any unconstitutional step is taken then it will also be strongly opposed,” he said.
He added that the mosque held major historical importance for the neighborhood and said any relocation must be carried out respectfully.
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Varanasi, one of Hinduism’s holiest cities and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency, has increasingly become a focal point for disputes involving mosques and Muslim heritage sites. Hindu supremacist groups have in recent years intensified legal and political campaigns claiming that several historic mosques in India were built over demolished temples during Muslim rule.
Muslim groups and civil rights advocates say demolition drives and mosque disputes in BJP-ruled states are contributing to growing insecurity among India’s Muslim minority, particularly as historical Islamic sites increasingly become targets of political and legal controversy.
Source: muslimnetwork.tv
