- The existing structure at the Bhojshala complex in Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh, was constructed using remains of a previously existing temple, according to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
- The ASI submitted its scientific survey report to the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
- The court had asked the ASI in March to conduct a scientific survey of the Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex.
- Over three months, using ground-penetrating radar and studying archaeological remains, the ASI dated the pre-existing structure to the Paramara dynasty period.
- The ASI report stated that the art and architecture of the pillars and pilasters in the colonnades suggest they were originally part of a temple.
- For reuse in the current structure, figures of deities and humans carved on them were mutilated.
- The survey found images of Hindu deities like Ganesha, Brahma with his consorts, Narasimha, Bhairava, and other human and animal figures in the existing structure.
- As human and animal figures are not permitted in mosques, many images were chiselled out or defaced.
- The report also found inscriptions in Sanskrit and Prakrit at the site.
- An inscription on the gateway to the tomb of Abdullah Shah Changal at Dhar indicated that the temple “was violently converted” into a mosque.
Dig Deeper: Read about the construction of the Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque of Qutb Minar complex of Delhi along with important provisions of the Places of Worship Act, 1991.
