Bengal's Adina masjid becomes new flashpoint as Hindu groups push temple claim

The installation of a 3.6-foot, 1.5-tonne Shiva Lingam at a temple adjoining the 14th-century Adina Masjid in West Bengal's Malda district on Monday (July 27), though it passed off peacefully, reflects an increasingly assertive Hindutva agenda in the state.

Coming just days after protests over the proposed removal of a 136-year-old mosque from Kolkata airport, the Adina development suggests that religion-centred identity politics is becoming a new normal in West Bengal following the BJP's ascent to power.

ASI-protected monument

Adina Masjid in Pandua, around 20 km from Malda town, is an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)-protected monument.

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Built between 1364 and 1374 by Sultan Sikandar Shah when Pandua served as the capital of the Bengal Sultanate, the monument was once the largest mosque in the Indian subcontinent and remains one of eastern India's most important medieval Islamic structures.

Protected as a Monument of National Importance (MNI), it represents a synthesis of Persian, Central Asian and indigenous Bengali architectural traditions.

Thousands of devotees at Shiv Mandir

Thousands of devotees on Monday gathered at the adjacent Adinath Puratan Shiv Mandir as organisers installed a Shiva Lingam brought from Tarakeswar in Hooghly district, nearly 290 km away, under heavy police deployment.

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Security was tightened around the ASI complex, drones monitored the area, and authorities ensured that no religious activity took place inside the protected monument.

Yet organisers made little secret that Monday's installation was intended only as the first step.

Call for fresh archaeological survey

Kajal Goswami, chief patron of the Adinath Puratan Shiv Mandir committee and convenor of the BJP's Good Governance Wing in North Bengal, said the organisation would approach the Calcutta High Court seeking a fresh archaeological survey and legal recognition of the site's “original identity as an Adinath temple.”

Some devotees openly expressed the hope that a Shiva Lingam would eventually be consecrated inside the mosque complex.

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Supporters of the campaign argue that the mosque was built after demolishing an ancient Shiva temple, citing the presence of reused Hindu and Buddhist sculptural fragments in the structure.

Architectural historians acknowledge that builders incorporated stone elements from earlier religious structures, a common practice in medieval South Asia, but caution that this alone does not establish that a functioning Shiva temple stood on precisely the same site immediately before the mosque's construction.

The ASI continues to identify the monument as the Adina Masjid and has made no official finding supporting the temple claim.

Adina campaign

The Adina campaign has evolved steadily over the past four years. In 2022, BJP leader Rathindra Bose claimed an Adinath temple lay beneath the mosque. In February 2024, Hindu activists entered the protected monument and conducted rituals after claiming to have discovered a Shivling inside, prompting an ASI complaint and protests from local Muslims.

The issue resurfaced in late 2025 after Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Yusuf Pathan described the mosque as an important Islamic monument, triggering sharp responses from BJP leaders.

After BJP came to power this year, the campaign has acquired fresh momentum.

Issue raised in Parliament

State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya raised the issue in Parliament, alleging that the mosque had been built using materials taken from earlier Hindu and Buddhist places of worship.

BJP legislator Tarunjyoti Tewari later repeated similar claims after visiting the site, while former state BJP president Rahul Sinha compared the movement to the campaign that culminated in the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya.

The Adina controversy also comes amid a series of developments that point to a broader attempt to reshape West Bengal's public discourse around questions of religious identity.

Last week, the proposed relocation of a 136-year-old mosque from the Kolkata airport complex as part of an expansion project triggered protests from Muslim organisations before authorities clarified that the move would follow due legal process and consultations with stakeholders.

Christian groups allege hate campaigns

Separately, Christian groups have alleged an increase in hate campaigns and attacks on churches since the change of government.

The Bangiya Christiya Pariseba (BCP) this week announced a statewide seven-point programme that includes 100 peace and harmony rallies, interfaith dialogues and a mega prayer gathering expected to draw around 100,000 participants.

The initiative follows alleged attacks on churches in Subhasgram, Barasat and West Midnapore and growing concern among Christian organisations over what they describe as an increasingly hostile atmosphere.

Church of North India moderator Bishop Paritosh Canning has urged the state government to ensure the protection of Christian institutions.

Concerns have also been raised over the activities of Hindutva groups opposing interfaith relationships.

‘BJP, RSS introducing religious mobilisation’

In one recent case that drew statewide attention, an interfaith couple from Howrah publicly resisted pressure from Hindutva vigilante groups seeking to prevent their marriage, reflecting changing social relations and public discourse in the state.

For Opposition parties, these developments mirror a pattern that has unfolded in other BJP-ruled states in the country.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) state secretary Md Salim said the Adina campaign reflected a familiar pattern.

"Whenever the BJP or RSS establishes a foothold, they begin by introducing religious mobilisation. It gradually creates division and conflict. The Adina issue follows that trajectory," he said.

BJP rejects criticism

The BJP rejected that criticism and maintains that demands for archaeological investigations are intended to establish historical truth and restore neglected aspects of India's civilisational heritage rather than target any community.

Bhattacharya claimed that the Adina Mosque was built using material from pre-existing Hindu and Buddhist structures and that local traditions suggested the site originally housed the Adinath Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu.

"The Adinath Temple needs to be protected at any cost," he asserted, reinforcing the BJP's push to turn the issue into a wider socio-political campaign.

Whether the courts ultimately entertain the claims over Adina, and whether the issue resonates beyond sections of the BJP's support base, remains to be seen. But the controversy, coinciding with a series of other Hindutva-driven campaigns, suggests that issues of religion and identity will continue to shape political mobilisation in West Bengal under the BJP government.