In a clandestine operation conducted under the cover of night, bulldozers reduced the venerable Masjid Akhonji to rubble in New Delhi. The 600-year-old mosque, situated in the forested expanse of Mehrauli, fell victim to a demolition campaign targeting alleged “illegal” constructions within a protected reserve.
Members of the mosque’s managing committee, caught off guard, claim they received no prior notice of the demolition. Mohammad Zaffar, a committee member, revealed that the destruction extended beyond the architectural loss; numerous graves within the compound were desecrated, erasing traces of revered figures and ancestors.
“No one was allowed to salvage copies of the Quran or any materials before the mosque was razed,” Zaffar lamented, highlighting the callous manner in which the centuries-old structure met its demise.
The Delhi Development Authority, responsible for the demolitions, remained silent in response to inquiries from Agence France-Presse (AFP). Heavy police presence barricaded access to the site, further shrouding the operation in secrecy.
This incident unfolds against a backdrop of heightened tensions, as nationalist activists persist in their longstanding campaign to replace significant mosques with Hindu temples. The Masjid Akhonji’s demolition resonates deeply, echoing the recent inauguration of a grand Hindu temple in Ayodhya by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Babri mosque’s destruction in 1992, during a campaign led by members of Modi’s party, left scars on the nation, igniting sectarian riots claiming 2,000 lives, predominantly Muslim. Hindu activists now lay claim to the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, intensifying concerns and fears among India’s approximately 210-million-strong Muslim minority.
As calls for Hindu supremacy gain momentum since Modi’s assumption of office in 2014, the future remains uncertain for the country’s Muslim population, heightening anxiety about their place in a changing India.
