Hari Har Mandir
Muslims claim Sambhal is a historical “Mosque” built by Babur in 16th century. This is false. Babur did not build this mosque. It did not even exist until 19th century,
It was a Hindu temple until recently, before it was stolen by Muslims. Sambhal has been in the news: Muslims & Liberals have argued that Sambhal is a historical Mosque built by Babur. That it should thus be protected under the places of worship act 1991. This is totally false. Sambhal Mosque was not built by Babur. It is a recent usurpation.
Sambhal holds great religious significance for Hindus. As great as Ayodhya & Mathura. In the Mahabharata (3.189), it is mentioned that God Vishnu will take birth in Sambhala as Kalki. Kalki is the future avatara of Vishnu. Skanda Purana mentions a Vishnu temple in Sambhala.
If Babur had really built this mosque in Sambhal, it should have been mentioned in Muslim literature. Surprisingly, it is not mentioned by Babur himself in Baburnama. It is not mentioned anywhere in pre-colonial literature.
Abul Fazl, who lived long after Babur’s death, describes the town of Sambhal. But even he does not mention any Mosque. Absolutely not. In fact, he describes a Vishnu temple in Sambhal. [ From Abul Fazl’s Ain-I-Akbari]
It must be noted that Abul Fazl describes a temple in present form (“there is a temple”). It shows a Vishnu temple still existed in Abul Fazl’s time (16th century). There was no sign of any Babri Mosque as yet.
What happened next? There is no literary clue. Records are very scarce. However, archaeological Survey of India’s report gives us the full picture.
Campbell Carlyle was an Archaeologist active in India. In 1871-72, he toured Agra region. He also conducted a survey at Sambhal. His report was published by ASI in 1879. Here are the excerpts from his report.
Archaeologist Campbell starts by noting that the principle building in Sambhal is the Jami Masjid. That Muslims ascribe its construction to Mughal emperor Babur. However, he immediately calls out their fraud.
Campbell reveals several Muslims confessed to him that Sambhal Mosque was a forgery. The inscription containing Babur’s name was a forgery. He even reveals that Muslims did not get possession of the site until 1850s.
Campbell reveals that this building was originally a Hindu temple. Muslims took it over by means of fraud. Hindus then went to court to reclaim the site. But Muslims won the case by bearing false witness against Hindus who were in minority in Sambhal.
The “Babur inscription” was such a pathetic forgery that they even wrongly spelt the name of Babur.
Further, the report says that the present building is not a mosque at all. It has not been built by any Babur. The present structure was built as a Hindu temple by king Prithviraj Chauhan. It has just been taken over and remodeled for Muslim worship.
Further, Muslims coated the wall to conceal original Hindu material. The archaeologist found several spots where the plaster was broken. He could see clear Hindu material and art. Muslims turned the sculptures downwards and reused the same Hindu material.
Muslims stripped so much quantity of stone that the walls of the structure became thinner and inferior. That is how a majestic temple was converted into this mosque. The archaeologist even dug out some fragments such as a fluted pillar (of Krishna?).
According to Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, Buddha also predicted the coming of future Kalki in Shambhala. alachakra Tantra says Kalki named Rudra-Cakrin will emerge from Shambhala. He will destroy Mleccha followers of Prophet Madhumati in a great war and end Kali Yuga.
Therefore, even the Chinese used to make pilgrimage to Sambhal. When Muhammad Bin Tughlaq destroyed temples in Sambhal, emperor of China sent an embassy. He requested Tughlaq for permission to ‘rebuild the idol temples.
However, Tughlaq denies the request, citing that his religion Islam would not allow him to grant such a request. He asked the emperor of China to pay Jizya to him instead.
Historian Brijendra Mohan Sankhdher conducted his research on Sambhal. He published the book Sambhal - A Historical Survey. He writes that the Sambhal Mosque was not built by Babur and the so called Babur’s inscription’ is ‘a great historical forgery of all times’.
Archaeologist Campbell and historian Brijendra Mohan have concluded that the Sambhal Mosque was not built by Babur in 15th century. They concluded that it was taken over from a temple and converted to a mosque in 19th century. They further dismissed inscriptions inside the mosque as forgeries.
Whereas other historians like Ganga Parshad are of the opinion that it was built by Babar himself. They accept the authenticity of inscriptions.
However, they all agree that the Mosque was originally a temple.