Bring Jama Masjid under ASI: experts
A favourite destination for tourists in Delhi, the 17th century Jama Masjid is in the midst of a raging controversy.
By TNN | Updated:
NEW DELHI: A favourite destination for tourists in Delhi, the 17th century Jama Masjid is in the midst of a raging controversy. Many visitors complain of unfair charges for visiting the mosque and the chaos in the surrounding areas. For decades, tourists have been shelling up to Rs 300 for carrying camera inside the mosque and are being charged for visiting one of the towers.
The mosque is owned by the Waqf Board and managed by the Jama Masjid committee under the guidance of Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari. However, many conservationists said if the monument is declared protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), it would help manage the site as well as stop the old unfair practices of entry charges.
While the Jama Masjid committee argued that the entry fee was used for the upkeep of the monument and to pay salaries of the staff, a source in Waqf Board said, "A fixed amount should be deposited with the board from the revenue received from entry fee. The committee has been charging fee since 1970s but no accounting has ever been done to know where the revenue is used.''
While the issue has been going on in the Delhi high court for years, the ASI in an affidavit has informed the court that former prime minister Manmohan Singh had written to Syed Ahmed Bukhari assuring him that the government won't declare it a protected monument.
The high court is also hearing a PIL seeking to declare Jama Masjid a protected monument so that it can come under the Centre's control and is regularly maintained. The PIL would be taken up for hearing next week.
Filed by Suhail Ahmed Khan, the plea has urged the court to declare Masjid an ancient monument due to its national importance. It has pointed out that the mosque is a historical monument commissioned by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan "so it needs to be protected by the ASI."
Over the past decade, the court has repeatedly asked the ASI to explain why it did not declare the historic Jama Masjid a protected monument.
Meanwhile, Syed Tariq Bukhari, younger brother of Syed Ahmed Bukhari, said entry charges were imposed only for those carrying professional cameras.
The mosque is owned by the Waqf Board and managed by the Jama Masjid committee under the guidance of Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari. However, many conservationists said if the monument is declared protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), it would help manage the site as well as stop the old unfair practices of entry charges.
While the Jama Masjid committee argued that the entry fee was used for the upkeep of the monument and to pay salaries of the staff, a source in Waqf Board said, "A fixed amount should be deposited with the board from the revenue received from entry fee. The committee has been charging fee since 1970s but no accounting has ever been done to know where the revenue is used.''
While the issue has been going on in the Delhi high court for years, the ASI in an affidavit has informed the court that former prime minister Manmohan Singh had written to Syed Ahmed Bukhari assuring him that the government won't declare it a protected monument.
The high court is also hearing a PIL seeking to declare Jama Masjid a protected monument so that it can come under the Centre's control and is regularly maintained. The PIL would be taken up for hearing next week.
Filed by Suhail Ahmed Khan, the plea has urged the court to declare Masjid an ancient monument due to its national importance. It has pointed out that the mosque is a historical monument commissioned by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan "so it needs to be protected by the ASI."
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Over the past decade, the court has repeatedly asked the ASI to explain why it did not declare the historic Jama Masjid a protected monument.
Meanwhile, Syed Tariq Bukhari, younger brother of Syed Ahmed Bukhari, said entry charges were imposed only for those carrying professional cameras.
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