Hindutva Group Announces Plan to Install Shiva Lingam Outside 650 Year Old Adina Mosque in West Bengal
The proposal has revived a long running dispute over the history of the protected medieval monument and raised fresh concerns about the targeting of Islamic heritage sites.
A fresh religious dispute has emerged in West Bengal after a Hindutva organisation announced plans to install a 3.6 foot Shiva Lingam weighing around 1.5 tonnes outside the historic Adina Mosque in Malda district.
The organisation, Adinath Puratan Shiv Mandir, says the mosque stands on the site of a demolished Hindu temple. It has also stated that its long term goal is to place the Shiva Lingam inside the protected monument.
The announcement has added to a series of campaigns by Hindutva groups that question the historical identity of the Adina Mosque. The development has sparked concern among many observers who see it as part of a broader effort to challenge the status of historic Muslim religious sites across India.
The Adina Mosque was built in 1373 during the reign of Sultan Sikandar Shah of the Bengal Sultanate. It is recognised by the Archaeological Survey of India as a Centrally Protected Monument of National Importance and is regarded as one of the country’s most significant examples of medieval Islamic architecture.
Kajal Goswami, the chief patron of the Adinath Puratan Shiv Mandir organisation and convenor of the BJP Good Governance Wing in North Bengal, called on supporters through social media to gather outside the mosque for religious rituals. In his posts, he referred to the location as the old Adinath Temple.
Goswami claimed the mosque was constructed after the destruction of a Hindu temple. He argued that Hindu and Buddhist sculptures found within the structure support this claim. He also said the organisation plans to approach the Calcutta High Court to seek a fresh archaeological survey and eventually restore what it describes as the original temple.
However, the Archaeological Survey of India continues to identify the Adina Mosque as a protected medieval monument. No official archaeological report has concluded that the mosque was built over a demolished Shiva temple.
The latest announcement follows several similar attempts in recent years to reinterpret the monument’s history. In 2022, BJP leader Rathindra Bose claimed that the Adinath Temple existed beneath the mosque. In February 2024, a group led by Hindu priest Hiranmoy Goswami entered the protected site and performed religious rituals after claiming to have found a Shivling inside the mosque. The incident led to protests from local Muslims, and the Archaeological Survey of India later filed a police complaint over the unauthorised activity.
The issue returned to public attention in October 2025 after Trinamool Congress MP Yusuf Pathan shared photographs describing the Adina Mosque as a fourteenth century Islamic monument. The West Bengal BJP responded by claiming that the site was originally the Adinath Temple.
On 5 December 2025, BJP Rajya Sabha MP and West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya raised the matter in Parliament. He alleged that the mosque had been built using materials from earlier Hindu and Buddhist structures and called for the protection of what he described as the Adinath Temple. He urged the Government of India and the Archaeological Survey of India to examine the issue.
More recently, BJP MLA Tarunjyoti Tewari repeated similar claims after visiting the site. He called for what he described as an impartial investigation into the monument’s history and said any conclusions should be based on evidence.
Former West Bengal BJP president Rahul Sinha also commented on the issue, comparing the dispute to the Babri Masjid Ram Janmabhoomi movement and claiming that the mosque had replaced a Hindu temple.
As tensions increased, Malda Police issued a public advisory reminding people that the Adina Mosque is protected under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958. The advisory stated that no religious rituals or unauthorised activities would be allowed within the protected premises and warned that legal action would be taken against anyone violating the law. Archaeological Survey of India officials also confirmed that religious activities would not be permitted inside the monument and said security had been strengthened.
The developments have drawn criticism from opposition leaders. CPI M state secretary and Politburo member Md Salim said the incident reflected what he described as a recurring strategy used by the BJP and the RSS. According to him, religious activities are introduced first, followed by conflict and social division.
For many Muslims, the latest campaign is viewed as part of a wider pattern in which Hindutva organisations seek to challenge the historical and religious identity of centuries old mosques through public campaigns, legal action and political mobilisation.
The proposed installation of the Shiva Lingam outside the Adina Mosque has therefore intensified debate over the protection of India’s Islamic heritage and the growing role of political and religious narratives in disputes surrounding historical monuments.