Kot Garvi in Sambhal, a Muslim-majority city in western Uttar Pradesh, is eerily quiet. Eid is around the corner but there is little sign of the all-night preparations or public festivities.
Ayesha Bano, a 45-year-old widow, clutches a photo of her son Naeem, killed in the clashes. “He went to see what was happening at the masjid,” she said. “The police deny shooting, but I saw the hole in his chest.” In neighbourhoods such as Hindpura and Nakhasa, such stories echo. Mohammad Shoaib, 28, mourns his brother Bilal. “They fired on us. Now they call us rioters. Eid feels like a funeral.”
Nearly four months after the violent clashes of November 24, 2024, sparked by a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid over claims that it was built atop a Hindu temple, the city’s scars are yet to heal. The memory of the five dead men lingers, drowning the festive spirit in grief, fear, and uncertainty. Barricades and patrols dominate the city, amplifying the tension as families grapple with loss and legal battles. Police say they have detained 80 people and are looking for 400 others, alleging that they were involved in pelting stones, arson and attacking security personnel.
Sambhal police chief Krishna Kumar Bishnoi, said the situation is under control.
“Chargesheets have been filed in six out of 12 cases. Others are being compiled on the basis of evidence. We’re assuring everyone that no action will be taken against the innocent,” he said.
But the tensions have cast a shadow on festivities. Across the city, nearly 1,000 homes have been abandoned. Muslims, who form over 75% of Sambhal’s population, say they don’t feel like celebrating what used to be the biggest festival in town.
Days before Eid, which falls on March 31, the office of the vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s local unit, Rajesh Singhal, is buzzing. In the Hindu majority Kot Purvi locality, party workers are gathering for the 24 Kosi Parikrama, which is organised on the first Sunday of the month and covers 68 deities.
This event, comprising 15,000 people, began on Diwali, and is the brightest sign of the party’s expanding footprint in the communally sensitive region where a mix of administrative tactics and legal proceedings has ratcheted up tensions over the last four months. The reason – at the heart of the route is the Hari Hara Temple, which Hindu groups claim was demolished and encroached upon by the Shahi Jama Masjid.
“According to Hindu religious texts, Sambhal was one of the holiest spots for Hindus with 68 temples and 19 holy wells. Earlier, the Muslim community objected to the parikrama. Now with the assistance of the state government, the parikrama is being organised with fervour and zeal,” Singhal said.
He is candid that the parikrama is drumming up public support for the Hindu side.
Inflection point
Tensions first flared up in the town last November after the death of five people during a controversial court-ordered survey of the Masjid on a case where Hindu groups claimed worshipping rights over the Islamic structure and alleged that it was built after demolishing a temple. For weeks, there was curfew in the city. After the Supreme Court suspended all proceedings in the case on November 29, 2024, it seemed tensions would ease.
But the city has been on a simmer. On December 14, 2024, the government organised an anti-encroachment drive and said it uncovered Hanuman and Shiva temples. On December 15, it threw open the two temples. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath hailed the event, and said the temples represent “our enduring heritage and the truth of our history.”
Around the same time, the discovery and cleaning of a 150-year-old step well in the vicinity of the Banke Bihar temple sparked another controversy. Some Hindu groups claimed the step well was a part of temple and that it was destroyed and replaced with a mosque.The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is now studying the step well and the area around it.
Mahesh Sharma, the priest of the old Kalki Dham temple, around 500 yards from the Shahi Jama Masjid, says that the state government released funds for the construction of the boundary wall around the temple and other renovation.
“I wrote a letter to the chief minister, requesting that the old temple be renovated. On his directions, the district administration conducted a survey of the temple complex and released funds for construction works,” he said.
The whitewashing of the mosque ahead of Eid and the recent arrest of Zafar Ali, president of the Shahi Jama Masjid committee, for obstructing the survey and inciting unrest, have stretched the communal fabric. “He was our voice,” said tailor Mohammad Aslam. “They want us to be silent before Eid.”
Hindu mobilisation
Core to the Hindu side’s mobilisation is the belief that the town is believed to be the future birthplace of Kalki, the 10th and final avatar of Lord Vishnu. According to Hindu scriptures, Kalki will appear in the village of Shambhala to restore righteousness. Hindu religious leaders say they hope the courts will pave the way for the construction of a temple, an outcome similar to the culmination of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute.
“Just like Ayodhya in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Sambhal has all the ingredients of Hindu mobilisation in western Uttar Pradesh. There is a mosque that we claim was a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. There is an invader element as well – Babur who ordered the destruction of the temple,” said trader Anil Gupta, a member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
But there is also a more contemporary reason. Sambhal, where three-fourths of the population is Muslim, gives a chance to the BJP to brand itself as the saviour of Hindus in a region where they’re a numerical minority. A clutch of riots in 1976 and 1978have only helped.
A BJP leader who asked not to be named said, “The party has planned to mobilise the Hindu community to reclaim religious structures and spots in Sambhal. The renovation of the old temples will be carried out and regular pilgrimages will be organised to instil confidence among the Hindu community.”
This narrative has fuelled mobilisation – 200,000 new members have joined the BJP in Sambhal district under a three-month membership drive, said district chief Harendra Singh.
“Earlier, the Hindu community was harassed in Sambhal;under the SP and BSP government no action was taken against the anti-social elements. Now the administration is in action mode to maintain law and order,” Singh said.
Volunteers often cite the state government’s decision in January to reopen the cases related to the 1978 riots, where, according to Adityanath, 184 Hindus were killed, their houses and shops seized.
Politics and division
Sambhal sits at the heart of the Rohilkhand region of western UP, where a large Muslim population has posed problems for the BJP since the 2022 assembly elections. In 2022, the party won just one of four seats in Sambhal district and in 2024, the party lost the Sambhal and Moradabad seats by more than 100,000 votes each. The BJP has not won the Sambhal assembly seat since 1993, at the height of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
Local leaders now feel the Masjid- Mandir template in the heart of a Muslim-majority region can pave the way for the Hindu mobilisation in western UP ahead of the 2027 assembly polls.
“We are confident to counter the PDA [pichda-Dalit-alpsankhyak] formula of the SP in the 2027 elections. The victory in the recent assembly bypoll has added to the confidence of our cadre. The Hindutva and nationalism combo will help the BJP,” said Harendra Singh.
Key to this strategy are institutions such as the Kaila Devi temple, located 22km from Sambhal. Maa Kaila Devi is considered the local deity of the Yadav community, otherwise considered the core base of the SP. The chief priest of the temple, Rishiraj Giri, has shifted his allegiance from the SP to the BJP in 2021.
Giri, one of the main petitioners in the case against the mosque, said he is mobilising the OBCs and Dalits for the temple fight. “SP leaders organised panchayats to oppose my decision but a majority of the villagers are in my support,” he said. The CM has visited the temple twice in four years.
Saeed Akhtar, the district unit secretary of the SP, said the BJP was working to expand its base riding on the temple agenda. “The SP is relying on the tested PDA formula to counter the BJP… by raising the temple issue, the BJP is trying to polarise people,” he said.
The two poles
Ahead of Eid, the town is sharply divided. Tensions that flared up again on Holi have still not subsided. Some Hindus say they lived in fear as a minority for many years and laud the administration’s muscular stance, exemplified by circle officer Anuj Chaudhary’s controversial comments.
“Friday prayers happen 52 times a year, while Holi comes only once. If anyone feels that Holi colours might affect their religious beliefs, they should not come out of their homes on that day. Those who step out should have a broad mindset, as festivals are meant to be celebrated together,” he said.
“Just as Muslims eagerly await Eid, Hindus look forward to Holi. The essence of both festivals is togetherness and mutual respect,” Chaudhary added.
“The Hindu community has been living under terror in Sambhal and a large number of them migrated to neighbouring districts. Along with leading the fight for the reclamation of the temple, the BJP government will have to instil confidence among the people,” said Chaudhary Mahipal Singh, a resident.
In the Muslim neighbourhoods, a cloud of silence shrouds the festivities. Naseema Begum said her son Asif, 19, was arrested for alleged stone-pelting. “He was just watching,” she said. “How will we face Eid without him?”
Police have conducted at least eight flag marches since November, and the tensions have hurt commerce, livelihoods and everyday life. “We used to sew clothes, make sweets on Eid,” said Rubina Khatoon, a local resident, “Now we just pray for peace.”