India’s Ujjain tense as mosque partially demolished for Hindu pilgrimage

What the report says

Tensions have risen in Ujjain, in India’s Madhya Pradesh state, after the Shahi Mosque was partially taken down to make way for a road-widening project linked to the Simhastha Kumbh Mela, a major Hindu pilgrimage scheduled for 2028. According to Al Jazeera, Muslim residents had been protesting outside the mosque for days, fearing a full demolition after local officials ordered that part of the structure be removed.

The report says the Ujjain Municipal Corporation issued notice to the mosque about two months earlier, and the dispute escalated after a local court dismissed a petition seeking to halt the work. Mosque representatives negotiated with district authorities and say they reduced the amount of space to be removed from more than seven feet to about three feet. When bulldozers arrived and the area was sealed off, members of the mosque committee chose to begin dismantling part of the structure themselves rather than risk a broader demolition.

Witnesses described clashes as police used tear gas and batons to disperse protesters; local media reported injuries and arrests. On Tuesday, part of the mosque’s minaret was also removed, while the surrounding area remained under heavy security. The episode fits into a broader, highly contested pattern in India, where Muslim groups and critics have accused authorities in BJP-governed states of targeting Muslim religious sites in the name of redevelopment or heritage claims.