Uttar Pradesh: and now a Kalki Dham in Sambhal – at what cost?

For five months, has been in the news and its Muslim residents on edge. On 26 March, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath claimed that as many as 54 Hindu ‘pilgrimage sites’ had been discovered in this town 150 km from Delhi.

It’s clear why he’s getting his rocks off. With Kashi, Ayodhya and Mathura having paved the way to ‘promoting Hindu culture’ (read: ), can Sambhal be far behind?

On 19 February 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation of a Kalki temple in Sambhal. On 24 November 2024, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad petitioned a local court to stake legal claim to the site, alleging that the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal was built on the ruins of an existing temple, demolished on the orders of Mughal emperor Babur in 1526.

The same day, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which has for decades been entrusted with the maintenance of the mosque, to conduct a fresh survey to verify the claim. The ASI rushed a team to the mosque the same evening, and that led to clashes and police firing.

Historian Dr Ruchika Sharma, scoffs at supported by ‘Hindu historians’, citing inscriptions to debunk their theory. “If we keep digging, we may end up discovering Buddhist and Jain shrines, and below them neolithic huts!” she exclaims. “What use does this serve? How many layers down are you going to go?”

Continued excavations (even in contravention of court orders) and demolitions, massive police presence and the relentless harassment of Muslim residents have kept the communal cauldron simmering in Sambhal.

Shahi Jama Masjid, Sambhal

Ahead of Holi this year, warned Muslims to stay indoors. Ahead of Eid, (which fell on 31 March), the police announced that Muslims would not be allowed to offer namaz on the roads or even on . Drones were deployed to monitor if anyone was breaking this diktat. Public outcry led to lame excuses about traffic control and prevention of accidents. The RSS went on a ‘route march’ or path sanchalan under police protection.

This offensive vigilance wasn’t restricted to Sambhal. In Meerut, a police officer declared that Muslims found praying on the roads would have their passports and driving licences revoked. Even as social media erupted in protest, the Muslims of Meerut offered namaz on the roads.

Posters with pictures of Holi, Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Ram Navami, Shivaratri and the almost month-long Kanwar Yatra revealed the truth of their slogan: ‘Sadakon par keval Muslims namaz nahin padhte hain (Muslims are not the only ones to offer prayers on the roads)'.

The exemplary restraint shown by Muslims averted grim showdowns. The Muslims of Sambhal suggested that the administration might like to honour the faithful on Eid by showering flower petals on them as had been done by the UP police on . A graceful gesture that would have earned the chief minister goodwill and helped defuse the tension. This request was — no surprises there — pointedly refused.

It is unclear if the proposed Kalki temple — dedicated to the tenth and final incarnation of Lord Vishnu — will end the dark, degenerate, corrupt and chaotic kalyug or inflame it. “Ever since Modi visited Kalki Dham, Sambhal has experienced one miracle after another!” gushed Pramod Krishnam, who jumped from the Congress to the BJP and now heads the Kalki Dham project. “New findings are emerging, and it feels as if the incarnation of God is imminent.”

Government officials shower rose petals on kanwariyas in Ghaziabad, August 2024

The overdrive of Hindu zealots and Yogi’s publicly stated ambition to turn Sambhal into another “prominent centre of Hindu religion and culture” is no doubt driven more by electoral considerations than spiritual ones. The BJP swept western UP in the 2014 general election riding on the back of the .

It also swept the general election in 2019, capitalising on the and the air strike on Pakistan in Balakot. In the 2022 assembly election, the BJP won 85 of 126 seats, down from 100 in 2017. In the 2024 general election, however, the BJP suffered a setback, winning 33 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The campaign was not focused on Hindu–Muslim hostilities or India–Pakistan rivalries.

It might have come as a shock to the BJP that even the consecration of the did not enthuse voters as much as they might have imagined. On the contrary, voters were heard saying, “Bahut ho gaya Hindu–Muslim, rehna toh saath mein hai (enough of Hindu-Muslim issues, ultimately, we all have to co-exist).”

The flashpoints across western UP and the BJP’s aggressive push in the region since its reverses in 2024 seem to be part of a broader strategy for the 2027 assembly election in the state. An attempt at ‘course correction’ was reflected in its tie-up with the RLD (Rashtriya Lok Dal). It wrested the assembly seat of Kundarki (some 30 km from Sambhal) from the Samajwadi Party in the byelections held in November 2024.

While the spilt in the Muslim vote — with the BJP’s Hindu candidate pitted against 11 Muslim candidates including the sitting SP legislator — contributed to the win, the party also invested resources to ensure the victory.

Sambhal itself has long been a stronghold of the Samajwadi Party and the BSP (Bahujan Samajwadi Party). In the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, SP leader Shafiqur Rahman Barq and his grandson Zia ur Rahman Barq retained the seat. Similarly, in the 2022 state elections, the SP’s Iqbal Mehmood had managed to hold onto his assembly constituency despite the BJP’s strong statewide performance. While both the SP and the BSP draw support from Muslims and Dalits, the BJP is focusing on creating a that transcends caste divisions.

SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav served as Sambhal’s MP in 1998 and 1999, followed by his cousin Ram Gopal Yadav in 2004. Shafiqur Rahman Barq continued this legacy, winning in 2009 and 2019. In 2014, the BJP made a breakthrough when Satyapal Singh Saini won the seat.

Since then, the party has been making calculated moves to consolidate its position. Faced with the BJP’s openly polarising religious tactics, the opposition appears to have been caught on the wrong foot. They are evidently wary of engaging in debates on religion, fearing it might alienate sections of their voter base. This reticence has, sadly, allowed the BJP to control the narrative unchallenged.