Mathura controversy: Katra Keshav Dev in Mathura is believed to be the birth place of Shri Krishna. The Hindu side claims that the Shahi Masjid was built by demolishing the temple, so there should be a temple, not a mosque, this is the root of the whole controversy.
Know about the history of Mathura
The Hindu side claims that the Shahi Masjid was built by demolishing the temple, so there should be a temple, not a mosque, this is the root of the whole controversy. The history of Mathura says Muslim invasion Mahmud Ghaznavi attacked Mathura in 1017. Ghaznavi did this attack not for 1 day or 2 days but for 21 days and looted Mathura. This incident is also mentioned by the Iranian historian in his book Tarikh Yamini, in which the historian has told that there were thousands of houses on both ends of the city whose temples were connected to each other.
There used to be a huge temple in the middle of the city, which cannot be described and cannot be compared to the temples located on both the corners of the city. That temple was so huge that if someone wants to build a building equal to it, even after a huge amount of spending such temple could not be build.
Historians write in the book that even if such a temple was so grand that even the most experienced and skilled craftsmen were engaged in its construction, even then such a building could not be built in 200 years. The idols of the temple were also very large and grand. Five of the idols of the temple were made of red gold and were 15 feet high and the idols were in the air without any base.
The second idol of the temple had sapphire, which was clearer than water and brighter than crystal, these idols were so big and heavy that their weight could not be measured without breaking them. Mughal ruler Ghaznavi ordered that temples should be burnt and their land levelled, all these things have been written in the book of historian who lectured about the temple of Mathura and the grand idols of the temple of that time.
About 100 years after the destruction of Mahmud Ghaznavi's temple, the temple was rebuilt at the birthplace of Krishna in about 1150, but again the temple was demolished again under the rule of Mughal rulers Qutubuddin Aibak and Firoz Tughlaq, then this temple was under the rule of Sikandar Lodi.
This grand temple of Mathura was demolished again between 1489 and 1517 under the rule of Sikandar Lodi, the process of demolition of the temple continued.
Abdullah, a historian of the time of the Mughal emperor Jahangir, has told about the cruelty of Sikandar Lodi in his book, Abdullah writes about Sikandar Lodi in his book. This ruler was such a jealous Muslim that he destroyed many places of worship. He completely destroyed the temples of Mathura. He converted the main temples into inns and gave the idols to the butchers which he could use to measure the mass of the meat. Alexander hated the traditions of Hinduism so much that he banned all the Hindus of Mathura that they could not get their head and beard done.
After a time, only the Krishna temple remained at the place of Krishna's birth. This temple was made so grand that it was also called the Wonder of Ages in the books of that time.
Aurangzeb banned the celebration of Holi and Diwali in 1665. and later banned the funeral of Hindus at Yamuna Ghats.
In 1666, Aurangzeb also gave a decree to remove the stone grills from Keshav temples, he also gave a decree to leave the temple school in 1669.
A historian told in his book that Aurangzeb sent all the small and big idols of Mathura in which precious diamonds were attached to Agra and buried them under the steps of a mosque in Agra and then Aurangzeb also ordered to change the name of Mathura to Islamabad.
In 1862, the engineer of the British Army wrote that there is no doubt at this place there was a huge temple of Lord Shri Krishna, which was broken many times and built many times.
The stones that were used to make the sides of the mosque show that the temple was erected here in 1663. The stones used inside the mosque were Hindu artifacts written in Devanagari script. After the rule of the British after the Mughals. The issue of the temple became a legal dispute In 1815. Katra Keshav Dev Devaki Land was bid by the East India Company which was bought by Raja Patnimal of Banaras.
But Raja Patnimal could not get the temple built and kept fighting the legal battle with the Muslims. In 1944, Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya planned to acquire the land, after which Kishore Birla formed the trust which was transferred the ownership of the land and after that at the birth place of Krishna. There is also this dispute over the built Krishna temple that the department also owns the ownership of 13.37 acres of land, out of which about 11 acres is near the birth place of Shri Krishna and about two and a half acres is with the Shahi Idgah.
Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust was formed in 1951 and a grand temple in Mathura would be built and would manage the trust and meanwhile in 1958 Shri Krishna Janma Sansthan Sewa Sanstha was formed, but did not have the legal right of the land but started playing a role for it.
This institution filed a case in 1964 for the ownership of the land and in the meantime, in 1968, also made an agreement with the Muslim side.
And in the 1968 agreement, the Muslim side left some land for the temple and the Muslim side was given some nearby land in return, but some questions are being raised on the 1968 deal.
In this case it is being said that Katra Keshav Dev has the entire property and the ownership rights cannot be given to Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan, so the 1968 deal is illegal. and Kansa's karagar is below the Shahi Idgah and The birth place of Lord Shri Krishna is sacred to Hindus, so the entire 13.37 acres of land should be given to Hindus and the Shahi Idgah should be removed from there.
It is claimed that the Shahi Idgah was built on the land of the Sabha Mandap of the ancient Krishna temple, but the 'garbh griha' was somehow saved. It is also said that this is the place where Kansa was once jailed. There used to be a pavilion of stone and an underground jail was built at this place in which Shri Krishna was born, right next to it was the temple of Jogmaya.