No, the mosque in Prayagraj was not demolished for hoisting Pakistan Flag.
The 16th century "Shahi Masjid" mosque found to encroaching the Government land by the Allahabad High Court.
Rating
Claim
Saidabad, Prayagraj (UP) hoisted the flag of Pakistan on the mosque, demolished the entire mosque…
If Yogi is there then it is possible 🙏
Explanation
A mosque in Saidabad, Prayagraj was demolished using bulldozers and several BJP supporters are claiming that the mosque was demolished by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adithyanath’s administration because the mosque had a Pakistan flag in them. Several BJP supporters and social media users made similar claims. Some of those can be seen here, here, here, here, and here.
What’s the truth?
In our keyword search, we found that the mosque was demolished on 9th January 2023. The “Shahi Masjid” was built during the Sher Shah Suri’s rule from 1537 to 1545 AD. The historic monument was decided to be demolished by the state administration for widening the Grand Trunk road. A writ petition was filed before the Allahabad High Court and it was dismissed on August 2022. This was widely reported in many news sites, see here, here, and here.
The High Court also clarified that the title of the land can be decided by the civil court. According to a news report from “Dainik Bhaskar”, the case for the title of the land was still ongoing when the mosque was demolished by the Public Works Department of the state with Police protection. Be that as it may, the mosque was not demolished by the Yogi administration because a Pakistani flag was raised on the mosque.
The generic islamic flag above the mosque is misunderstood to be the Pakistan flag as both have many common features such as the crescent moon, the star and the colour of the flag. But there’s an obvious difference which some conveniently do not notice to spread misinformation.
Similar misinformation that Pakistan flag being used in India have been spread earlier too.
Read more:
- Did Bharat Jodo Yatris hold Pakistan flag during the march?
- The Muslim League flag in the DMK campaign is rumored to be the Pakistan flag!
Conclusion
In our search, we found that the Shahi Masjid in Saidabad, Prayagraj was not demolished because a Pakistani flag was hoisted on the mosque. The mosque was demolished for a widening of the Grand Trunk Road and it was found by the Allahabad High Court that the mosque was an encroachment of the Government land.
