Hindu groups install Shiva Lingam at West Bengal's Adina Mosque, seek court ruling

On July 27, Hindu activists installed a 3.6‑foot, 1.5‑tonne Shiva Lingam at the Adinath Puratan Shiv Mandir adjoining the 14th‑century Adina Mosque in West Bengal’s Malda district. The installation was carried out under heavy police presence and aerial surveillance, but no religious rites were performed inside the protected monument.

Organisers, led by Kajal Goswami – chief patron of the Shiv temple and convenor of the BJP’s Good Governance Wing in North Bengal – claim the mosque was built on the site of an ancient Adinath temple. They say Hindu and Buddhist sculptural fragments within the structure support this view. The group announced plans to approach the Calcutta High Court for a fresh Archaeological Survey of India report and legal recognition of the site as a temple, hoping eventually to consecrate the lingam inside the mosque complex.

Local Muslim representatives reject the claims, arguing the monument has always been a mosque and warning that the dispute could inflame communal tensions.