BIJAMANDAL TEMPLE

Bijamandal temple was built in 11th century A.D and it was demolished in 1682 A.D during the reign of Mughal king Aurangzeb and a mosque was erected at the same site using the material of the temple. And due to this reason only it is a controversial site.From an inscription carved on one of the pillars of the original temple it is evident that the temple is devoted to goddess Charchika, Vijaya is another name of this goddess after whom the temple is called Vijayamandir. And the same inscription also recorded the name of Parmara king Naravarman. This mosque is the center of attraction for the Muslims, the Muslim clerics called it as Alamgiri Masjid whereas it is locally known as Bijamandal Masjid. Excavation conducted on the site by the Archaeological Survey of India(ASI) in the year 1971-1972 bought in to light many facts which shows the in humanity of Aurangzeb and the condition of secularism in India.Though it had been known fof a long time that Bijamandal is a tepmle and the mosque is built on it then also, Namaz at E-id time continues up to 1965, thereafter the chief minister of M.P banned Muslim worship in what was a protected ASI monument.The ASI was doing well and it had cleared many facts but then also the excavation work was stopped by the congress government in 1993. The Bijay Mandir is a very important archaeological site and therefore its a shameful act of the government that they are not starting the excavation work even on the demand of the localites here.