Hindu extremist group's controversial calendar refers to Makkah, Taj Mahal as temples

NEW DELHI - Amid rising attacks on minority Muslims by vigilantes in India, a Hindu extremist group released a controversial Hindu New Year calendar, claiming that several mosques, the holy site of Makkah and Mughal era's monuments are Hindu temples.

The calendar, issued by Hindu Mahasabha Aligarh on Sunday, calls Makkah the Macceshwar Mahadev temple, besides referring to  Taj Mahal as ‘Tejo Mahalaya temple’.

Fanning a new controversy, the calendar says the Kamal Maula Mosque in Madhya Pradesh has been called ‘Bhojshala’ and Gyanvapi Mosque in Kashi has been referred to as ‘Vishwanath temple,’ reported The Time of India.

It further termed the demolished Babri Masjid in Ayodhya as ‘Ram Janam Bhoomi’, Qutub Minar as ‘Vishnu Stambh’ and Atala mosque in Jaunpur as ‘Atla devi temple’.

Hindu Mahasabha national secretary Pooja Shakun Pandey, while speaking to The Times of India, said that the organisation has pledged to make this India a Hindu Rashtra. She hoped that the government will accept their demand and declare the country a Hindu nation.

She claimed that Muslims occupied several Hindu sites, which now will be restored to their original names.

Meanwhile, Imam-e-Eidgah Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahli, who belongs to All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), has rejected all these claims as baseless. He said that dubbing the holy site of Makkah a Hindu temple is against the spirit of secularism.

Former MLA from Aligarh, Zamirullaha Khan said such attempts were being made to divide the society. He accused PM Narendra Modi-led government of these attempts. He said that the incumbent government believes in the policy of dived and rule.