Hindu preacher calls for Babri-style demolition of UP’s Shahi Eidgah Mosque

India: A Hindu extremist preacher has called for the demolition of the historic Shahi Eidgah Mosque in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura district, urging supporters to replicate the movement that culminated in the destruction of the Babri Mosque in 1992, raising fresh concerns over growing anti-Muslim rhetoric and threats to Islamic religious sites in India.

The remarks were made by Swami Satchidanand, head of Shri Chitragupt Peeth in Vrindavan, UP, in a video widely circulated on social media.

Addressing supporters, Satchidanand claimed that the Shahi Eidgah Mosque stands on the birthplace of the Hindu deity Krishna and asserted that the time had come to stop relying on the courts and instead launch a mass movement to “reclaim” the site, similar to the campaign that led to the demolition of the Babri Mosque.