The love story of King Baz Bahadur and Rani Roopmati: Mandu, Dhar and Bhojshala-Part 2

Thousands of Hindu Jagran Manch [HJM] activists battled with police and tried to stop Namazis from entering the Kamal Maula Mosque in Dhar in Western MP.

Seeing the images on television, one could not help but wonder about the era of Rani Roopmati.

In those days, there was much more tolerance. Roopmati was a devout Hindu woman.

She had taken a vow of not having her breakfast until she had a 'darshan' of Narmada river considered sacred among the Hindu populace like Ganga and Yamuna in UP.

King Baz Bahadur, who ruled Malwa in those days, built the Roopmati palace on the hill to facilitate the 'darshan'. The river is so far that it is almost impossible to see it but the architects took great pains and raised a gem of palace here.

Sitting atop the pavilion on this palace, early in the morning one gets a glimpse of the silvery hair like Narmada when the first of the rays of sun fall in the morning. The reflection of the sun on the faraway Narmada gives the impression of a silvery hair far in the Vindhya ranges.

That was for Roopmati. On my visit to Mandu as a young boy almost a decade ago I was captivated at the sight. Baaz Bahadur hardly cared about his throne. The Mughals finished this sultanate and he fled to Rajputana [now Rajasthan]. Roopmati is said to have killed self.

And yes the tomb of Hoshang Shah. It is a mystery no one could solve. Throught out the year a drop of water falls on the mazaar every day in the afternoon. It is understood that during rains the water gets stored somewhere in the top of the tomb.

Through some marvellous architecture [and science] this water does not either evaporate or go dry and keeps falling drop by drop through out the year until the summer. Meanwhile, as far as what happened in Dhar today.

Nearly 13 Muslims were taken under heavy security inside the mosque and prayers were held amid stone pelting. Earlier the police lobbed tear gas shells, forced the Hindu activists out, resorted to cane charge and somehow the day passed until the next Juma will coincide with puja. Then, there may be tension once again.

Communal violence in Dhar: Saffron influence in Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh

Once again communal violence erupted in Dhar, a historic city in Central India. The violence claimed the lives of two persons.

For the last decade or so, this town has become a virtual potboiler and the law-and-order situation has gone from bad to worse recently.

The failure of administration to control the riot doesn't come as a surprise striking because it seems to have become the norm in Dhar, which was once the capital of Sultans of Malwa.

The Saffron groups have done their best to turn this peaceful place into the Ayodhya of Madhya Pradesh. After Jhabua, Dhar is another laboratory for the right-wing groups. The fact that Malwa has considerable Muslim population, minor incidents often get communal turn.

Among the sensitive districts of the state are Indore, Shajapur, Burhanpur, Dhar, Ratlam, Neemuch, Shajapur, Dewas, Mandsore and Rajgarh--almost all are in Malwa region. All these districts have more percentage of Muslims that the statewide population percent of Muslims which is just 6.5%.

More importantly there are towns in Malwa that have a large concentration of Muslims. Sarangpur, Shujalpur, Sarangarh, Mahidpur and Mhow to name just a few. Over the years, the shadowy right-wing groups have gained from strength to strength in this region.

The proximity to Gujarat and the large trader community here are other aspects and causes that lead to growing communalism. Unfortunately the police has not been fair and this has increased the mistrust among Muslims regarding the administration.

In Malwa region, there were several princely states in the past. The Maratha ruled Holkar State, Muslim-ruled Jaora State, Dewas Junior and Dewas Senior states were part of it. The Gwalior state also extended up to this region, earlier. Khandwa, Khargone and Burhanpur are also districts that are close to Indore [Malwa] and almost considered part of region, now.