SINCE Narendra Modi’s Hindutva government came to power in India, Muslims have faced growing hostility, discriminatory laws and attacks on their religious and cultural heritage. The demolition of mosques and other Muslim sacred sites has become a disturbing feature of this campaign. Reports refer to more than 3,000 mosques, shrines and dargahs being targeted, while some estimates place the number of threatened Muslim religious sites far higher. The scale of these developments raises serious concerns about the future of religious freedom and India’s secular character.

The destruction of the Babri Masjid remains a defining episode in this decline. Following its demolition, Hindu extremists declared, “Ayodhya is only a glimpse; Kashi and Mathura still remain.” The Indian Supreme Court subsequently permitted the construction of a Ram temple on the site of the historic mosque, a decision widely criticised by Muslims as a grave injustice. Modi laid the temple’s foundation stone, reinforcing concerns that Hindutva ideology was displacing the principles of secularism and equal citizenship.

The campaign has intensified under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), particularly in Uttar Pradesh, governed by Yogi Adityanath. In September 2026, reports emerged of the demolition of a century-old mosque in Saharanpur district, prompting Pakistan’s Foreign Office to protest and urge the international community to take notice of the targeting of Muslim places of worship. From occupied Kashmir to other parts of India, demolitions of mosques, madrasas, dargahs and shrines have fuelled fears that Muslim heritage is being........

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