Penny for Your Prayers: Why Devotees Have Been Locked Out of Delhi’s Jami Masjid

Separated from the busy Ring Road by sparse lawns, the Feroz Shah Kotla fort is shrouded in stillness for most of the week. But not on Thursdays. With fumes rising from incense sticks in its nooks and corners on Thursday evenings, the fort is strewn with flowers and candles, snuck inside by weekly visitors, primarily Muslims from across Delhi, who take all necessary care to evade the scrutiny of the guards at the entry gates.

The tussle between faith and reason at Feroz Shah Kotla, laced with an air of mysticism, has found its due space in mainstream media coverage over the years. What remains largely overlooked in most of these exoticised accounts, however, is a slew of administrative changes plunging the structure in a gradual but steady decline.

Situated between the Arun Jaitly stadium (previously known as the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium), and the Ring Road, the fort complex was built under the reign of Sultan Feroz Shah Tughlaq in the 14th century. It consists of a Baoli (stepwell), an Ashoka-era stone pillar and a two storey building in which the higher level is Jami Masjid and the lower level have cells – the main attraction for tourists as well as devotees in the recent decades due to their association with Djinn saints.

Djinns are supernatural beings originating from Islamic mythology, believed to be created from smokeless fire. Anand Vivek Taneja in his book, Jinnealogy: Time, Islam, and Ecological Thought in the Medieval Ruins of Delhi, traces this connection to the Emergency period (1975-1977), when the site became a refuge for working class Muslims and Dalits. Due to this peculiar position, Feroz Shah Kotla has historically served as more than just a monument. 

In 2020, after a brief hiatus in the Thursday prayer offerings due to the pandemic, larger administrative changes and more restrictions followed. With COVID-19 restrictions being relaxed by July that year, most of the centrally protected monuments listed under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) were reopened. The visitors at Feroz Shah Kotla fort too returned but to the sight of locked cells, where they previously offered their respects. This move continues to affect the visitors who have now resorted to offering their prayers outside these iron grills.

Security personnels at the entry gate at Feroz Shah Kotla fort now carefully screen the contents of the visitors’ bags – a newly started practice, as per the locals. And yet, flowers and candles continue to adorn the gates of these cells, along with the arzis (handwritten requests to the divine for supplication) being tossed inside, waiting to be swept off the next morning. 

Responding to these allegations, Nandini Sahu Bhattacharya, joint director general at ASI, said “The cells have been shut due to unwarranted practices and the dirtying of the place. We have evidence to suggest that the cells were not being used for only going and offering prayers.”

The restoration project at Feroz Shah Kotla Fort, initiated by the ASI in May 2019, involved restoring the citadel of the mosque, repairing visible cracks on its façade, restoring pathways and introducing visitor amenities such as benches and a cafeteria. 

However, before the project was shelved indefinitely post-pandemic, the ASI only managed to restore the pyramidal edifice on which the ancient Ashokan column stands. 

“The conservation works, even those of the Ashokan pillar, which initiated, had to be stopped due to the uncalled for interference of hooligans and anti-social elements,” Bhattacharya alleged. 

Another facet of these developments post-Covid is the imposition of a Rs 25 ticket for the visitors, of which even the regular namazis visiting the Jami Masjid have not been exempted. The Jami Masjid, once hosting scores of men and women for Friday and Eid prayers, now sees just a handful of people who continue offering namaz here after buying tickets. 

“Imposing a fee effectively commercialises a sacred space. It creates a financial barrier for those wanting to pray. I used to go there with my family for religious purposes, like Eid prayers, but now I don’t. Not just me, I think people in general now avoid going to Feroz Shah Kotla for Eid prayers because of the hassle of entry fees and restrictions,” said 24-year-old Syed Abubakr, a student at Jamia Millia Islamia.

Author Rana Safvi explains how the fort stands not just as a religious site but also a space of socio-cultural significance for regular visitors. “The Jami Masjid of Feroz Shah Kotla has been functioning since the 14th century, along with a Madrasa (Arabic word for any type of educational institution). The regular visitors here primarily come from low-income groups and it will be very difficult for them to continue if a ticket is levied,” she said.

“With the cells being locked up, there is an attempt to dissuade people from going to the fort and even hampering the socio-cultural and spiritual significance it holds in their lives. ASI officials must consider this and allow people to retain these associations that form their very social fabric,” Safvi noted. 

In popular discourse, the site’s mystical associations have overshadowed the controversy surrounding the Kotla fort, which stems from claims that history is being suppressed for not aligning with the current nationalist narrative.

With the ASI facing accusations of being almost singularly concerned with rerouting history, the Jami Masjid at Feroz Shah Kotla too stands on frail ground, as visitors allege that their demands for exemption from the tickets for namaz have gone unheard.

On the condition of anonymity, a visitor who has been frequenting the Jami Masjid for almost four decades, said, “After Covid restrictions were relaxed, we were still not allowed entry inside the fort for namaz. When we protested, a small gathering of 10-15 people was permitted. At this point, however, the political environment does not allow us to speak up, so we have no option but to buy tickets and pray inside the masjid.” 

Bhattacharya says, “No such move has been lodged to stop the entry tickets and no such practice exists anywhere in the country. Once it is ticketed, it is ticketed until any gazette notification is issued to abolish tickets.”

Aam Aadmi Party MLA and former chairperson of Delhi Waqf Board Amanatullah Khan said, “As the chairman of Waqf, I had ensured that the authorities exempt regular visitors from the tickets. ASI officials must allow free entry for regular namazis.”

In a similar move, ASI stopped devotees from offering the namaz at the Mughal Masjid located inside the Qutub Minar complex in May 2022. The managing committee of the mosque, appointed by the Delhi Waqf Board, approached the high court. Responding to the petition, ASI stated that it’s their policy on protected monuments, claiming that no prayers were ever performed inside the mosque. This claim, however, was refuted by the managing committee.

Reflecting on a growing sense of alienation that most of the visitors feel, Abubakr adds, “It’s not that we don’t pay to visit other historical places. But just paying to pray creates a psychological barrier, making it feel as though Muslims are unwelcome in what was once an open space for worship.”

Small groups of men and women, often punctuated by solitary figures, is what now comprises the jamaat (gathering) at the Masjid every Friday. Once marked by huge gatherings, the Masjid now stands deserted.

Isha Kazmi and Nida Fatima are freelance journalists.