800-year-old mosque illegally usurped in Patan: Dawoodi Bohra community await justice

An 800-year-old historic mosque, belonging to the Dawoodi Bohra community’s heritage in Patan, Gujarat, has been illegally occupied, with no justice delivered even after eight years of continuous legal struggle, claimed community member Husain Sikasarwala, a resident of Ahmedabad.

The mosque, located near the Saraswati River in Anawada village, along with an adjoining cemetery and about 25 bighas of land, is part of the revered Malai Yakub Saheb Dargah.

Despite allegations of land grabbing and document tampering, government authorities including Patan Police, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, and the CID Crime Branch have allegedly failed to deliver justice to the community, claims Sikasarwala.

After the 1952 land reform laws, the land was illicitly seized by six members of the same family:

Faruki Jalaluddin Fakhruddin

Faruki Qutubuddin Fakhruddin

Faruki Ashrafuddin Fakhruddin

Faruki Jamaluddin Fakhruddin

Faruki Chhotibi Fakhruddin

Faruki Muniruddin Fakhruddin

Husain has filed complaints across multiple forums including Patan district offices, Gandhinagar CID Crime, and the police, yet the silence from authorities continues.

Recently, even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a meeting with Dawoodi Bohra community leaders, acknowledged the issue and referred to the illegal encroachment of the Patan Dargah. Despite this high-level attention, no effective government intervention has taken place.

Husain, has also set up a separate Waqf Board, to fight for the restoration of this historic religious site, has urged immediate government action to protect a symbol of spiritual and cultural identity.