The bigotry of the mosque committee and the wrong politics of the Jamiat over the relocation of the mosque inside Kolkata Airport.
The 136-year-old Bankra Mosque (also known as ‘Gouripur Jame Masjid’), located inside the runway area of Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (Dum Dum Airport), has long been at the center of discussion and controversy.
The recent decision by the West Bengal State BJP government to forcefully halt prayers at this mosque without consulting the mosque committee—under the pretext of flight safety, runway expansion, and modernization—has sparked resistance. Meanwhile, the mosque committee, the State Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, and several other Muslim religious organizations are campaigning to keep the mosque operational. This has triggered an unwanted political controversy in the state. The issues surrounding this mosque are not a sudden development, but have instead intensified alongside the gradual expansion of the airport.
In this article, we will discuss in detail the history of the mosque, the tenures of various governments, and examples from other countries around the world.
The history of the mosque and the beginning and crisis of the airport.
The most important fact is that the mosque was built long before the airport was established; it is neither an illegal encroachment nor a later construction.
According to local history and records, the mosque was built around 1890 (approximately 136 years ago) in undivided Bengal, funded by local villagers. In the 1890s, the site of today’s modern airport was merely an ordinary village, and this mosque was erected for the worship of its local Muslim residents. At that time, people from surrounding regions—including present-day Satkhira in Bangladesh—also came here to offer prayers.
Decades after the mosque was built, the British established the ‘Dum Dum Aerodrome’ (Calcutta Aerodrome) at this location in 1924. As Kolkata developed into one of India’s major commercial hubs in the 1950s, the need arose to expand the airport’s capacity. Consequently, in the 1960s, the decision was made to build a new (second) runway on the western side of the airport. For this expansion, the villages on the northern and western edges were cleared, and the residents were relocated to areas like Madhyamgram and Michael Nagar.
Although the villagers agreed to vacate their land, they laid down a condition: their century-old, traditional village mosque must not be demolished or relocated. Respecting their sentiments, the government of the day left the mosque intact. As a result, while the entire village was cleared, the mosque remained trapped inside the airport’s airside boundary zone.
The crisis intensified when efforts were made to make the second runway fully operational. According to international aviation regulations, any permanent structure must be located at least 240 meters away from the runway centerline. However, this mosque stands just 165 meters from the northern end of the second runway.
Kolkata’s primary runway is equipped with an advanced CAT III-B Instrument Landing System (ILS), enabling aircraft to land even in dense fog. In contrast, installing this technology on the second runway remains impossible solely due to the location of the mosque. Consequently, during winter or foggy days, the operational efficiency of this runway is severely hampered, preventing wide-body international aircraft from landing there.
Role of the state government.
During the tenure of the Left Front government, when the modernization of the airport gained momentum, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) appealed to the state government to relocate this mosque. In 2002–03, discussions were held with Union Minister Shahnawaz Hussain to attempt a resolution by diverting the runway, but the mosque was not moved. The Left Front government—led initially by Jyoti Basu and later by Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee—adopted a policy of extreme caution and compromise to avoid any social or communal tension. Keeping the law and order situation in mind, a special security arrangement was introduced through the mediation of the Left Front administration. Under this setup, local permanent residents were issued special photo identity passes, allowing them to enter the runway zone under strict security through Gate No. 8 of the airport to perform their daily prayers at the mosque.
After the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government came to power in 2011 under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee, administrative pressure grew to make the airport’s second runway fully compliant with international standards. The TMC government maintained a clear policy that no religious site would be removed forcefully or by hurting people’s religious sentiments; any action had to be based on discussion and consensus. Multiple high-level meetings took place between the district administration and airport authorities in the presence of senior TMC MPs and local representatives. During these talks, the state government made it clear that if the mosque had to be relocated in the interest of aviation safety, it could only happen with the full consent of the mosque committee and the Waqf Board, along with guaranteed equivalent alternative land and full government funding for constructing a new mosque.
However, despite repeated requests from the airport authorities, unfortunately, no concrete initiative was taken to relocate the mosque during the tenure of either previous government. The opposition from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and the mosque committee was the primary reason.
Since the Bankra Mosque Committee refused to relocate despite repeated requests under the previous two administrations, the BJP government—upon coming to power in the state under the leadership of Suvendu Adhikari—suspended prayers at the mosque directly without pursuing negotiation. From the government’s side, a proposal has been offered to relocate the mosque to a suitable alternative site outside the airport boundary at full government expense. Experts believe this would make the secondary runway fully operational, which could boost the airport’s capacity for another 10 years. Although the mosque committee and several organizations continue to oppose the move, the government is prioritizing national security.
Many in the Muslim community believe that, demolishing or relocating a mosque is contrary to Islamic principles, making them resolute in their determination to protect the Bankra Mosque by any means. However, questions are also being raised about how reasonable this perspective is.
Islamic Sharia Rulings and Global Precedents.
Looking at history, during the reign of the second Caliph of Islam, Umar ibn al-Khattab (R.A.), the primary mosque of Kufa was relocated to a different site for a specific reason. In Islamic history, this is considered one of the earliest examples of relocating a mosque for the greater public good. Additionally, during the reign of Caliph Uthman (R.A.), properties and homes of the Prophet’s companions were acquired at fair market value to expand the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (the Prophet’s Mosque).
The renowned Hanbali scholar Imam Ibn Qudamah noted in his acclaimed jurisprudence text Al-Mughni (Vol. 5, p. 368) that if a mosque no longer serves the public interest or causes severe hardship to human passage/traffic, it is entirely permissible—under the direction of appropriate authorities—to dismantle and relocate it to a suitable place, or sell it and use the proceeds to construct a new mosque. Saudi Arabia’s Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta (Lajna ad-Da’imah) and Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta also support this view.
Today, in Muslim-majority countries, mosques are frequently demolished, relocated, or renovated to accommodate road-widening or public interest developments like airports. For example, during the expansion of the roads and plazas surrounding Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina to facilitate movement for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, hundreds of ancient mosques and structures were cleared to build modern roadways and courtyards, with alternative mosques constructed in their place. In Jeddah, an entire mosque was physically shifted 120 meters away using modern engineering techniques to clear space for a hospital’s road and infrastructure expansion.
Similarly, in Egypt, to alleviate severe traffic congestion in Cairo during flyover and new metro rail projects, several ordinary mosques standing in the middle of roads were dismantled and rebuilt on a larger scale elsewhere, backed by fatwas from Egypt’s official Fatwa Board.
In Turkey, the construction of the Ilisu Dam on the Tigris River threatened to submerge the 610-year-old historic Er-Rızk Mosque. In 2019, the Turkish government used robotic transporters to relocate the entire intact archway and the 4,700-ton minaret 4 kilometers away to a new cultural park without damage.
In Muslim-majority nations like Egypt, Turkey, the UAE, and Indonesia, mosques situated along or in the middle of roads are frequently removed for metro rail projects, flyovers, or highway expansions. In such cases, governments generally take two steps:
- Allocate alternative land for the mosque and fully fund the construction of a new facility.
- If the mosque is an ancient or historic heritage structure, use modern engineering technology to relocate the entire structure intact to another site.
In India as well, numerous temples and mosques—both big and small—have been relocated during the Delhi Metro project, the Mumbai–Ahmedabad Bullet Train project, and various national highway expansions. Even in West Bengal, mosques have been relocated in the past for development needs:
For instance, the mosque at Maniktala Crossing in Tamluk town (the district headquarters of Purba Medinipur) was relocated at government expense to facilitate road widening.
Role of the Mosque Committee and Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind.
When relocating or rebuilding a mosque at a new site for the greater human interest is permissible under Islamic Sharia—and when such actions occur routinely across Muslim-majority nations—the stance of the Bankra Mosque Committee, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, and other opposing Muslim organizations remains entirely baffling. We view this as a clear reflection of their religious dogmatism and political shortsightedness.
It is deeply disappointing to see all-India Muslim organizations like the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, and Darul Uloom Deoband repeatedly demonstrate such rigidity and lack of political foresight in modern times. While instant triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat) had long been banned across the globe—even in neighboring countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan—these organizations in India actively fought to retain this regressive practice. Ultimately, the BJP government had to step in and enact legislation to outlaw instant triple talaq. What could be more embarrassing for Indian Muslims than this?
At a time when Muslim countries worldwide regularly relocate mosques for national development and public safety, it is incomprehensible what message these Muslim organizations intend to send to the citizens of India by calling for agitations to prevent moving a mosque out of a high-risk airport runway area. While ordinary Bengalis easily recognize that such dogmatism and political shortsightedness ultimately serve only to fuel the agenda of the BJP and RSS, these leaders appear completely incapable of grasping that reality.
বাংলা এবং বাঙালির জন্য লড়াইকে এগিয়ে নিয়ে যেতে আমাদের সাহায্য করুন।
আমরা কোনো কোটিপতি বা বড় কোনো কোম্পানি নই – আমাদের পাঠকরাই আমাদের সমর্থন করেন। আমাদের এই গুরুত্বপূর্ণ এবং সাহসী প্রচেষ্টার জন্য অনুদান দিয়ে আমাদের পাশে থাকুন।
We are not billionaires or big companies – our readers support us. Support us by donating to this important and courageous effort.