On 16th October, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Yusuf Pathan shared pictures from his visit to the Adina Mosque in West Bengal’s Malda district on his social media pages. Pathan’s description of the mosque, however, invited a factcheck from netizens.
Hailing Adina Mosque as architectural marvel, the cricketer-turned-politician wrote, “The Adina Mosque in Malda, West Bengal, is a historic mosque built in the 14th century by Sultan Sikandar Shah, the second ruler of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty. Constructed in 1373-1375 CE, it was the largest mosque in the Indian subcontinent during its time, showcasing the region’s architectural grandeur.”
The Adina Mosque in Malda, West Bengal, is a historic mosque built in the 14th century by Sultan Sikandar Shah, the second ruler of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty. Constructed in 1373-1375 CE, it was the largest mosque in the Indian subcontinent during its time, showcasing the region's… pic.twitter.com/EI0pBiQ9Og
— Yusuf Pathan (@iamyusufpathan) October 16, 2025
In no time, netizens stepped in to factcheck the TMC MP by bringing up Hindu history of the structure in question.
Advocate Shekhar Kumar Jha shared an image of Lord Ganesh carving on the wall of the Adina ‘mosque’, and wrote, “Historic: Adinath Mandir became Adina Mosque.”
Historic: Adinath Mandir became Adina Mosque pic.twitter.com/3xsmulWxBs
— Shashank Shekhar Jha (@shashank_ssj) October 17, 2025
An X user “PlanH”, who ratioed Pathan’s post with reply, wrote, “Dear Yusuf Pathan, you are standing in the campus of one of the largest Hindu Temples, Adinath Temple, which was desecrated and occupied by Islamic invaders. Attached are some images for your reference. It is time to undo the injustice and barbarity, and reestablish the temple’s glory.”
Dear Yusuf Pathan, you are standing in the campus of one of the largest Hindu Temples, Adinath Temple, which was desecrated and occupied by Islamic invaders. Attached are some images for your reference.
— PlanH (@planH_In) October 16, 2025
It is time to undo the injustice and barbarity, and reestablish the temple's… pic.twitter.com/CUc1z5lnHD
One “Abdul Kitabi” shared pictures of Hindu sculptures found inside the Adina Mosque complex and replied, “Dear Yusuf Pathan (@iamyusufpathan), you are standing in the campus of one of the largest Hindu Temples, Adinath Temple, which was desecrated and occupied by Islamic invaders. Attached are some images for your reference. It is time to undo the injustice and barbarity, and reestablish the temple’s glory. As a true Muslim we must give this mosque back to Hindus.”
Dear Yusuf Pathan (@iamyusufpathan), you are standing in the campus of one of the largest Hindu Temples, Adinath Temple, which was desecrated and occupied by Islamic invaders. Attached are some images for your reference.
— Abdul Kitabi عبد (@KitabiAbdul) October 17, 2025
It is time to undo the injustice and barbarity, and… pic.twitter.com/pZ2gmcGOFS
Another one wrote, “Adinath Temple is now Adina Mosque! Beauty of our secularism!”
Adinath Temple is now Adina Mosque!
— Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) October 17, 2025
Beauty of our secularism!🤲🏽 pic.twitter.com/JRhSc2xKPj
One X user asked, “Have you people made anything of your own, or have you just taken over everything by demolishing others’ religious sites and claimed it as your own?
Adina Mosque or Adinath Temple: Another Hindu temple converted into a mosque by Islamic barbarians
The Adina Mosque is located in the historic town of Pandua in West Bengal’s Malda district. Conventional historical sources say that the construction of this masjid was commissioned in 1373 and completed in 1375 by Sultan Sikandar Shah of the Illyas Shahi dynasty of the Bengal Sultanate. Largest mosque in the Indian subcontinent at that time, symbolised Shah’s military victories against the Delhi Sultanate.
However, historical and archaeological evidence indicate that the mosque was built using materials and stones salvaged from destroyed pre-existing religious Hindu structures from the Pāla–Sena era of 8th-12th centuries.
In fact, sculptural remnants indicate that what stands as Adina Mosque today was originally a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, in his Adinath or First Lord form. The temple was known as the Adinath Temple. The complex also housed a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Archaeological evidence indicates that temple doorway in black stone was used to make the pulpit of the Adina Masjid.
Terracotta and stone carvings on walls, doors, arches and mihrabs or prayer niches, depict Hindu deities like Lord Shiva and Ganesh. In addition, there is a significant presence of motifs like flowers, caitya arches, kiritmukha (face of glory) masks, beaded necklaces, and chain-and-bell designs. The Islamic architecture is devoid of this type of adornments, indicating that these motifs and carvings date back to Pāla–Sena era.
|| From Adinath (Shiva) temple to Adina masjid- Pandua, WB ||
— Monidipa Bose – Dey (মণিদীপা) (@monidipadey) January 17, 2024
The Adina mosque at Pandua, the largest in medieval India, was built by Sikandar Shah (r. 1358-89), after destroying a Shiva temple.
While recent left “historians” like Catherine Asher and Cynthia Talbot (2006)… pic.twitter.com/CGxPcPuJIP
The central mihrab of this mosque carries clear indications that the structure’s Hindu history. The front of this mihrab is placed in the cured wall decorated with a tri-foiled arch and the spandrel on either side arch has been decorated with rosettes and the panels inside the mihrab are also adorned with the designs of foiled arches and rosettes having chain and bells motifs hanging from the apex of the arches. These are Hindu decorative motifs as these sorts of chain and bell motifs are noticed on the shaft of the columns engraved during the Hindu period.
Broken Shivling, and other idols of Hindu deities have been reported visible on the temple premises and embedded walls. In fact, the nearby structures, including the Pandua Bridge has incorporate materials from Hindu ruins, indicating a broader spoilation of the area by Islamic barbarians.
While Yusuf Pathan intended to pass off a mosque erected on the ruins of an ancient Hindu temple as some sort of Islamic architectural marvel and that Sikandar Shah should be remembered and respected as an Indian Muslim ruler, the Islamic tyrant’s political and religious orientation Arabia and Ctesiphon in Iraq, not India.
The site’s abandonment after 19th-century earthquakes as well as its current status as a Protected Monument of National Importance under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have curbed the scope of further excavations.
However, the issue of Adinath Temple has been raised by the BJP in the past and it reignited in 2024 when senior advocate Hari Shankar Jain appealed to Hindus to come forward and start worshiping in the disputed ‘Adina mosque’.
Advocate Hari Shankar Jain said, “In the Malda district of West Bengal, there is a so-called mosque. It is called the Adina Mosque. It was built by demolishing a grand Hindu temple. This took place during the reign of Sikandar Shah who ruled that area from 1363 to 1374. He demolished the temple and built the mosque.”
He also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard.
In February last year, a group of Hindus led by a young priest named Hiranmoy Goswami performed puja inside disputed mosque’s premises. Goswami, who had visited the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)-listed monument, spotted idols of Hindu deities and a Shivling. Soon after, he along with his followers began performing puja and reciting mantras next to the Shivling. However, the Police eventually barred them from continuing puja rituals there.
Thousands of Hindu temples were destroyed during Islamic invasions in the medieval era. Many ‘historic’ mosques today stand atop the ruins of Hindu temples or have repurposed temples into mosques with significant architectural modifications. Babri structure in Ayodhya, Shahi Idgah Masjid in Mathura, Gyanvapi in Kashi are all examples of the Islamic takeover of Hindu temples. The legal manifestation of the political imposition of one-sided secularism–the Places of Worship Act of 1991, stands as a massive obstacle in the reclamation of destroyed or encroached Hindu temples, although the successful reclamation of the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi gives renewed hope to the Hindu cause.
