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Mehrauli: A mosque demolished, and orphans displaced in India

BBC UK
Summary
Nutrition label

72% Informative

Delhi 's Akhoondji Mosque , estimated to be at least 600 years old , was razed on 30 January .

Along with it, the madrassa and graveyard and a shrine of a Sufi saint were also razed.

The mosque's imam Zakir Hussain and their advocate Shams Khwaja deny this, saying the property belonged to the Delhi Waqf Board .

The matter is being heard by the Delhi High Court , which on Monday ordered "a status quo" on the site until the next hearing.

Not much is known about the mosque's history - some say it was built by a 13th Century princess, Razia Sultana .

Archaeological Survey of India says it was repaired around 1853 under the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar .

DDA authorities maintain the structure was razed because it was illegally constructed on precious forest land.

But historians point out that the mosque existed much before the forest got protected status.

VR Score

79

Informative language

81

Neutral language

71

Article tone

informal

Language

English

Language complexity

44

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

short-lived

External references

no external sources

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