Long due probe into Varanasi’s Gyanvapi Mosque begins today at 7AM by Lucknow ASI (Archeological Survey of India)
The controversial case of Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi gains a stronger momentum after the Lucknow ASI begins its survey at 7 AM this morning. The Mosque management committee filed a petition in court strongly condemning the survey but the “scientific inspection” carries on nonetheless.
The inspection is to be meticulously carried out in each part of the mosque besides the ‘wuzukhana’. This is a sealed zone in the mosque where Hindu litigants claim the presence of a “Shivling”, i.e. a hindu relic of Lord Shiva, found in a previous inspection by the organisation in 2022 . The Mosque authorities disavow the assertion and decree that the structure is rather a fountain where people shower before offering prayers. The Supreme Court deferred the carbon dating on this alleged Shivling in May this year.
The order came after four women (Rekha Pathak, Manju Vyas, Sita Sahu and Lakshmi Devi) filed a petition in the Varanasi court alleging that the Mosque was built after demolishing a portion of the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi. The court deems it necessary to carry out a “scientific investigation” for “true facts” to come out. These women also filed a motion in the court in 2021 demanding a long year standing access to the ‘Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal’ which encases multiple Hindu idols in the Mosque.
Head of the Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh (VVSS), Visen also voices that he, along with several members of his organisation had filed 15 additional cases against the Mosque authorities which would also need to be defended in the court subsequently. These cases were later grouped in 7 major cases.
Other Hindu activists supporting the claim allege the presence of a Hindu Temple at the place of the Mosque before the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb demolished its parts.
Quoting the order by the court, Advocate Subhash Nandan Chaturvedi, one of the four lawyers fighting the case from the Hindu side called it a “turning point in the case”.
The District court Judge AK Vishvesha demands a final report on August 4. An outposted team of officials reached the mosque complex on Sunday as confirmed by the District Magistrate S Rajalingam. The Judge proposed a proper inspection for an accurate scientific survey that includes dating, excavating and ground penetrating radar (GPR) techniques.
There are a total of 40 people in the complex since this morning including the four litigants and their defense counsels, along with the Gyanvapi Mosque’s management committee members.
SM Yasin, the Joint Secretary of the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee repudiated and confirmed his absence from the ongoing investigation in all forms as a demonstration of open dissent and boycott.
The court clearly specified that no damage is to be done to the Mosque and a careful diligent inspection of the Mosque should be carried out through the help of the Mosque authorities. The Judge strongly asserted that there would be no restrictions on Namaz and ample Police would be deployed at the Mosque to ensure smooth operations and evade any form of communal riot.
This case is a part of the triad cases pertaining alleged various Hindu Temple demolition conundrum, including the famous Ayodhya case of the Babri Masjid (allegedly built over the previous Ram Mandir): The Krishna Janmasthan Temple complex alongside the Shahi Eidgah Mosque (reportedly built by demolishing 13.37 acres of the temple complex) in Mathura; and lastly the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and Gyanvapi Mosque case in Varanasi. These are the three pivotal cases lodged in Indian Hindu history since late 1980s and early 1990s by the pro-Hindu, right-wing Indian Political party BJP.
