A counsel for the Hindu petitioners in the Gyanvapi Mosque case has claimed the Archaeological Survey of India’s report confirms that a temple stood at the site before being converted into a mosque during Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s rule.
Hindu petitioners claim the mosque was built after demolishing parts of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple — the mosque now shares a compound with the reconstructed temple — and want the Varanasi district court to hand over the entire site to Hindus. Muslims have opposed the plea.
“The ASI has said that the western wall, some pillars and some stone scriptures were parts of a Hindu temple that were partially destroyed, with the same materials reused in the existing structure,” lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain said, read out from a bunch of papers. He claimed these papers had been handed over by the district court to all the petitioners and respondents on Thursday evening.
Jain said the ASI had found the names of Hindu gods inscribed on the pillars and walls, including those of Janardana and Rudra.
Members of the Anjuman Intezamia Committee, the managing body of the mosque, said they too had received copies of the report but declined comment.
“The ASI report is a matter of interpretation and we don’t want to get into it the way the Hindu petitioners are doing,” a member of the committee told reporters on the condition of anonymity.
“Let us see how the case proceeds. We know that the tide is against us for several reasons, and will wait and watch the developments.”
The district court had asked the ASI early last year to conduct a scientific survey of the mosque, except for the Wazukhana. The agency submitted its report last December, appealing that the court keep it a secret. On Wednesday, the court rejected this request.
“The ASI says it has recovered 34 stone scriptures, of which 32 mention Hindu names of gods and places. Now we will move the court for the survey of the Wazukhana, which we consider a Shivalinga,” Jain said.
The mosque committee claims the purported Shivalinga is just a fountain meant for the faithful to wash their hands and legs before offering namaz.
