Handover Gyanvapi Structure To Hindus: VHP
After a the ASI or Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) released a report saying that a large Hindu temple existed before the construction of the Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi, Hindu right wing organisation Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) to handover the original site of the Varanasi-based mosque to the Hindu Society.
“Calls upon the Intezamia Committee to agree to respectfully shift the Gyanvapi Mosque to another appropriate place and to handover the original site of Kashi Vishvanatha to the Hindu Society,” VHP said in a statement.
The demand from the organisation comes even before the trial of the underlying civil suit filed in 2021 is yet to commence is significant.
“The international working president of Vishva Hindu Parishad and the senior advocate shri Alok Kumar today said that the evidence collected by the ASI from the Gyanvapi structure reconfirms that the Mosque had been constructed after demolishing a magnificent Temple,” the right wing organisation which part of the Sangh Parivar said in the statement.
It said, citing the ASI document, that a part of the Temple structure, particularly the western wall is the remaining part of the Hindu Temple.
“The report also proves that parts of the pre-existing Temple including pillars and pilasters were reused with modifications to extend the span of the mosque and in the construction of the sahan,” the statement added.
The VHP also suggested that the “Hindus be permitted to offer Sewa Puja to the Shivlinga found in the so called Wazukhana area.”
They claimed that “this righteous action shall be an important step towards creating amicable relations between the two prominent communities of Bharat.”
Meanwhile, the lawyer representing the Muslim plaintiffs in the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi mosque case countered assertions made about the ASI report. Contrary to claims suggesting evidence of a Hindu temple at the site, lawyer Ikhlaq Ahmed, who received a certified copy of the ASI report, dismissed such assertions.
Speaking to reporters in Varanasi, Ahmed emphasized that the presence of “broken idols” within the mosque complex did not constitute proof of a Hindu temple. He elaborated that an area within the mosque known as the North Yard Gate accommodated tenants who engaged in sculpting idols. Ahmed explained that before the area was cordoned off, debris from idol sculpting activities was discarded there.
Ahmed further contended that no idols discovered within the premises could conclusively be identified as representations of Lord Shiva, challenging the narrative suggesting the existence of a Hindu temple at the site.
