Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was in Ayodhya on Wednesday to take part in a ceremony to lay the foundation stone of the ‘Garbha Griha’ or the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Mandir by placing the first carved stone in it. Seers and saints from across the country were invited for the occasion that marks a mega milestone in the construction process of the Ram temple.
The construction of the temple in Ayodhya kickstarted from August 2020 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the same. This was after a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi (now retired) had on November 9, 2019, unanimously delivered its verdict that the land in Ayodhya where Babri Masjid once stood, belongs to Ram Lalla.
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The Ram Mandir milestone event comes amid disputes over religious structures in several parts of the country with the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, just 200 kms from Ayodhya, taking the centre stage after ‘shivling’ discovery during the controversial survey as claimed by one side and counter claims by the other.
While Gyanvapi continues to keep religious sentiments boiling, another discovery of a “temple-like” structure beneath the Juma Masjid in Malali village of Karnataka’s Mangaluru has become a brewing issue with the Hindu side moving court seeking survey of the mosque.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had moved a civil court in Mangaluru demanding appointment of a court commissioner to survey the Juma Masjid, while the Assayed Abdullahil Madani Mosque management submitted an appeal before the court to quash the demand.
Apart Gyanvapi and Malali, there have been recent disputes over several other religious structures that continue to hit the religious sentiments and spark massive debates. Take a look at some of such controversial structures and the row around them:
Gyanvapi mosque row
The Gyanvapi mosque issue started way back in 1991 when a bunch of petitions were filed in Varanasi district court by local priests seeking permission to worship in the Gyanvapi complex. The petitioners claimed that the Gyanvapi Masjid was built on the orders of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb by demolishing a part of the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir in the 17th century.
Cut to 2019, petitioners demanded that an archaeological survey of the entire Gyanvapi mosque complex should be conducted. Two years later, in September 2021, the Allahabad High Court stayed the archaeological survey of ASI in Gyanvapi Masjid.
In the latest row, a Varanasi court ordered a video survey of the disputed site based on a petition filed by five Delhi-based women in August 2021, seeking an order to allow them to worship at the site. The petition was filed by Rakhi Singh, a resident of Delhi, and four others, through their counsel Hari Shankar Jain.
The row kicked up when the Hindu side claimed to have discovered a shivling inside the mosque.
‘Temple-like’ structure in Malali mosque
The discovery of a “temple-like architectural structure” inside the Malali Juma Masjid on the outskirts of Karnataka’s Mangaluru had prompted authorities to impose Section 144 within a 500-meter area last week.
The Hindu temple-like architectural design was discovered underneath the old mosque in Malali village on the outskirts of Mangaluru city on April 21 during the renovation work of the mosque. The matter, however, intensified with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on May 25 performing ritual in Malali to find out whether the mosque was once a temple.
The VHP then moved a civil court in Mangaluru and sought appointment of a court commissioner to survey the mosque, while the Assayed Abdullahil Madani Mosque management submitted an appeal before the court to quash the demand. The court heard both the sides on Tuesday and objections will be heard on Wednesday.
Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura
A Mathura court earlier this month allowed lawsuit demanding removal of Shahi Idgah mosque near ‘Krishna Janmabhoomi’ or the birthplace of Lord Krishna. Allowing the suit against Shahi Idgah mosque that seeks its removal from the Krishna Janmabhoomi land, the verdict paved way for hearings to take place in court against the mosque.
The judgment relates to the first suit in the case, which was filed by Lucknow resident and advocate Ranjana Agnihotri as the “next friend” of child deity Shri Krishna Virajman of the Katra Keshav Dev temple and six others.
The petitioners in the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Mosque dispute case are seeking the ownership of 13.37 acres of land of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi and also the removal of Shahi Idgah Mosque built there.
In one of the multiple pleas filed before the court, the petitioners had requested the court to demolish the Idgah built on the trust’s land declaring it as illegal and hand over the entire land to the de-facto owner, Lord Shri Krishna Virajman. The Shahi Idgah mosque, as per the petitions, was built near the Krishna Janmabhoomi on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 1669-70.
The petitioners have also sought excavation of the disputed site under the supervision of the court, saying that an inquiry report of the excavation should be submitted.
‘Renaming’ Qutab Minar
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) last week submitted its reply on the Qutab Minar case to a Delhi court where it opposed the plea to revive the temple at the location.
The ASI said that Qutab Minar has been a protected monument since 1914 and its structure cannot be changed now. “The revival of worship cannot be allowed at a monument where such a practice was not prevalent at the time of it being granted the “protected” status,” the ASI said.
The controversy had erupted after ASI’s ex-regional director Dharamveer Sharma claimed that the structure was constructed by Raja Vikramaditya and not by Qutb al-Din Aibak, to study the direction of the sun.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture had also asked the ASI to submit its excavation report. The Union Ministry of Culture directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct excavation and iconography of idols at the Qutub Minar complex.
The decision came after Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Govind Mohan, visited the World Heritage monument on Saturday. Sources told News18 that the ministry officials have directed ASI to dig-in “to know the facts”.
Earlier this month, activists from the Mahakal Manav Sewa and other right-wing outfits were seen staging a protest, holding placards and raising slogans, amid heavy police deployment at the Qutb Minar, which is recognised as a World Heritage Site by Unesco.
They demanded that the iconic monument be renamed ‘Vishnu Stambh’.
‘Dharam Sansad’ to debate over lord Hanuman’s birthplace
Amid the Gyanvapi row, a controversy surfaced over the birthplace of Lord Hanuman and in order to “resolve the issue”, Swami Aniket Shastri Deshpande Maharaj of Mahant Shri Mandalacharya Peethadheeshwar had called a Dharma Sansad on May 31 in Nashik.
However, the religious meet convened on Tuesday in Maharashtra’s Nashik to lay to rest a controversy on the birthplace of Lord Hanuman was put off after it witnessed acrimonious scenes as two groups of the participating sadhus argued angrily over the seating arrangements and other issues, prompting the police to intervene to restore peace and order.
Notably, a saint from Karnataka has claimed that Lord Hanuman was not born in Anjaneri in Nashik but in Kishkindha, Karnataka. Referring to Valmiki Ramayana, Mahant Govind Das of Kishkindha has claimed that Lord Hanuman was born in Kishkindha.
He said that in the Ramayana, Maharishi Valmiki has nowhere written that Lord Hanuman was born in Anjaneri. The birthplace always remains in one place and it is not written anywhere that Lord Hanuman was born in Anjaneri, Nashik.
Massive controversy over AIMIM leader’s visit to Aurangzeb tomb
AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi’s visit to the Aurangzeb tomb in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad and the political slugfest that followed it prompted the ASI earlier this month to order shutting down the tomb for five days after the mosque committee in the area tried to lock the place amid the controversy.
AIMIM leader’s visit had prompted Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) spokesperson Gajanan Kale to question the need for the monument’s existence in the state, saying it should be destroyed.
AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi’s visit to the tomb earlier this month was criticised by the ruling Shiv Sena as well as by the BJP and the Raj Thackeray-led MNS.
BJP demanded Owaisi to be booked under sedition charges, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar had wondered if such an act was aimed at creating a new controversy in Maharashtra.
As the row kicked up, security at the ASI-protected monument site at Khuldabad in Aurangabad district was increased by the Aurangabad rural police and the ASI to avoid untoward incidents.
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