Hindus and Kashi Dialogue: An Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) report at the Gyanvapi site verified that “there existed a Hindu temple before the construction of the existing structure.” On Saturday, January 27, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) announced that the Hindu community would receive ownership of the original Kashi Vishwanath site.The VHP requested that Hindus be permitted to do “sewa puja” on the “Shivling” that is situated in the disputed structure’s “so-called Wazukhana area.”
“The Hindus are allowed to perform Sewa Puja for the Shivling located in the alleged Wazukhana region, and (ii) The Committee is urged upon to consent to the courteous relocation of the Gyanvapi Mosque to a more suitable location and to turn over the original location of Kashi Vishvanatha to the Hindu Society. The VHP president, Alok Kumar, stated in a statement that the organisation “believes that this righteous action will be an important step towards creating amicable relations between the two prominent communities of Bharat.”
Examining the rationale behind the VHP’s demands, Kumar stated: “The ASI’s collection of evidence from the Gyanvapi edifice reveals that the mosque was built following the demolition of a magnificent temple. The Hindu Temple’s remaining portion is a portion of its structure, specifically the western wall.
He continued by saying that the Hindu Temple’s remnants are contained within a portion of the building, specifically the western wall. The ASI research also demonstrates how parts of the old temple, such as pillars and pilasters, were repurposed and modified to build the sahan, or courtyard, and expand the mosque’s breadth.
Alok Kumar stated, “There is no question that the edifice does not have the character of a mosque in light of the Shivling discovered inside the ‘wuzukhana’ of the disputed construction in 2022. The obvious indication that this is a temple is the presence of names like Janardana, Rudra, and Umeswara in the inscriptions discovered within the building.
The VHP leader continued, saying that the data gathered and the conclusions drawn by the ASI do demonstrate that this place of worship had a religious identity on August 15, 1947, and that it currently has the religious identity of a Hindu temple.
Conflict in Gyanvapi
However, in 2021, five women—Rakhi Singh, Laxmi Devi, Sita Sahu, Manju Vyas, and Rekha Pathak—filed a petition with a local court to be granted unrestricted worship at the Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal, which is located within the compound containing idols of Hindu gods. The Gyanvapi controversy dates back decades.
Protests broke out when the local court ordered a survey of the facility in April 2022. The end of the survey period was May 2022. The Muslim side refuted this and asserted that the Shivling was a “fountain,” while the Hindu side claimed that it was discovered during the latter hours of the exercise. The wuzukhana area within the contested structure had to be sealed off, and the court increased security measures across the complex.
The Varanasi district court, noting that a scientific inquiry was necessary to ascertain the truth, ordered an extensive assessment of the edifice by ASI in 2023 to ascertain whether it was built on top of an existing temple. The portion that was the subject of the disagreement, which is kept sealed, was left out by the judge.
ASI analysis
As previously reported, the January 25 assessment by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on the Gyanvapi construction revealed that the site of the present-day disputed monument was once home to a sizable Hindu temple. The more than 800-page report provides a thorough description of the building and the items discovered within, demonstrating that it was a Hindu temple devoted to Lord Shiva.
The report describes antiquities found buried in cellars S1, S2, and S3 of the building, including idols of Hindu gods like Vishnu, Krishna, and Ganesh and a tiny temple with carvings of deities. It was discovered that these cellars had been purposefully obstructed with debris. The results show that the location was formerly a temple that was later transformed into a mosque.
