LUCKNOW: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has refuted claims that the report of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which performed a scientific survey of the contentious Gyanvapi mosque premises in Varanasi and submitted the survey report within the district court docket earlier, discovered proof of a Hindu temple there. In a press assertion, AIMPLB government member Qasim Rasool Ilyas mentioned that the report of the ASI is just not “conclusive evidence” on this controversial case.
“By doing this the opposition party has created a feeling of anarchy and insecurity in the society,” he added. Ilyas additionally accused the Hindu facet of ‘insulting’ the court docket by releasing the ASI report within the media. “Hindu communal organizations have been misleading the public for many years regarding the Gyanvapi Masjid. The latest example of this is a report of the Archaeological Survey of India which they filed in the court and made available to the plaintiff and defendant only on the orders of the court. This report was for their study and preparation but by publishing it in the press, the opposition party has not only insulted the court but has also tried to mislead the simple people of the country,” he mentioned.
He additionally alleged that the Hindu facet had tried its finest to mislead the general public and create unrest within the society months earlier than when the survey crew in its report had described the fountain current within the reservoir as Shivalinga. “A few months ago, when the survey team in its report had described the fountain present in the reservoir as Shivalinga, the opposition party had tried its best to mislead the public and create unrest in the society by publicizing it, even though experts It could not be investigated nor did the court give any decision on it,” he mentioned.
The AIMPLB, a number one organisation of Muslims within the nation, is a non-government physique constituted in 1973 to undertake appropriate methods for the safety and continued applicability of Muslim Personal Law in India, most significantly the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937. The Muslim facet’s response got here a day after the Hindu plaintiffs’ lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain claimed citing the ASI report that there was proof to show that the Gyanvapi mosque had been constructed after demolishing a Hindu temple within the seventeenth century.
Jain claimed that ASI’s 800-page lengthy report point out discovering historical scriptures in Kannada, Devanagari, and Telugu languages contained in the mosque premises. The scriptures have been about Rudra, Janardan and Vishweshwar, and that the pillars of the demolished temple have been used to construct the mosque. The Varanasi court docket had on Wednesday directed for handing over the onerous licensed copies of the ASI report back to the attorneys of the rival sides. Both Hindu and Muslim events had sought copies of the ASI survey report.
ASI had submitted the report in two sealed covers final month in court docket. ASI, in the course of the survey, began on August 4, used ground-penetrating radar and different scientific devices to establish what lay beneath the floor of the Gyanvapi mosque premises. The crew additionally surveyed the inside and outer partitions, the cellar and different elements of the premises barring the ‘wuzukhana’ (the place the place Muslims carry out ablution earlier than continuing to supply prayers).
The ASI report on the Gyanvapi mosque advanced revealed {that a} pre-existing construction appeared to have been destroyed within the seventeenth century, and “part of it was modified and reused,” including that based mostly on scientific research, it may be mentioned that there “existed a large Hindu temple prior to the construction of the existing structure.”
The ASI additionally mentioned the “western wall of the existing structure is the remaining part of a pre-existing Hindu temple”. “The Arabic-Persian inscription found inside a room mentions that the mosque was built in the 20th regnal year of Aurangzeb (1676-77 CE). Hence, the pre-existing structure appears to have been destroyed in the 17th century, during the reign of Aurangzeb, and part of it was modified and reused in the existing structure. Based on scientific studies/survey carried out, study of architectural remains, exposed features and artefacts, inscriptions, art and sculptures, it can be said that there existed a Hindu temple prior to the construction of the existing structure,” the ASI mentioned in its report.
“Based on the scientific studies and observations on central chamber and main entrance of the pre-existing structure in existing structure, western chamber and western wall, reuse of pillars and pilasters of pre-existing structure in the existing structure, inscriptions on the existing structure, Arabic and Persian inscription on the loose stone, sculptural remains in cellars, etc. it can be said that there existed a large Hindu temple, prior to the construction of the existing structure,” the report additional mentioned.
“In compliance of the order of the District Court, Varanasi, dated July 21, 2023, affirmed by the High Court of Allahabad by order dated August 3, 2023, and the Supreme Court of India by order dated August 4, 2023, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) carried out a scientific investigation and survey in a 2150.5-square-meter area fenced with steel grills in and around the existing structure (excluding the areas sealed by the orders of the Supreme Court). All the objects which were noticed during the scientific investigation or survey in the complex were duly documented. These objects include inscriptions, sculptures, coins, architectural fragments, pottery, and objects of terracotta, stone, metal, and glass,” the report mentioned.
The ASI additional famous that in the course of the current survey, a complete of 34 inscriptions have been recorded and 32 stampages have been taken. The ASI in its survey talked about that pillars from earlier temples have been reused whereas making cellars within the jap a part of the platform. “A series of cellars were also constructed to the east to create additional space and a large platform in front of the mosque for accommodating a large number of people for prayers. Pillars from earlier temples were reused while making cellars in the eastern part of the platform. A pillar decorated with bells, niches for keeping lamps on all four sides, and bearing an inscription of Samvat 1669 is reused in cellar N2,” it mentioned.
“Sculptures of Hindu deities and carved architectural members were found buried under the dumped soil in cellar S2,” it added. The survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises started after the Allahabad High Court rejected the petition filed by Muslim litigants searching for a keep on the Varanasi court docket’s order for a scientific survey by the ASI.Â
