Temple existed at Gyanvapi: Hindu side cites ASI survey

A report by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) found that a large Hindu temple existed before the construction of the Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi, lawyers for the Hindu petitioners in the decades-old case announced on Thursday, marking a decisive turn in the fractious communal dispute that will have sweeping ramifications.

The announcement came from Vishnu Shankar Jain, the lead lawyer for four Hindu women petitioners seeking regular worshipping rights in the mosque complex, who made the report public minutes after the 839-page document was given to the Hindu and Muslim sides.

“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,” said the report.

HT has seen some segments of the document, parts of which were read out by Jain.

“ASI has given its conclusive finding and it’s a very important one,” Jain said, quoting the ASI report. “A lot of evidence has also been found.”

The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, which manages the 15th century mosque, said it was yet to go through the report.

“The Gyanvapi mosque was built 600 years ago by a zamindar (landlord) of Jaunpur. It was renovated by Mughal emperor Akbar during his rule. Then the expansion and renovation of the Gyanvapi mosque was done by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb,” said SM Yasin, joint secretary of Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee. However, Yasin added, “I haven’t gone through the report yet.”

The four Hindu women plaintiffs were visibly delighted.

“We are very happy. We have been saying it for a long time, ASI’s survey report has proved that Gyanvapi is a Temple,” said Rekha Pathak, one of the four plaintiffs.

Read Here | ASI survey report on Gyanvapi to be given to both sides, not to be made public: Varanasi court

The report also suggested that the temple was destroyed during the reign of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. “The Arabic-Persian inscription found inside a room mentions that the mosque was built in the 20th regnal year of Aurangzeb …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,” the report said.

The findings of the survey, conducted by ASI on an order by the district court between August 4 and early November, are a shot in the arm for Hindu petitioners who argue that the mosque was built by Mughal emperors after demolishing a temple and seek rights to the complex.

The report also represent a setback for Muslim petitioners, who have, so far, unsuccessfully argued that the Hindu suits were barred by the 1991 Places of Worship Act, which locks the religious character of shrines as they existed on August 15, 1947, with the exception of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute.

In his press conference, Jain cited the ASI report to say that 34 inscriptions were found in four scripts – Devanagari, Tamil, Kannada, and Grantha. “These are, in fact, inscriptions on the stones of the pre-existing Hindu temples, which have been reused during the construction/repair of the existing structure…Reuse of earlier inscriptions in the structure suggests that the earlier structures were destroyed and their parts were reused in construction/repair of the existing structure,” said the ASI report.

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The report also said that pillars decorated with bells, niches for keeping lamps, and inscriptions were reused.

“Based on art and architecture, this pre-existing structure can be identified as a Hindu temple,” the ASI report said.

Jain said that the ASI team found that parts of pillars and plaster of the then existing structure were used without much modification

“A minute study of pillars and plasters in corridors suggests that they were originally part of a preexisting Hindu temple for their reuse in the existing structure…Vyala figures carved on either side of the lotus medallion were mutilated and after removing the stone mass from the corners, that space was decorated with floral design,” said Jain, quoting from the report.

Jain said that the temple was found to have had a big central chamber and additional chambers to the north, south, east and west respectively.

“The reuse of earlier inscriptions in the structure suggests that the earlier structures were destroyed and their parts were reused in the construction and repair of the existing structure. Three names of deities such as Janardana, Rudra and Umeshwara are found in these inscriptions,” Jain added, quoting from the ASI report.

Editorial: Gyanvapi gets a political edge

The report further said that the ASI team found a loose stone with inscription, but added that the lines relating to construction of the mosque and its expansion were “scratched out”.

The development will have wide ramifications across similar suits filed by Hindu groups and petitioners in Mathura and Agra – all part of what experts have called the new temple movements, where Hindu groups and individuals have approached lower courts to file petitions seeking legal solutions to decades-old religious disputes, instead of using street mobilisation to push for change.

In all cases, Hindu petitioners argue that medieval-era Islamic structures were built by demolishing temples and demand praying rights. The Muslim sides reject the contention and say that any such legal action violates property and religious laws, including the 1991 Act.

The Gyanvapi dispute dates back decades but in August 2021, five women filed a petition in a local court demanding the right of unhindered worship at the Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal, located inside the complex that houses idols of Hindu gods.

In April 2022, the local court ordered a controversial survey of the complex, which quickly ran into protests. The survey was finally completed in May that year, but not before the Hindu side claimed that the Shivling was found in the final hours of the exercise even as the Muslim side disputed this. The court clamped security on the entire complex even as the Muslim side argued that the structure found was a ceremonial ablution fountain.

Then, last year, the Varanasi district court ordered an extensive survey of the mosque by ASI to ascertain whether it was built over a pre-existing temple, while holding that a scientific probe was necessary for the truth to come out. The judge, however, excluded the section over which a dispute had arisen, which remains sealed.

Soon after Jain made the findings public, UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya posted on X: “Har Har Mahadev”

The other deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak wrote on X: “Bam Bam Bhole Baba Ki Kripa”