ASI begins Varanasi’s Gyanvapi mosque survey today

Lucknow: A team of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) initiated a “scientific survey” of Varanasi’s Gyanvapi mosque today. However, the mosque management committee filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the inspection, challenging the Varanasi district court’s order that allowed it.

The survey began at 7 a.m. and will cover all areas except the sealed “wuzukhana,” where a structure claimed to be a ‘Shivling’ (a relic of Lord Shiva) was found during a previous survey in 2022. The ASI has been instructed to submit the survey report to the district court by August 4.

The inspection was ordered by the Varanasi district court following a plea from four women worshippers who asserted that the Gyanvapi mosque was constructed after demolishing an ancient Hindu temple. They believe that a scientific study is essential to revealing the true historical facts.

The court stated that a scientific investigation is “necessary” to ascertain the truth behind the claims. The same petitioners had previously sought year-long access to the “Shringar Gauri” shrine inside the mosque in a 2021 petition related to the Gyanvapi matter.

Subhash Nandan Chaturvedi, who represents the Hindu side in the Gyanvapi case, expressed that the court’s decision is a significant turning point. He believes that the ASI survey is an essential step in the case.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court postponed the “scientific survey,” including carbon dating, of the “Shivling” found in the Gyanvapi mosque complex during a videographic survey conducted last year. The Allahabad High Court had directed the ASI to conduct a scientific survey of the structure, which Hindu petitioners claim is a “Shivling.” However, the mosque authorities argue that it is part of a fountain in the “wazukhana,” where ablutions are performed before offering namaz.

Gyanvapi mosque, situated in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency, is one of the mosques that the right-wing believes were built on the ruins of Hindu temples. This issue, along with Ayodhya and Mathura, was raised by the BJP in the 1980s and 1990s.