NEW DELHI, May 28: Amidst the Varanasi Gyanvapi mosque controversy where a petition is pending demanding restoration to Hindus of a “temple” underneath the mosque, more statements are surfacing from the right wing leaders asking for restoration of more such temples allegedly destroyed to build mosque over these.
The Hindu right-wing leader Pramod Muthalik, head of Sri Ram Sena, on Saturday said “all 30,000 temples which were demolished” would be “taken back.” He said in Karnataka, “We will take back all 30,000 temples which were demolished to build masjids. Stop us if you have the guts. You people warned of bloodshed during demolition of Babri Masjid. What happened to that? You couldn’t take even a single drop of blood of Hindus.”
He added, “If you have a little shame, give us back our temples which were demolished earlier. We won’t tolerate this type of arrogance anymore. No one can touch us – we will get those temples back in a legal way by following the Constitution.”
A statement on the similar lines was issued by the former Karnataka deputy chief minister KS Eshwarappa On Friday.
He said, “36,000 temples have been destroyed and masjids were built over it. Let them build mosques elsewhere and offer namaz, but we cannot allow them to build masjids over our temples. I am telling you, all the 36,000 temples will be reclaimed by Hindus and legally.”
The mandir-masjid controversy surfaced in Karnataka on April 21, when a Hindu temple-like architectural structure was found underneath an old mosque on the outskirts of Mangaluru town.
The Gyanvapi mosque case being heard in the Varanasi district court was based on a similar petition filed in 1991 in a Varanasi court claiming that the Gyanvapi Mosque was built on the orders of Aurangzeb by demolishing a part of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple during his reign in the 16th century.
The petitioners and local priests sought permission to worship in the Gyanvapi Mosque complex. The Allahabad High Court in 2019 ordered a stay on an ASI survey that was requested by the petitioners.
The current controversy started when five Hindu women sought to routinely worship Shringar Gauri and other idols within the Gyanvapi mosque complex. Last month, a Varanasi court ordered a videographed survey of the Gyanvapi Masjid complex after the five Hindu women filed pleas seeking to worship behind the western wall of the premises. The alleged finding of a “Shivling” under the ablution tank of the mosque during the survey further aggravated the controversy.
(Manas Dasgupta)