Right-wing elements file petitions, claiming that UNESCO protected monuments and Mughal-era mosques are temples
NEW DELHI
A campaign by the Hindu right-wing groups to claim Mughal era monuments and historic mosques has raised a wave of concern among minorities, historians, and archaeologists across India.
Recently a functionary of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajneesh Singh approached a court requesting a directive to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to open 22 rooms inside the world famous UNESCO heritage monument Taj Mahal to ascertain if the claims that the mausoleum houses Hindu idols were true.
Built in the city of Agra, 240 kilometres (149 miles) south of the capital New Delhi, by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1648 in memory of his favourite wife, the monument is considered the jewel of Muslim art in India.
The court, however, dismissed the petition. Singh’s plea was based on a conspiracy theory supported by right-wing historians, that the 17th-century marvel was an old Hindu temple called “Tejo Mahal.”
Coinciding this controversy, the country’s top court also overturned a lower court order banning mass prayers at 17th century Gyanvapi Mosque in the ancient city of Varanasi in northern Uttar Pradesh state. Right-wing elements claim that the mosque adjacent to the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s electoral constituency is built on a Hindu house of worship.
They even claimed that a court-appointed team in a survey has found relics of the Hindu god Shiva inside the pond in the courtyard of the mosque meant for ablutions before the prayers.
The Muslim groups had opposed the survey, saying it was against the Places of Worship Act of 1991, which maintains the religious status of any place of worship as of Aug. 15, 1947.
The lower court had ordered the sealing of the mosque. The Supreme Court, however, allowed Muslims to pray at the mosque while ordering protection of the area, where the alleged Shiva relic was found.
Mathura mosque petition
In another case in the same state, a court entertained a lawsuit seeking ownership of the land of 17th century Shahi Idgah Masjid in Mathura, 57 km (35 mi) north of Agra city. The mosque is adjacent to a temple, where Hindus believe that the deity Lord Krishna was born.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Niranjan Sahoo, senior fellow at the New Delhi-based think tank Observer Research Foundation, said the recent electoral victory of the BJP in the provincial polls has emboldened the right-wing elements.
“This greatly helps the governing party deflect from real issues of inflation, price rise, and rising unemployment. Thus, it is like killing two birds with one stone,” he said. Sahoo said such controversies create religious polarization, which helps the ruling party shift the goal post from the Ayodhya-Babri Mosque episode. Babri Mosque built by Mughal Emperor Babur in the 16th century was demolished by a frenzied mob in 1992 as they believed it was the birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama. After a protracted legal battle, five judges from Supreme Court bench 2019, who heard the title dispute handed over the land to the Hindu party to build the Hindu temple.
