The investigation came after five women said a Hindu temple once stood on the site.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, UTTAR PRADESH — A court in northern India has ordered authorities to limit large gatherings of Muslims to Gyanvapi Masjid Mosque which is historic after the investigation team discovered relic of god Hindu Shiva and other Hindu symbols there.
reported from GulfToday, On Tuesday (5/17/2022), earlier this month, the Varanasi court formed a team to inspect the venue. The investigation came after five women asked permission to perform Hindu rituals at one of their residences, claiming that a Hindu temple once stood on the site of the current mosque.
“The female petitioners told the court that the investigation team found relics of Shiva and other Hindu symbols there. The judge banned Muslims from holding large prayer meetings inside the mosque,” said lawyer HS Jain, who represents the women petitioners.
Police said the court order would help maintain law and order at a time when Hindu groups linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political party have stepped up their demands to dig inside mosques and authorize excavations of the Taj Mahal.
Members of extremist Hindu groups believe that Muslims and Muslim kings during their 200 years of rule demolished Hindu temples to build mosques or mausoleums as part of their expansionist strategy. The Gyanvapi Mosque, located in the political constituency of Modi, is one of the three major mosques in northern Uttar Pradesh. Major groups believe the mosque was built after the demolition of a historic shrine.
In 2019 the Supreme Court allowed Hindus to build a temple on the site of the disputed 16th century Babri Mosque which was demolished by Hindu mobs in 1992 who believe the mosque was built on the site where the Hindu god Ram was born. The incident led to religious unrest that killed nearly 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, across India.
Leaders of 200 million indian muslims sees the latest move as yet another attempt by hardline Hindus to undermine their right to freedom of worship and religious expression with the tacit approval of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party.
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