The court said that the matter is worth hearing. The Muslim side has said that it will challenge this decision in the Allahabad High Court.
Highlights,
Litigation, controversy and history...
know about the Gyanvapi case, what is the argument and when - what happened
The District Judge's court has given a big decision.
Gyanvapi Masjid Case: Many cases related to Gyanvapi Masjid located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh are going on in the courts. One of them is related to the worship of Goddess Shringar Gauri located in the Gyanvapi complex. At present Anjuman Inzamia Masjid Committee looks after the premises. Recently, the survey of the premises was done on the orders of the Varanasi court. On the petition of five women petitioners (Lakshmi Devi, Rakhi Singh, Sita Sahu, Manju Vyas and Rekha Pathak), the trial court had ordered a survey of the Gyanvapi complex. Rakhi Singh is leading the case among the five petitioners.
A Shivling was claimed to be found in the survey. Dr Sohan Lal Arya, husband of one of the petitioners, Lakshmi Devi, had filed a case in 1996 regarding Gyanvapi. Evidence was collected in the survey by videography and photography of the premises. The court had appointed advocate commissioners for the survey. Two court commissioners Ajay Mitra and Vishal Singh had conducted separate surveys and submitted reports in the court. The Advocate Commissioner's assistant, advocates for the prosecution and the opposition were also included in the survey team.
What happened in the survey?
Court Commissioner Ajay Mishra had surveyed the Gyanvapi campus on 6-7 May. In his report, the paintings of deities, some lotus artefacts and Sheshnag-like figures were mentioned on the wall of the premises. The report did not mention about the opening of the crypt.
Court commissioner Vishal Singh had surveyed the Gyanvapi campus from 14 to 16 May. In Vishal Singh's report, it was mentioned that Shivling was found inside the premises. Apart from this, there was talk of getting traces related to Sanatan culture in the report. It was told in the report that the marks of Sanatan Dharma – lotus, damaru, trishul etc. were found in the basement of the premises.
After the survey, the Supreme Court did not stay the proceedings of the lower court. The Supreme Court had ordered that the place claiming to be Shivling in the premises should be kept safe. The court had said that if a Shivling is found, its protection is necessary. The top court had ordered not to limit the number of namazis and to ensure that there is no problem in namaz.
Hindu side demand
The Hindu side demaded that the entire Gyanvapi complex be handed over to the Hindus, arrangements should be made for regular worship of Lord Vishweshwara, the entry of Muslims into Gyanvapi should be stopped and the dome of the mosque should be ordered to be demolished.
Civil Judge (Senior Division) Ravi Kumar Diwakar, who ordered the survey in the Gyanvapi campus, was transferred to Bareilly on May 20. Ravi Kumar had ordered to seal the place where the alleged Shivling was located.
History of Gyanvapi Mosque
Gyanvapi Masjid is adjacent to Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi. It is claimed that the mosque was built by demolishing the temple. The Gyanvapi campus is spread over an area of one bigha, nine biswa and six dhur. The Hindu side claims that there is a self-styled Jyotirlinga of Visheshwar 100 feet high under the Gyanvapi Mosque.
Many claims are made regarding the construction of Kashi Vishwanath temple. It is said that the Kashi Vishwanath temple was built 2050 years ago by Maharaja Vikramaditya. Raja Todarmal, one of the nine gems of the Mughal emperor Akbar, rebuilt the Kashi Vishwanath temple in 1585. On 18 April 1669, the Mughal invader Aurangzeb ordered the demolition of the temple. After this the temple was demolished and a mosque was made in its place. The ruins of the temple were used in the construction of the mosque. After this, Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar of the Maratha Empire started the construction of the existing Kashi Vishwanath temple in 1780.
how long has the case been going on
The first case regarding the Gyanvapi Masjid was filed in the Varanasi court in 1991. In the petition, permission was sought for worship in Gyanvapi. Somnath Vyas, Ramrang Sharma and Harihar Pandey were the petitioners in this case on behalf of the ancient idol self-styled god Vishweshwar.
In 1991 itself, the Central Government had enacted the Places of Worship Act. According to this law, there is a legislation to maintain the historical and mythological sites in their status quo after independence. Referring to this law, the Masjid Committee challenged the petition of Somnath Vyas, Ramrang Sharma and Harihar Pandey in the Allahabad High Court. In 1993, the High Court had imposed a stay on the disputed site and ordered to maintain the status quo. After an order of the Supreme Court, the hearing was held again in the Varanasi Court on 2019 regarding the validity of the stay order. On 18 August 2021, Rakhi Singh, Lakshmi Devi, Sita Shahu, Manju Vyas and Rekha Pathak filed a petition in the court demanding worship of Shringar Gauri in the Gyanvapi complex.
It was said in the petition that the right to practice one's religion as guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution has been violated. After several dates, the Varanasi court finally approved the survey of the Gyanvapi Masjid this year. On 8 April 2022, the court appointed Advocate Commissioner to find out about Shringar Gauri and other deities. On 26 April, the court of Varanasi Civil Judge Senior Division Ravi Kumar Diwakar, upholding the old order, ordered a survey of the Gyanvapi campus.
struggle before independence
It is more told about Gyanvapi that even before independence there were many controversies in this matter. There was also a dispute about offering Namaz in the area of the temple outside the mosque premises. In 1809, a communal riot broke out over the dispute. After 1991, an iron fence was built around the Gyanvapi mosque.
Who is Maa Shringar Gauri
In Hinduism, Shringar Gauri is considered the goddess of splendor and beauty. By offering vermilion on Shringar Gauri, women pray for the protection of their honeymoon. It is believed that special worship of Goddess Shringar Gauri is performed on the fourth day of Chait Navratri or Vasantik Navratri. Along with this, worship of Kushmanda is also recognized in Kashi. Shringar Gauri's temple falls behind the Gyanvapi mosque, adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. In 2004, the administration had given permission to worship Chaitra on the Chaturthi day of Navratri, but the worship at this place was stopped due to controversy.
What is the meaning of knowledge?
'Gyanvapi' is made up of two words- Gyan and Vapi. Vapi means stepwell, pond or wide and big well. Thus Gyanvapi means well of knowledge. Because of this well, the mosque was named Gyanvapi. It is said that once upon a time there used to be a Gurukul at this place, where the disciples were taught Vedanta.
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