On completion of the videographic survey of Gyanvapi mosque on Monday (May 16), petitioner Sohan Lal Arya informed the media that a Shivling was found inside the complex of the disputed structure.
“Baba mil gaye…Jiski Nandi pratisha kar rahi this (The Shivling has been found. The sacred bull Nandi was waiting for it),” he exclaimed. “We already knew what was inside… but found more than what we had imagined,” the petitioner emphasised.
“It is a very big day for us. Chants of ‘Har Har Mahadev’ reverberated in the complex of the Gyanvapi mosque. The next step is to demand a survey of the Western Wall of the mosque. There are inscriptions of Hindu Gods and Goddesses there.”
#WATCH “Shivling….Jiski Nandi pratiksha kar rahi thi… The moment things became clear the chants of ‘Har Har Mahavdev’ resonated in mosque premises,” claims Sohan Lal Arya, petitioner in Gyanvapi mosque case, who accompanied the Court commission on mosque survey in Varanasi pic.twitter.com/iWwubz4wPa
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) May 16, 2022
“The survey is complete and we have come out of the Gynavapi mosque complex,” he concluded. It must be mentioned that petitioner Sohan Lal Arya had accompanied the Court commission on the mosque survey in Varanasi.
A local court in Varanasi on Monday asked the local administration to seal the area inside the Gyanvapi Masjid near the Kashi Vishwanath temple where a Shivling was found during the three-day video survey. The court also directed Varanasi DM, Police Commissioner, Police Commissionerate and CRPF Commandant to ensure the security of the sealed area.
Gyanvapi mosque dispute and survey
The Gyanvapi Mosque complex is a disputed structure built over the ruins of the desecrated old Kashi Vishwanath Temple by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb after it was desecrated multiple times by Islamic monarchs such as Qutb al-Din Aibak and Aurangzeb.
To this day, parts of this ancient temple are clearly visible on the outer walls of the mosque, especially the western wall which has been kept intact. Moreover, there is enough historical evidence of the demolition of the temple, the building of the mosque, and the rebuilding of the temple at the current adjacent site.
The Kashi Vishwanath Temple complex, which is adjacent to the disputed mosque complex and where devotees can do puja and prayers, was built by Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore in 1780.
A Varanasi court on May 12 allowed a videographic survey of the disputed structure. Varanasi’s Civil Judge (Senior Division) Ravi Kumar Diwakar issued guidelines for the same and added that a report of the survey must be submitted by May 17.
A 54-member team, led by advocate commissioner Ajay Kumar Mishra, surveyed the Gyanvapi complex basement and the western wall on Saturday (May 14). According to the reports, the survey team opened eight vaults of the disputed structure of Gyanvapi mosque.
