A model of the Gyanvapi Masjid as a temple has also been displayed at the ongoing Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj. In this way, Hindutva forces are also using the Kumbh Mela to further their agenda. Gyanvapi, which shares a wall with the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, is among dozens of Islamic structures against which petitions have been filed in the courts claiming that these temples were demolished and rebuilt. Swami Narendranand Saraswasti, the Mahant of Varanasi’s Sumeru Math, inaugurated the exhibition yesterday, which shows a model of Gyanvapi, the upper half of which has been designed as a temple. Apart from this, 120 photographs have also been displayed in the exhibition, which depict Hindu symbols in the mosque part.
A survey of Gyanvapi was conducted in 2023 on the orders of a local court and its report was submitted to the court in a sealed cover, yet the photographs taken during the survey have come to light. The organizers of the exhibition say that these photographs were taken by enthusiastic photographers and are not part of the court proceedings. The Mahant had said at the inauguration of the exhibition that he wants to liberate Gyanvapi through constitutional means and all Sanatani people should come forward to achieve this mission. The exhibition has been organised by the Varanasi-based organisation Shri Adi Mahadev Kashi Dharmalya Mukti Nyas, which is committed to liberating all temples allegedly occupied by non-Hindus.
The Gyanvapi case is being heard in the lower court as well as in the Allahabad High Court. The Hindu petitioners claim that Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb demolished a part of the original Kashi Vishwanath temple and built the Gyanvapi Mosque there. Following a 2023 survey, a Varanasi court last year gave the basement of the mosque to Hindus for worshipping idols, which had allegedly been locked for many years. Muslims still offer prayers on the ground floor. The mosque committee has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Varanasi court’s decision, arguing that Parliament had passed a law in 1991 that no religious structure, except the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid, could be converted into a structure of any other religion. The Supreme Court is currently hearing petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. Hindutva forces are not ready to accept the law that except for Ram Janmabhoomi, no religious structure built before 1947 can be tampered with. These saffron forces are day by day searching for temples under mosques and are stirring up the emotions of Hindus to occupy them. The exhibition of Kumbh, where crores of people are coming to take bath, is also part of this big Hindutva agenda.
