The monk chief minister of India’s most populated north-eastern State Uttar Pradesh abhors Mughal icons. He says that Mughals cannot be heroes to the Hindu. He renamed Mughal Museum as Chatrapatti Shivajee. During the election campaign he supported RSS’s demand for renaming Hyderabad as ‘Bhagyanagar’. The fanatic Hindu says that about 60,000 temples were converted into mosques during the Mughal rule. The Supreme Court pronounced that the Babri Masjid was in fact Ram Janam Bhoomi temple. Petitions have been filed to “restore “Tajo mahilya temple’ (Taj Mahal), Kashi Vishwanath Temple (Gyanvapi mosque).
A court ordered survey of the Gyanvapi mosque to trace remnants of the imaginary temple. The survey team appears to have inferred that an ablution fountain is a Shiva Lingum. The fanatic Hindu claims that Qutub Minar is actually the Vishnu pillar. It should be renamed Vishnu Stambha They chanted the Hanuman Chalisa near the historic building Qutub Minar in Delhi on May 10, 2022It is alleged that the minaret was constructed by demolishing 27 Jain and Hindu temples.
What is a Shiva Lingum?
After the disputed structure of the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, there is also a demand for a survey of the Taj Mahal. Several organisations are of the view that the 20 closed rooms of the Taj Mahal should be opened, claiming that they contain idols of Hindu gods and goddesses. A petition has also been filed in the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court in this regard.
According to Rohit Dasgupta, the lingam symbolizes Shiva in Hinduism, and it is also a phallic symbol. Since the 19th-century, the popular literature has represented the lingam as the male sex organ.
In Shiva-ite temples the lingam is often at the centre, surrounded by murtis (sacred images of deities). It is a smooth cylindrical mass. Often it rests in the centre of a lipped, disk-shaped object, the yoni, which is an emblem of the goddess Shakti. Ancient Sanskrit texts such as the Mahabharata and the Puranas relate narratives that identify the lingam as the phallus of Shiva. Yoni (Sanskrit: “abode,” “source,” “womb,” or “vagina”)
Yoni is the symbol of the goddess Shakti (a goddess, the consort of Shiva), the feminine generative power.
In sculpture and paintings, the lingam is depicted as resting in the yoni as a cylinder in a spouted dish. The two symbols together represent the eternal process of creation and regeneration, the union of the male and female principles, and the totality of all existence.
Practicing Hindus consider the lingam and yoni together .Short cylindrical pillars with rounded tops have been found in remains from Harappa, one of the cities of the ancient Indus civilization (c. 2700–2500 BCE), but there is no evidence that those were worshipped as lingams. One verse in the Rigveda (c. 1500 BCE) refers with scorn to people who worship the phallus, but there is no evidence in that verse that phallus worship was associated with the lingam or with Shiva. The earliest known Shiva lingam is the Gudimallam lingam from the third century BCE.
A local court to hear plea for survey of Mathura mosque ‘on the lines of Gyanvapi’
A Muslim body says the survey violates a law enacted by Parliament in 1991. What is this law, and what has the Supreme Court said about it earlier?
Converted temples in focus
Aside from the “60000 demolished temples”, the following nine converted mosques have been in popular focus.
1. Ram Janmabhoomi Temple (Babri Masjid)
Many Hindus believe that the land on which the Babri Masjid was built in 1528 is the ‘Ram Janmabhoomi’ (birthplace of the Shri Rama). It was Mir Baqi, one of Mughal king Babur’s generals, who is said to have destroyed the pre-existing temple of Rama and built a mosque called Babri Masjid at the site. On December 6, 1992, the mosque was demolished by angry ‘kar sevaks’.In 2019, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court ruled that the 2.77-acre land claimed by both Hindus and Muslims would be handed over to a trust for the building of a temple.
2. The Kashi Vishwanath (Gyanvapi Mosque)
Kashi Vishwanath temple is one of the holiest Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva. The principal deity is known as Vishwanatha or Vishweshwara, which is another name for Shiva. ‘The temple town is claimed to be the oldest living city in the world, with 3500 years of documented history.
However, the original Jyotirlinga of Kashi Vishwanath was nowhere to be found. It is said that the old temple was demolished as a result of the Mughal attack. It is alleged that Akbar and Aurangzeb destroyed it many times. In 1669, they then built Gyanvapi Mosque in its place. Later in the 1780s, the present temple was erected a few feet from the mosque by Maratha queen Ahilya Bai Holkar.
3. The Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple (Shahi Idgah Mosque)
The Krishna Janmabhoomi temple is located in the holy city of Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. The temple is said to have been built by Lord Krishna’s grandson, Vajra. Ancient Hindu texts say that Mathura is the birthplace of the god, and locals believe that the temple was made 5,000 years ago.
Again during the Mugal era, the temple was allegedly demolished several times during 1017 AD. After being repaired by Hindu Kings the temple was again destroyed by emperor Aurangzeb and the Shahi Idgah mosque was built above the Krishna Temple.
4. Rudra Mahalaya (Jamia Masjid)
This ruined temple of Rudra Mahalaya is located in the Patan district of Gujarat. Located in the town named Siddhpur, the place derives its name from the ruler of Gujarat, named Siddhraj Jaisinh, who built a magnificent Rudra Mahalaya temple in the 12th century AD.
The temple was allegedly destroyed by Allauddin Khilji and later Ahmed Shah I ruined this temple and restored some part of it into the conjoint mosque. Years later, the locals found a shrine and Shiva Linga. This led to the erection or completion of the temple. Then Siddharaj put up the images of many great kings in the temple, along with a representation of himself with an inscription saying that, even if the land was ruined, this temple will never be destroyed.
Again, Mughal king Alauddin Khilji sent a strong army and destroyed the temple complex. The temple was further demolished and the western part was converted into a Jami Masjid by Ahmed Shah I of the Muzaffarid dynasty.
5. Bhojshala ( Kamal Maula Mosque)
Bhojshala is an ancient temple of Mata Saraswati. The temple was built in 1034 AD by Raja Bhoj, the powerful Hindu King whose empire extended from Rajasthan to Odisha and from Madhya Pradesh to Maharashtra. This temple is situated in the Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh, which was the capital of Raja Bhoj.
The process of the Islamic invasion started 36 years before the attack when a Muslim fakir named Kamal Moulana entered Malwa in 1269 AD. He collected information about the Malwa region for 36 years and handed it over to Alauddin Khilj.
Bhojshala was first attacked by Alauddin Khilji in 1305 AD. After the sacrifices of Hindu king Raja Mahakaldev and his soldiers in the battle, Khilji killed 1200 Hindus in Bhojshala as they refused to convert to Islam.
The Islam emperors tried to convert part of Saraswati Temple Bhojshala into a dargah. Today Muslims offer Namaz in this same Vijay Mandir. Later, Mehmudshah intruded on land outside Saraswati Temple and built ‘Kamal Moulana Makbara’ after 204 years of the death of Kamal Moulana.
6. Adinath Temple (Adina Mosque)
Adinath Temple is located in Pandua, West Bengal. Now known as Adina mosque, it was allegedly built by Sikandar Shah in 1358- 90 AD over a lavish ancient Hindu temple which is now said to be one of India’s biggest mosques. The Hindu claim the mosque was originally a Hindu temple of Lord Shiva which was demolished and rebuilt into a mosque.
The name “Adina” of the Adina mosque is also believed to come from the word “Adinath” depicting Lord Shiva.
7. Bhadrakali Temple (Jama Masjid)
Jama Masjid, which was constructed in 1424 CE by Ahmed Shah I, is allegedly a Hindu temple of Goddess Kali. Ahmad Shah I of the Muzaffarid dynasty captured Karnavati in 1411. Located in Ahmedabad, the city’s original names were Bhadra, Karnavati, Rajnagar, and Asaval of different ages. The name Bhadra was named after the Goddess, whose temple was built by the Rajput Parmar kings of Malwa (Rajasthan), who ruled this area between the 9th and 14th centuries.
The temple which is now a mosque is built with a large hall for mass prayers.
8. Vijay Temple (Bijamandal Mosque)
Bijamandal Mosque is located in Vidisha, a city in the state of Madhya Pradesh, around 60km from the capital city of Bhopal. Vidisha is famous for its Masjid.
Aurangzeb allegedly demolished the temple in 1658-1707 AD and converted it into a mosque.
9. Several Hindu & Jain Temples near Qutub Minar (Qawwat al-Islam Mosque)
It is believed that Qutub Minar in Delhi was actually Dhruv Sthambh that existed even before the times of King Vikramaditya and had Arabic scripts installed by Qutb-ud-din Aibak between 1191 – 1210 AD, followed by his successors Iltutmish, Alauddin, etc until 1315 AD.
The first mosque near the tower is Qubbat al-Islam or Quwwat al_Islam, Qutubud-Din Aibak, which was allegedly constructed after demolishing the Hindu temple built by Prithvi Raj Chauhan.
The Places Of Worship Act, 1991
The Places of Worship Act, 1991, seeks to prohibit the conversion of a place of worship and maintain its religious character as was at the time of India’s Independence on August 15, 1947. Section 4 (1) of the Act states: “The religious character of a place of worship existing on the 15th day of August, 1947 shall continue to be the same as it existed on that day.” The Act has been in force since July 11, 1991.
The Act in Section 4 (2) goes on to state that if any suit, appeal, or other proceedings concerning the conversion of the religious traits of any place of worship, existing on August 15, 1947, is pending before any court, tribunal or other authority, the same shall abate. It further stipulates that no fresh proceedings on such matters shall be initiated.
Section 3 of the Act prohibits conversion of a religious place in any manner, even to cater to a particular section of the religion. “No person shall convert any place of worship of any religious denomination or any section thereof into a place of worship of a different section of the same religious denomination or of a different religious denomination or any section thereof,” it reads.
The Act, however, exempts any place of worship, which is “an ancient and historical monument or an archaeological site or remains covered by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (24 of 1958) or any other law for the time being in force”.
Section 5 of the Act states that its provisions shall not apply to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case. “Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the place or place of worship commonly known as Ram Janma Bhumi-Babri Masjid situated in Ayodhya in the State of Uttar Pradesh and to any suit, appeal or other proceeding relating to the said place or place of worship”.
The statement that “praying in a mosque is not an essential part of Islam and namaz by Muslims can be offered even in the open” by a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in a 1994 judgment played a role in the Allahabad High Court decision to partition the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site.
Concluding reflections
The “secular” courts in India often dabble into religious matters. Emboldened by the Supreme Court verdict handing over a disputed site in Ayodhya to Hindu claimants, encourage the fanatic Hindu to capture sites in Varanasi and Mathura where the Gyanvapi mosque and Shahi Idgah Masjid are located. Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 sought to freeze the status of places of worship as on August 15, 1947, so that existing suits and proceedings abate and new claims are not entertained. Yet, in flagrant violation of the law, courts are repeatedly allowing proceedings to be initiated.
