In Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, a team from the Archaeological Examination of India (ASI) arrived on Friday morning to begin a scientific examination of the Gyanvapi mosque complex amidst high security.

The development comes a day after the Allahabad High Court granted the ASI permission to carry out the study, which attempts to ascertain whether the mosque from the 17th century was built on the remains of a Hindu temple.

When the ASI survey started, only those authorised by the district government were present.

The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid committee members chose not to participate in the survey during this time.

Sohanlal Arya representing the Hindu side said that during the previous assessment, numerous artefacts were discovered inside the premises, showing the site is a temple. These artifacts included statues of Shiva and Parvati, a statue of Varaha (Boar Vishnu’s avatar), bells, tridents, and many other pieces of evidence.

The Varanasi district court’s judgement was supported by the Allahabad High Court on Thursday, which also found that the proposed action is necessary in the interest of justice and will be advantageous to all parties.

The decision was made following an appeal to the Supreme Court by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid committee, who were acting as counsel for the Muslim side in the legal battle.

A previous Supreme Court ruling preserving that location in the Gyanvapi complex, the mosque wazu khana, would not be included in the survey since it is the location of a structure that Hindu petitioners claim to be a shivling.

Hindu activists assert that there was once a temple there that was destroyed in the 17th century by Mughal ruler Aurangzeb.

Meanwhile, The truth regarding the temple at the location will now come out, according to BJP leaders who praised the high court decision.

BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur said, it’s a good decision. It is one that offers hope to us Indians, according to Pragya Singh Thakur. She also said, the truth always comes out; it takes time, but the truth comes out.

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The Gyanvapi mosque, which is close to the Kashi Vishwanath temple, was given permission to be carbon-dated on Friday by a Varanasi court. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will carry out the complex’s scientific survey, with the exception of the contentious Shivling structure.

Vishnu Shankar Jain, a lawyer for the Hindu side of the controversy, had submitted a petition asking the court to order the ASI to examine the entire Gyanvapi mosque complex.

The court requested the Gyanvapi mosque committee to submit a response to the Hindu side’s arguments after deciding to hear the petition in May. The court heard both parties before reaching its conclusion today.

Jain contended in court that the only way to settle the disagreement between the Gyanvapi mosque and the Kashi Vishwanath temple was to conduct an archaeological survey of the entire mosque complex. According to him, the situation can be understood by conducting a modern analysis of the Gyanvapi complex’s three domes, western wall, and overall complex.

The disputed Shivling building inside the Gyanvapi mosque-Kashi Vishwanath corridor was not to be carbon dated, the Supreme Court ordered ASI in May. The Allahabad High Court’s ruling allowing a scientific examination to determine whether the building is a Shivling or a fountain was suspended as a result of this decision.

The Muslim side has insisted that the item was a component of the fountain system at the wuzukhana reservoir, where worshippers bathe before performing namaz. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was ordered by the Supreme Court on May 19 to postpone carbon dating of the Shivling until after the next hearing in the case.

The Muslim side refuted the Hindu claim that Raja Tondal Mal rebuilt the Lord Adi Vishweshwar Temple at the same location in 1580 AD after it had been attacked and destroyed by Muslim invaders.

The Masjid committee claimed that neither the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb was harsh nor did he destroy any Lord Adi Vishweshwar Temple in Varanasi.

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RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday made his first remark on the ongoing Gyanvapi mosque row and said that people do not need to look for Shivling in every mosque and the RSS is not in the favour of launching any other movement on such issues.

On Thursday, Mohan Bhagwat was addressing the concluding session of the RSS officer training camp in Nagpur, in which he said that they have special devotion towards some places and they spoke about it but people should not bring out a new matter daily.

He further said that why should they escalate the dispute? They have devotion towards Gyanvapi and are doing something as per that, it’s alright. But why look for a Shivling in every masjid?

He also said that the Gyanvapi matter is currently going and they cannot change history. Neither today’s Hindu nor today’s Muslim created it. It happened at that time. Islam came from outside via attackers. In the attacks, Devsthans were demolished to exhaust the morale of those who wanted India’s independence.

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He also said that issues were raised over places in which Hindus have a special devotion. Hindus don’t think against Muslims. The ancestors of today’s Muslims were Hindus too. It was done to keep them forever devoid of independence and suppress morale. So Hindus feel that religious places should be restored.

RSS chief also said that if there are issues in mind, they will rise. It is not against anyone and people should find a path through mutual agreement if a path does not always come out, people approach the court and if it is done then whatever the court decides should be accepted. He then said that people should abide by the decisions, considering our judicial system pious and supreme, people should not question its decisions.

Mohan Bhagwat concluded by saying that they are not opposed to any form of worship and they consider all of them holy. He said that they have no opposition against any form of worship, they accept them all and consider all of them holy. They may have adopted that form of worship, but they are descendants of our rishis, munis, and Kshatriyas. We are descendants of the same ancestors.

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Delhi Police on Friday arrested Delhi University’s Hindu college professor Dr Ratan Lal, a professor of History for hurting religious sentiments. He was arrested for sharing a post referring to the claims about a Shivling found inside Varanasi’s Gyanvapi mosque complex.

His arrest came days after when there was a massive outrage over his social media post. Police said that Mr Lal was arrested under Indian Penal Code sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 295A (deliberate act to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion) by the Cyber Police Station, North.

It is reported that an FIR was lodged against the history professor on a complaint filed by a Delhi-based lawyer. In the complaint, advocate Vineet Jindal said Mr Lal had recently shared a derogatory, inciting and provocative tweet on the Shivling. In the complaint, he even said that Mr Lal’s statement is instigating and provoking people.

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The lawyer further said that the statement that was posted by him was on issue f a Shivling found in the Gyanvapi mosque complex which is very sensitive in nature and the matter is pending before the court.

After the arrest of Dr Lal, the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), as well as the All India Students Association (AISA), protested and blocked the road outside Cyber PS, North District, demanding his release. The members of these organisations raised slogans and carried protest cards in support of Lal stating that he was detained illegally.

Earlier, Mr Lal has defended his post and said that in India, if you speak about anything, someone or the other’s sentiment will be hurt. So this is nothing new. I am a historian and have made several observations. As I wrote them down, I have used very guarded language in my post and still this. I will defend myself.

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Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra recently shared pictures of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, which looks quite similar to a Shivling, and said that hope it is not next on the digging list.

Her tweet came at a time when the Gyanvapi mosque row is taking place, and during the filming of the mosque, a thing was found in the pond (Wazookhana) which some people claimed was a Shivling. While the Muslims claimed that it is a fountain, that is used for the purification process in the Wazookhana.

In her tweet, there were pictures of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and she wrote, Hope Bhabha Atomic Research Centre is not next on the digging list….

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As soon as she shared the tweet, people started reacting to it. One of the users wrote that she should not give them any ideas.

Another user wrote Are you giving them suggestions kya pata kal ko bjp ka he koi mla ya mp uth kar yeh sach mein bolde.

Yet another wrote this is next after Gyanvapi, bhakts will come for the Bhabha atomic research centre.

Recently, on Monday, the court directed the Varanasi district administration to seal the spot where the petitioners claimed that the Shivling was found.

The Supreme Court is hearing a petition by the Gyanvapi mosque committee challenging the survey, saying that the Shivling area should be protected without impeding Muslims from using the mosque for worship.

Meanwhile, a top official who was also leading the filming of the Gyanvapi mosque complex for a case was sacked by a court in Varanasi today over leaks allegedly by a private cameraperson hired by him. In the case, the court gave two more days for the report of the filming at the Gyanvapi Masjid in a case involving claims that parts of a temple are inside the mosque complex.

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The Varanasi court on Thursday pronounced the judgement on the Gyanvapi mosque filming case and said that the filming should be completed before May 17. Now, the order by the district court on filming at the Gyanvapi mosque has been challenged in the Supreme Court. The matter is yet to be listed.

Notably, the filming of the Gyanvapi mosque will begin tomorrow. The district court on Thursday finalised the date for a report on the survey to be submitted as of May 17, the court-appointed two additional advocate commissioners to oversee the inspection and decided not to replace the present advocate general, as was being demanded by the mosque authorities.

It was also mentioned in the order that 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.

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The 1991 act, bars jurisdiction to 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.

Meanwhile, the top court on Friday declined to immediately stop the survey of Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, saying the matter would have to be considered in due course.

Seeking an urgent intervention from Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana, senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi pleaded for a status quo in the case pending before the Varanasi civil court, which on Thursday directed a day-to-day survey of a mosque to inspect, conduct videography and collect evidence regarding the alleged existence of Hindu deities inside the mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

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