The Delhi Police on Tuesday, 10 May, detained 44 members of right-wing organisations United Hindu Front (UHF) and Rashtravadi Shiv Sena, who were chanting Hanuman Chalisa outside Qutub Minar and demanded that the centuries-old minaret be renamed 'Vishnu Stambh.'
Chants of Jai Shri Ram were also reportedly heard at the protest site.
As the protesters reached the monument, they were detained by the police at Bhul Bhulaiya and reportedly taken to the Mehrauli Police Station, as per news agency IANS.
"They were detained because they cannot protest in the middle of the road causing traffic snarls, thereby creating inconvenience for commuters," News18 quoted a police official as saying.
The UHF had given a call to recite Hanuman Chalisa on the premises of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mehrauli area. Meanwhile, heavy police force was deployed in the locality.
What the UHF Said
Bhagwan Goyal, the international working president of the UHF made a historically unverified statement saying that the minaret was built by the "great king Vikramaditya," but that Mughal ruler Qutub-ud-din Aibak "claimed credit for it."
"When Qutab-ud-din Aibak came to India, he demolished Hindu and Jain temples and started calling it Qutub Minar. This is not Qutub Minar, it is Vishnu Stambh. Its name should be immediately changed," he said.
Goyal also said that several Hindu idols were present inside the monument complex, out of which many were broken. He added that this was proof that the demolition of a temple took place there.
Further, Goyal said he protested for his 'right to worship at the monument' and asserted that he had sent a memorandum of the group's demands to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy, News18 reported.
Members of a right-wing outfit called Mahakal Manav Sewa also staged a protest near the monument in Delhi on Tuesday.
'Not Allowing Me To Leave My House': UHF President
Goyal, who had given the call to reach the complex at 12 pm, said that he had been under house arrest since morning at his residence in Delhi's Shahdara area, IANS reported.
"At least 10-15 police personnel are outside my house. They are not allowing me to leave," Goyal said.
The demand by the right-wing group comes in contrast to Delhi Tourism's description of the monument – "Qutab Minar is a soaring, 73 m-high tower of victory, built in 1193 by Qutab-ud-din Aibak immediately after the defeat of Delhi's last Hindu kingdom. The tower has five distinct storeys, each marked by a projecting balcony and tapers from a 15 m diameter at the base to just 2.5 m at the top."
(With inputs from News18, PTI and IANS.)
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