'Not a Shivling But a Fountain, Can Prove It': Gyanvapi Mosque Committee Member

(This was first published on 24 May 2022. It has been republished from The Quint's archives over resumption of Gyanvapi mosque hearing.)

Syed Mohammad Yasin, the joint secretary of the Anjuman Intezamiya (mosque managing committee), said on Monday, 23 May, that what has been claimed to be a shivling in the Gyanvapi mosque complex is actually a fountain and that given a chance, he will prove the same.

"All masjids have a hauz (pool) inside and that has a fountain which both cleans and cools the water. Here (Gyanvapi) too, this is a fountain. And if I get an opportunity, I will switch it on and prove," he said.

Hours after the survey report was submitted in the Varanasi court on 19 May, a document, which was being claimed as the said report, had surfaced in the media.

The lawyer for one of the Hindu petitioners had moved court on the basis of the document, claiming that an important piece of evidence – a shivling – had been found in the wazookhana (a place for ablution – washing face, hands, and legs before the Islamic prayers) of the mosque.

He also said that the area should be sealed and kept out of bounds for Muslim devotees.

Speaking to The Quint, Yasin said that the leaking of the Gyanvapi mosque survey report was very "unfortunate."

"The judge had said that the survey report should be kept a secret. Now the judge should take cognisance regarding who leaked it, how it was leaked, and what was the purpose behind it," he said.

'Happy the Case Was Transferred to District Judge'

When asked whether he was pleased with the matter being handed over to the district judge in Varanasi, Yasin said, "It is very good. The act of commission by the civil judge was not just. They were issuing quick decisions without giving us any time."

Yasin also narrated an incident to The Quint in which the mosque committee had given a piece of land for the Kashinath corridor.

"When the temple was being built, the people of the trust said that a particular piece of land was acting as an obstruction in their path, and requested us to hand it over to them. Hence, we decided to do so. Can there be a bigger example than this?"

When asked to compare situations between 1992, when violence had occurred in Varanasi after the demolition of the Babri mosque, and today, when the Gyanvapi matter is ongoing, Yasin said that, in 1992, curfews were imposed in several parts of the city, while matters have not not gone out of hand currently.

"As of now, everything is going normally," he said, adding, "I cannot predict what will happen next, but the mosque committee will try their best to maintain harmony."

What Is the Case? 

The location of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi is adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. It is believed that it was built in the 17th century after the demolition of an existing Vishweshwar temple.

Some are of the opinion that the original lingam of the erstwhile Vishweshwar temple was hidden away in the adjoining Gyanvapi well during a raid by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

The court, in April this year, had ordered a video inspection of the site after five women affiliated with the right-wing group Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh filed petitions saying they were entitled to have daily darshan, pooja, and perform rituals at the site of Maa Shringar Gauri, Lord Ganesh, Lord Hanuman, and other "visible and invisible deities within old temple complex."