The Gyanvapi complex video survey and subsequent unrest are issues best avoided

A survey of part of the Kashi Vishwanath temple Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi is underway. It began on Friday as per a court’s order and quickly ran into a controversy. The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, which manages the Gyanvapi mosque, is against the videography of the complex. They say it is against their beliefs. As the survey began, protesters shouted slogans at the site and loud noises were made in TV newsrooms on both sides. The survey, along with the videography, is being done by court-appointed advocate commissioner Ajai Kumar and his team. The survey was ordered by a Varanasi civil court on April 26 on a 2021 petition by five women, who sought daily prayers and worship rights at the Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal, which is in the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi complex. The court ordered a survey of the entire area of plot number 9130, which includes Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal and the Gyanvapi complex.  The court has asked the survey report to be presented before the next hearing in the case on May 17. There is the fear that the city’s law and order may be disturbed as tempers are running high.

Unfortunately, the development has opened a Pandora’s box at a time when the society is already suffering from the plague of schism. Hatred against the minority community has taken root like never before. There has been a sudden surge in claims on the ASI-protected monuments. Petitioners are mushrooming everywhere and claiming that these monuments were once Hindu shrines or temples. Recently people have staked a claim on Qutub Minar, Taj Mahal, Humayun’s Tomb, and so on. Gyanvapi mosque happens to be just one of the many sites on the radar of right-wing elements. Besides, reaching conclusions on half-baked theories and flimsy evidence are a travesty of justice. For instance, the survey being conducted in the Gyanvapi complex is not even by the ASI, which is a competent authority. ‘Correcting’ history is fraught with dangerous consequences and does nobody any good, including to the plaintiff. The country has suffered enough for 30 years in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition; numerous lives were lost, property worth crores destroyed and social fabric tattered beyond repair. If we again go down that path, we may end up burning the country yet again.