Another Babri Mosque episode in the making

On the eve of filing nomination papers for Lok Sabha 2019 from Varanasi – UP, Narendara Modi had announced to materialize the construction of Kashi Vishwanath temple or Vishwanath dham at a cost or Indian rupees 600 crores. Kashi is the sacred place of Hindus on the embankments of River Ganga attributed to Shiv god generally represented by Shiv Ling. The project aims at clearing an area of around 45,000 square metres, and construction of 50 feet wide pathways. Being the constituency of Modi, the project has been given extraordinary attention by the UP govt under Hindu extremist CM Yogi Adityanath. Reportedly, UP authorities have stepped up the clearing activities and destroyed many old buildings/temples, demolishing 300 homes and displacing 600 families. Many local residents have also complained that their houses were got vacated or forcibly purchased.
To register their dislike, locals have started protests; Hindu priests also seem furious over destruction of their temples and allege that both Modi and Adityanath are worse than Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Swami Avimukteshwaran is the head of the Sri Vidya Math, Varanasi and one of the disciples of Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati. He has been among the more vociferous opponents of the project. He maintained: “They have destroyed 15 or 20 temples and numerous idols that had been there since ancient times. It is an attack on our faith”. Varanasi residents also claim that this corridor is being built by crushing the soul of Kashi. Apart from destruction of Hindu temples and desecration of Shiv ling places, there is another issue of grave concern i.e. fomenting trouble in the area, There is centuries old Muslim mosque namely the Gyanvapi mosque, which is adjacent to Modi’s Kashi Vishwanath temple project.
Much like the history of the Babri Masjid site, Hindu groups have been continuously claiming rights to the land of the Gyanvapi mosque. In 1936, after disputes with the Hindu residents of the area, Muslims filed a suit in civil court in then Benarus (now Varanasi). In 1937, the court allowed the Muslims to offer prayers and celebrate Urs of the Sufi saint buried in the courtyard of the mosque. In 1991, PV Narasimha Rao government passed “the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act”, which states that all religious sites would be maintained as they were on 15 August 1947. Despite this law, in 1991, RSS activist Somnath Vyas filed a case in a Varanasi civil court demanding that the mosque site be handed over to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. As the work for the corridor has accelerated, so has the frequency of incidents related to the Gyanvapi mosque.
Not long after the Allahabad high court issued its stay on 25 October 2018, a government contractor demolished the Chhattadwar Chabutra – the boundary wall on the north side of the mosque site. The incident caused flare-up among the local residents. Muslims from the area gathered, and protested the administration’s decision, stating that it would endanger the mosque. Meanwhile, the corridor project, ongoing demolition of structures surrounding the mosque site, posed dangers to the mosque, also prompted the state government to increase the security. Since the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992, the area (Varanasi) has been also witnessing Hindu-Muslim tension every year and there are chances of a situation with regard the Gyanvapi mosque turning into another “Babri Mosque” like issue, as Modi’s Kashi Vishwanath corridor has provided Hindu extremist groups a golden opportunity to demolish the mosque.
The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi has been Narendra Modi’s dream project. The corridor, spread over an area of 39,000 square metres with an investment of Rs. 700 crore, will link the ancient shrine and one of the 12 Jyotirlinga Temples to the famous ghats in Varanasi. As the process to build the corridor was set in motion, huge swathes of buildings flanking the narrow lanes leading to ghats and temples were demolished. Now, it appears, Muslims in the area are concerned over the construction of the corridor that it could pave the way for demolition of the adjacent Gyanvapi Mosque, Times of India had reported. The TOI report narrates an incident where a chhabootra was being demolished by authorities in October last year. The demolition prompted a mob to gather in the area which ultimately had to be stopped.