Controversy Erupts as ASI Initiates ‘Scientific Survey’ of Varanasi’s Gyanvapi Mosque

New Delhi, July 24, 2023: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has initiated a “scientific survey” of Varanasi’s Gyanvapi mosque, commencing today, despite the mosque management committee’s petition filed in the Supreme Court to challenge the Varanasi district court’s permission for the inspection.

The survey, which began at 7 am, will encompass all areas except the sealed “wuzukhana,” where a structure resembling a ‘Shivling’ – a relic of Lord Shiva – was purportedly discovered during a previous survey in 2022.

The mosque management committee is refraining from participating in the survey conducted by the ASI, with Syed Mohammad, Joint Secretary of the Masjid Committee, stating that none of the members from the Muslim side will be present during the inspection.

The ASI is mandated to submit the survey report to the district court by August 4.

The district court’s order on Friday authorized the inspection, following a plea by four women worshippers who claimed that the Gyanvapi mosque was constructed after demolishing an ancient Hindu temple. They sought a scientific study to ascertain the historical facts surrounding the site.

The petitioners had previously sought year-long access to the “Shringar Gauri” shrine inside the mosque during the 2021 Gyanvapi matter.

Subhash Nandan Chaturvedi, representing the Hindu side in the Gyanvapi case, hailed the court’s decision as a turning point in the case, stating that their application for the ASI survey had been accepted.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the mosque management committee’s petition against the Varanasi district court’s order at 10:30 am.

In May, the Supreme Court had postponed the “scientific survey,” including carbon dating, of the “Shivling” based on its alleged discovery in the Gyanvapi mosque complex during a videographic survey conducted last year.

The Gyanvapi mosque, situated in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency, is one of several mosques subject to claims by the right-wing of being built on the remnants of Hindu temples. It has been at the center of the temple-mosque disputes, akin to Ayodhya and Mathura, that the BJP raised in the 1980s and 1990s.