oppn parties Gyanvapi Case: New Twist As A 'Shivling' Is Found In The Complex Pond

News Snippets

  • 2nd ODI: Rohit Sharma roars back to form with a scintillating ton as India beat England by 4 wickets in a high scoring match in Cuttack
  • Supreme Court will appoint an observer for the mayoral poll in Chandigarh
  • Government makes it compulsory for plastic carry bag makers to put a QR or barcode with their details on such bags
  • GBS outbreak in Pune leaves 73 ill with 14 on ventilator. GBS is a rare but treatable autoimmune disease
  • Madhya Pradesh government banned sale and consumption of liquor at 19 religious sites including Ujjain and Chitrakoot
  • Odisha emerges at the top in the fiscal health report of states while Haryana is at the bottom
  • JSW Steel net profit takes a massive hit of 70% in Q3
  • Tatas buy 60% stake in Pegatron, the contractor making iPhone's in India
  • Stocks return to negative zone - Sensex sheds 329 points to 76190 and Nifty loses 113 points to 23092
  • Bumrah, Jadeja and Yashasvi Jaiswal make the ICC Test team of the year even as no Indian found a place in the ODI squad
  • India take on England in the second T20 today at Chennai. They lead the 5-match series 1-0
  • Ravindra Jadeja excels in Ranji Trophy, takes 12 wickets in the match as Saurashtra beat Delhi by 10 wickets. All other Team India stars disappoint in the national tournament
  • Madhya Pradesh HC says collectors must not apply NSA "under political pressure and without application of mind"
  • Oxfam charged by CBI over violation of FCRA
  • Indian students in the US have started quitting part-time jobs (which are not legally allowed as per visa rules) over fears of deportation
Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh resigns after meeting Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda /////// President's Rule likely in Manipur
oppn parties
Gyanvapi Case: New Twist As A 'Shivling' Is Found In The Complex Pond

By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2022-05-16 13:26:30

About the Author

Sunil Garodia The India Commentary view

As expected, the Gyanvapi survey issue is likely to snowball into a conflict between communities after the alleged discovery of a 'shivling' in the pond inside the complex. The survey team has said that a 'shivling' was found when the water was drained out of the pond that the devotees used for wudu (the purification process before namaz). A Varanasi court has ordered that the area where the 'shivling' was found is to be sealed until further orders.

It needs to be remembered that the plea before the Varanasi court had two issues - the first plea demanded that a portion in the complex which was open to Hindus for prayers once a year be opened throughout the year and the second demanded that Hindus be given the right to worship "visible and invisible deities inside the old temple complex". The very fact that the court had ordered a video-recorded survey for both the pleas was blatantly wrong - it should have out rightly junked the second plea as that amounted to changing the basic character of the place of worship and was against provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act  1991 (PWSPA).

Now, the alleged discovery of the 'shivling' has complicated matters. Although the sealing of the area, though it looks like a hasty and biased decision by the court, is good as that will prevent any untoward incident from taking place, the Supreme Court, which is slated to hear the pleas against the survey ordered by the Varanasi court, must now also look into the issues that arise after that alleged discovery. The PWSPA, which froze the character of places of worship in India as they existed on August 15, 1947 (except the Babri Masjid-Ram Janambhoomi spot), was enacted precisely to prevent such things from happening. The Supreme Court will have to decide the matter as per the provisions of the said Act.