Page 6 - Mosques

ASI begins survey at Gyanvapi mosque, possibility of radar usage likely

A heavy police force was also deployed in the area before arrival of the ASI team

ASI conducts scientific survey of Gyanvapi for 2nd day, to continue on Sun

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Saturday examined the central hall of the Gyanvapi mosque on the second day of the scientific survey to determine if the 17th-century mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple. Five members from the Muslim side were also present during the survey, after having stayed away on Friday. Government counsel Rajesh Mishra, who was with the ASI survey team a day before as well, on Saturday said the team started work in the morning and completed it by 5 pm. The survey work was stopped between 1 pm to 3 pm for lunch. ASI officials told PTI that the survey work will resume again at 8 am on Sunday. According to ASI officials, the team examined the central hall of the mosque where Namaz is offered. The team also surveyed a few basement areas in the complex. Advocate Tauheed Khan for the Muslim side said two lawyers of the Intezamia Masjid Committee accompanied the survey team. A lawyer for the Hindu side Sudhir Tripathi

GPR can detect if any structure is buried under mosque: ex-ASI official

A former senior ASI official has said that the ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology being used in the ongoing scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex can detect if any structure is buried beneath the mosque. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Saturday resumed its scientific survey work at the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh to determine whether the 17th-century mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple. Former additional director general of the ASI B R Mani said radar technology or ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology involves certain types of equipment. "These equipment are kept on the ground and electromagnetic waves or pulses are sent on the sub-surface level below the ground. These pulses come in contact with any anomaly like bricks, sand, stone, and metals and it is recorded on a monitor," said Mani, who is the Director General of the National Museum here. "Experts study it and make the alignment after which t

Stones pelted at mosque gate in Haryana's Rohtak, case registered

A case was registered against unidentified persons after some people allegedly threw stones at the gate of a mosque in Haryana's Rohtak, police said on Saturday, as Nuh and other parts of the state return to normal after communal clashes that left six dead. Police said the Rohtak incident took place Friday around 10:30 pm at Aanwal village and a case was lodged by mosque cleric Iqbal. They said security around the mosque has been tightened. They said some unidentified people allegedly pelted stones at the gate of the mosque's boundary wall. Upon getting information, Rohtak Additional Superintendent of Police Medha Bhushan reached the site Friday night with her team. Police said a case has been registered and further investigation was underway. The case was registered under relevant sections including 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) of the Indian Penal Code against unidentified people, said Inspector Ramesh Kumar, police .

Owaisi hopes Gyanvapi survey will not open floodgates for 'thousand Babris'

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday wondered how things will pan out after the Archaeological Survey of India reports are made public after the investigation and hoped that the floodgates for a "thousand Babris" (Babri Masjid) will not be opened. The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the Allahabad High Court order allowing the ASI to conduct a scientific survey at the Gyanvapi mosque complex to determine if the 17th century structure was built upon a pre-existing temple, notwithstanding the assertion by the Muslim side that the exercise will "reopen wounds of the past". He said in a tweet one hopes that neither the incidents of "December 23 nor December 6" will repeat and the observation of the Supreme Court in the Ayodhya judgement regarding the sanctity of the Places of Worship Act must not be dishonoured. "#Gyanvapi ASI reports are made public, who knows how things will pan out. One hopes that neither 23rd December nor 6th December will repeat. The observation of the .

ASI resumes scientific survey of Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Saturday resumed its scientific survey work at the Gyanvapi mosque here to determine whether the 17th-century mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple. Government counsel Rajesh Mishra, who accompanied the ASI survey team during the day-long exercise a day before, on Saturday said the team started work in the morning and it would end at 5 pm. The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the Allahabad High Court order on the ASI survey of the Gyanvapi mosque, an exercise that the Muslim side says will "reopen wounds of the past". The bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, however, asked the ASI not to carry out any invasive act during the survey. This ruled out excavations, which the Varanasi court had said can be conducted if necessary. The Supreme Court nod on Friday came just hours after an ASI team had already resumed the detailed scientific survey ordered by the

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Gyanvapi row: ASI survey underway at mosque complex amid tight security

The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid committee has challenged the ruling in the Supreme Court (SC), a request that will be heard later today

Gyanvapi row: ASI team starts work on survey of mosque complex in Varanasi

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) began working on a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi premises here on Friday to determine whether the 17th-century mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple. The survey began at around 7 am, ASI sources said. The ASI team members, along with the representatives of the Hindu petitioners to a legal dispute involving the mosque, were present inside the complex under watertight security arrangements. The members of the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid committee have boycotted the survey. The representatives of the committee who were to accompany the ASI team for the survey abstained from doing so. The survey began after the Allahabad High Court on Thursday upheld a Varanasi district court order and ruled that the proposed step is "necessary in the interest of justice" and will benefit both sides. The order came after the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid committee, representing the Muslim side to the legal dispute, moved the Supreme

Allahabad HC allows ASI to conduct survey of Gyanvapi mosque complex

The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee had challenged the Varanasi District Judge's July 21 order

Gyanvapi case: Allahabad HC likely to announce verdict on ASI survey today

The PIL stated that the entry of non-Hindus should be banned so that the symbols found in the survey (Trident, Lotus and Swastika) are not harmed

Man killed in attack on Gurugram mosque, third death in Haryana violence

A 26-year-old man was killed and a mosque set ablaze in the Sector 57 area as the violence that erupted over an attempt to stop a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession in neighbouring Nuh district spread to Gurugram, police here said. The mob opened fire in which two persons were injured. One of them died during treatment, they said. The victim has been identified as Saad, a native of Bihar, a senior officer said. This is the third death in wake of the "intense communal tension" that spread from Nuh. According to the police, the mob reached the Anjuman Masjid in Sector 57 after midnight. Some people in the crowd opened fire at the people present in the mosque and also set it on fire. Two home guards were killed and at least 15 others, including several policemen, were injured on Monday as a mob in Nuh district tried to stop a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession, pelting stones and setting cars on fire, officials said on Monday. As news of the violence in Muslim-dominated Nuh spread, mobs

'If BJP surveys mosques, people will search for monasteries in temples'

In an apparent reference to disputes in Varanasi and Mathura, Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya said if the BJP looks for a temple in every mosque then people would start searching for a Buddhist monastery in every temple. "The Badrinath and Kedarnath temples in Uttarakhand, the Jagannath Temple in Puri, the Ayyappa Temple in Kerala and the Vithoba temple in Pandharpur (Maharashtra) were Buddhist monasteries. These Buddhist monasteries were demolished and then Hindu religious shrines came up there. They were Buddhist monasteries till the eighth century," he said on Sunday. The SP national general secretary claimed there is ample historical evidence that all these temples were Buddhist monasteries. He said his intention is not to turn these temples into Buddhist monasteries "but, if you search for a temple in every mosque, then why should a Buddhist monastery not be searched for in every temple?" "BJP people under a conspiracy are raising the mosque-temple issue. They are .

Take no action on notice to mosques for encroachment: Delhi HC to Railways

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Railways not to take any action pursuant to its notices pasted on two mosques on Tilak Marg and Babar Road for removal of "unauthorised" structures and "encroachment" from its land. Justice Prateek Jalan granted time to the central government counsel, on his request, to take instructions on the petition by the Delhi Waqf Board which claimed that the notices were "generic" and the two mosques Masjid Takia Babbar Shah near Railway Bridge on Tilak Marg and Masjid Bachchu Shah on Babar Marg, which is also known as Bengali Market Mosque, are not unauthorised and the land does not belong to the Railways. The court observed that the notices were not signed, did not mention the authority under which they were issued, and could be pasted on any structure. "What kind of a notice is this? Some generic thing is it being posted everywhere? The way it reads, it can be posted on any (building). It does not refer to any building, no date, no nothing,

Supreme Court revives Gyanvapi panel plea, explains ASI survey stay

While granting the stay on the interim plea, the Supreme Court accidentally disposed of the main case on July 24

Varanasi court orders scientific survey of Gyanvapi mosque: Govt counsel

A Varanasi court on Friday ordered a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple here, according to government counsel Rajesh Mishra. The barricaded wazukhana', where a structure claimed by Hindu litigants to be a shivling' exists, will not be part of the survey. The court of A K Vishvesh upheld the petition of a group of Hindu devotees seeking a scientific survey to determine if the mosque was built at the site of a Hindu temple. The court had on July 14 reserved its order after hearing both Hindu and Muslim sides. The petition filed by the Hindu group had sought a direction to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to survey the entire Gyanvapi mosque complex. The Muslims side had opposed the plea, saying an ASI survey could damage the complex.

Eid ul-Adha prayers 'not allowed' at Jama Masjid, Eidgah in Srinagar

Authorities here have disallowed Eid prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid as well as the Eidgah in the city, according to the managing body of the mosque. Congregational Eid prayers have not been allowed at the Eidgah for the last many years now. In a statement, the managing body of the Jamia Masjid said on Wednesday, "This is to inform the public that authorities have conveyed to Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid that once again, Eid ul Adha prayers will not be allowed at the historic and central Eidgah Srinagar". Eid prayers have not taken place at the Eidgah since 2016 after the killing of then Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, as the authorities apprehend law and order issued. Wani, then a poster boy of militancy in the valley, was killed in an encounter with security forces on July 8, 2016 -- three days after Eid ul Fitr. His killing led to protests in the valley for many months. The Anjuman also denounced the continued detention of Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir, Mohammad Umar Farooq, who

Gyanvapi row: Allahabad court to hear petition filed by waqf board today

The Allahabad High Court had previously reserved its judgment on the maintainability of the lawsuit pending in the Varanasi court. The court will now hear all related matters together

Gyanvapi row: HC to hear waqf board petition, mosque management on Friday

The Allahabad High Court will hear on Friday a petition filed by the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Waqf Board and the Gyanvapi masjid management committee that has challenged the maintainability of a suit pending before a Varanasi court, seeking the restoration of a temple at the site of the mosque. The petitioners have also challenged an April 8, 2021 order of the Varanasi court, directing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a comprehensive survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex. On November 28, 2022, Justice Prakash Padia had reserved his judgment in the matter after hearing both sides at length. However, in its order dated May 24, Justice Padia said more clarifications were required from the counsel for the parties. Considering this, the matter was put up, along with other connected matters, for further hearing on Friday. The high court had earlier reserved its judgment on the maintainability of the suit pending in the Varanasi court. Now, all connected matters on the suit'

Gyanvapi case: We need to tread carefully in this matter, says SC

The Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government both agreed to the plea for adjourning the proposed scientific survey of "Shivling" for the time being