Varanasi/Bangalore, India – Varanasi, one of Hinduism's holiest cities on the banks of the Ganges, was filled with a festive atmosphere.
That was the week Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a new temple to the Hindu god Ram on the site of the former 16th-century Babri Masjid in the city of Ayodhya, 200 kilometers (124 miles) north. was.
In Varanasi, streets and boats along the river were decorated with saffron flags depicting Ram. Outside Varanasi's famous and historic Kashi Vishwanath temple, the scent of burning camphor and the sounds of Indian classical music wafted through the air as throngs of pilgrims flocked to the temple to offer prayers.
But next door, on the west side of the temple, the carnival-like atmosphere was replaced by a grim and somber atmosphere, with barricades and police greeting the crowd.
Police were guarding the Gyanvapi Mosque. It is widely believed that the mosque was built on the ruins of the 16th century Kashi Vishwanath temple, which was destroyed by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1669.
The partially destroyed Kashi temple has been rebuilt and stands next to the Gyambapi Mosque, which Hindu supremacist groups have been trying to reclaim for decades.
In May 2022, some Hindu patrons went to the Varanasi District Court after a court-ordered video investigation revealed that a 'Shivling', a symbol of the Hindu god Shiva, had been found near Uzkana. He went there and asked for permission to pray inside the mosque. A well used by Muslim believers in a mosque.
The lawsuit comes after a survey by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in January revealed that a large Hindu temple existed on the site in front of the mosque, and that there were carvings of Hindu deities in the basement. It gained momentum as it became . of the mosque.
A few days later, on January 31, Varanasi District Court Judge Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha passed an order allowing Hindus to pray in the basement of the mosque, which had been sealed off due to security concerns.
“The Varanasi District Court made history today,” Vishnu Jain, a Supreme Court lawyer representing Hindus, said in a post on X.
The next day, videos and images of priests offering prayers to Hindu gods in the basement of a mosque began appearing on social media.
#clock | A priest offers prayers at the 'Vyas Ji Ka Tehana' inside the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, following a district court order.
Vishnu Shankar Jain, lawyer for the Hindu side in the Gyambapi case, confirms the visual pic.twitter.com/mUB6TMGpET
— Ani (@ANI) February 1, 2024
The Anjuman Intezamiya Masajid, the committee that manages Gyanvapi Mosque, has rejected the district court's order and plans to contest the case on February 6 at the Allahabad High Court in Prayagraj city, formerly known as Allahabad. be.
“The judicial system seems to be against Muslims,” Rais Ahmad Ansari, a Varanasi advocate representing Islam, told Al Jazeera.
The Gyanavi structure comes amid growing momentum to target mosques among India's Hindu nationalist movement, often encouraged by government authorities (last week, a centuries-old mosque was demolished in New Delhi). The events involved have deep political meaning. Varanasi is the constituency of Mr. Modi, who leads the country's ruling Hindu-majority Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but has strong ties with presidents and ministers of Western liberal democracies.
India will vote in a general election expected to be held from March to May.
“You can feel the atmosphere of Hinduism throughout your body.”
Advocate Ansari said the court order had not sparked violence or communal riots, but there was widespread insecurity in Muslim areas of the city.
“Muslim-run shops closed after the war.” [January 31] Hearing due to fear of conflict.friday catfish [prayers] Hundreds of people also gathered outside Günavapi Mosque to offer prayers, where they were greeted by heavy security. “There is a feeling of insecurity in the heart of every Muslim,” he said.
“Varanasi is still peaceful. But this peace makes me feel insecure,” he added.
Meanwhile, some news channels in the country hailed the district court's order and the start of prayers in mosques as a “huge victory for Hindus”, a sentiment shared by several Hindus in Varanasi.
Ayush Akash and Harshit Sharma, 21-year-old political science students at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), said, “As soon as we finish our exams, we will visit the site and see the priests performing rituals at the mosque.'' I intend to do so,” he said. Al Jazeera.
Nita*, a Hindu devotee of Kashi Vishwanath Temple, was also keen on praying at the temple.
“We feel great about it [court ruling]. If I can visit and pray, I will. When Hindus pray in Varanasi, they have their own place of worship. My brother is a priest, so I can only worship at his temple. But if the priest allows him to enter Gyambapi, he will definitely go,” she told Al Jazeera.
“Ever since the inauguration of the Ayodhya temple, people here have been going crazy,” Nita said.
“When you walk through the streets, you can feel the Hindu atmosphere everywhere. There was nothing like this before, but with what is happening now and with Gyambapi being a Hindu temple, Everyone is happy,” she added.
BHU's Akash pointed out that people of all religions have coexisted peacefully in Varanasi for many years and are mature enough not to erupt into violence over temple-mosque disputes.
“It may appear that Hindus are in power, and certainly some Muslims may be dissatisfied with the district court’s decision against the Gyambapi Mosque. “Even though there are differences, it does not prevent Hindu-Muslim friendship. That is what real Varanasi is like,” he said.
“All about politics”
Since Mr. Modi came to power in 2014, critics and rights groups have accused his government of encouraging or facilitating the rise of Hindu supremacy, while the country's largest religious minority Instances of discrimination and violence against Muslims are increasing.
Hindu nationalist groups are also increasingly launching or intensifying legal campaigns against centuries-old mosques, arguing that they are built on the ruins of Hindu temples.
“There is a slogan used by Hindu nationalists: 'Ayodhya jaki hain, kashi mathura baki hain,'” BHU's Akash said. The slogan translates to, “Ayodhya is just a preview, Kashi.” [Varanasi] And Mathura remained. ” This is in reference to how the destruction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992 was exploited by Hindu majority groups seeking to do something similar to the Mughal-era mosques in Varanasi and Mathura. There is.
“But now in Varanasi, the Gyambapi case is all about politics. It appears the district court has handed down its verdict in time for the upcoming general elections. I think so,” he said.
Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi, secretary of the Indian Historical Congress and professor of medieval history at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), shared similar views, but stressed that this incident was not like Ayodhya. did.
“No one is saying that there was never a temple where the Gyanvapi Mosque stands today. It is clear that there was a temple but it was demolished. You can see it with the naked eye.” said Rezawi.
“The way the history of temple destruction is currently presented is a false narrative, which is where the controversy behind why the temple was destroyed arises.”
Mr. Rezawi emphasized that the book “Temple Desecration and the Islamic State in Medieval India'' by American scholar Richard Eaton explains that in pre-colonial India, every dynasty had a god to which to pray. did. If a dynastic ruler was defeated and the kingdom was taken over, God and everything dedicated to him (including temples) was destroyed by the victorious ruler.
“This is an accepted practice among kings, and it is just that [the emperor] Aurangzeb did so. However, there are various theories as to why he demolished the Vishwanath temple and built a mosque, with some historians claiming that it was for religious reasons and others saying that he was in charge of managing the mosque. claims that it was Aurangzeb's way to punish Hindu families because they had helped Hindu kings. Shivaji ran away,” he added.
“What Aurangzeb did is condemnable. But he lived in an era without a constitution. India has a constitution that guarantees certain rights to the people. Therefore, why did the courts and the prime minister do this? I don't understand how they can ignore this and commit more heinous crimes than Aurangzeb,” Rezwai said.
Constitutionally, India is a secular state. The country also passed a law called the Places of Worship Law in 1991, prohibiting the conversion of places of worship and stressing that their religious character should be maintained.
However, the final say on the future of the mosque rests with the country's courts.
Abhishek Sharma, a devotee of the Kashi temple and coordinator of the Swagatam Kashi Foundation, told Al Jazeera, “The people of Varanasi believe in 'Ganga Jamuna Tehzeev'.” This is a metaphor for social harmony, referring to the mixing of the waters of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers. River.
“We have always believed in living together in holiness. We pray that this peace will not be disturbed in any way,” he said.
*Some names have been changed to protect personal information.