Cow carving 'discovered' at Qutub Minar: All the times the monument was in light for its alleged Hindu origin

Days after a row broke out over two Ganesha idols at the Qutub Minar complex, former Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Vijay on Wednesday claimed to have ‘discovered’ a sculpture of a cow feeding its calf for the first time.

The motif is often associated with the Hindu religion, which considers the cow sacred.

Vijay claimed that an official of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) confirmed that nobody had seen the sculpture before.

Today at Qutub , we ‘discovered’ FIRST Time on Qutub mosque campus a GauMata, mother Cow feeding her calf so lovingly. @ASIGoI officials present told nobody has ever seen this sculpture before . #QutubTruths @bibekdebroy @sansad_tv pic.twitter.com/bfo1Mh9tb0

— Tarun Vijay (@Tarunvijay) April 26, 2022

While there is no confirmation on it from ASI or any other government body that the sculpture has been discovered for the first time, it has again brought the 12th century monument into the limelight. Let’s take a look at all the times when the monument found itself amidst controversy:

The two Ganesha idols

On 7 April, the Indian Express reported that the National Museums Authority (NMA) had asked the ASI to remove two Ganesh idols from the Qutub complex and find a suitable place for them at the National Museum.

The chairman, BJP leader Tarun Vijay, had reportedly said in a letter that the “placement of the idols” was highly “disrespectful”.

There are two Ganesha idols called “Ulta Ganesh” and “Ganesha in cage”, which are located in the compound of Qutub Minar, considered to be one of India’s finest monuments.

The “Ulta Ganesh” (upside down) forms part of the south-facing wall of the Quwwatu’l-Islam mosque in the complex. The other idol, enclosed in an iron cage, is close to the ground level and is part of the same mosque.

As per the UNESCO website, the surrounding archaeological area contains funerary buildings, notably the magnificent Alai-Darwaza Gate, the masterpiece of Indo-Muslim art (built in 1311), and two mosques, including the Quwwatu’l-Islam, the oldest in northern India, built of materials reused from some 20 Brahman temples.

Delhi’s Saket Court restrained the ASI from removing the idols in an order passed by Additional District Judge Nikhil Chopra.

Qutub Minar as ‘Vishnu Stambh’

Earlier this month, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) claimed that the Qutub Minar is in fact the ‘Vishnu Stambh’.

VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal said that the structure was built with materials obtained after demolishing 27 Hindu-Jain temples, and that had been done to “tease” the Hindu community, The Hindu reported.

Delhi | Qutab Minar was actually 'Vishnu Stambh'. Qutub Minar was built with materials obtained after demolishing 27 Hindu-Jain temples. The superimposed structure was built just to tease the Hindu community: VHP Spokesman Vinod Bansal pic.twitter.com/Zx5UKLPe7s

— ANI (@ANI) April 10, 2022

Before Bansal’s claim, VHP had demanded that the government rebuild the 27 Hindu temples in the Qutub Minar complex and Hindus be allowed to offer prayers there.

The building of the Qutub Minar, a tower with carvings and detailing, possibly one of the most visited monuments in Delhi, was started in 1199 by Qutubuddin Aibak and finished by his successor Shamsuddin Iltutmish, and stands 72.5 metres in height.

The building has courted controversy time and again, and it is not the first time that demands have been made for Hindu temples to be rebuilt.

In 2020, a lawyer had filed a petition in the Saket Court stating that the 27 temples should be established again and the government should form a trust for this. With inputs from agencies

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