Gyanvapi: A mosque that never was

To put it mildly, “ Gyanvapi” is a rather curious and intriguing name for a mosque. However, to the rooted Hindu consciousness, the term “Gyanvapi” immediately evokes a vast array of sacred connotations. The cliche that the Hindu attaches sanctity to everything from the Immutable Brahman to human beings to stones and waters is a cliche because it is true. The sanctity, especially in the case of water, has been denoted in our sacred annals chiefly as Nadi (River), Tataka (Lake, tank, etc) and Vapi (Well). In this case, Gyanvapi is the corruption of the Sanskrit term, Jnana-Vapi or the Well of (Sacred) Knowledge. A more befitting term symbolising Shiva-Tattva (or the Philosophy of Shiva), concretised as a well, cannot perhaps be found. [caption id=“attachment_10702171” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Image courtesy: PTI[/caption] That this original Gyanvapi continues to stand as a mosque is a contemporary physical reminder of a historical horror hiding in plain sight. In our own time, few people have captured the comprehensive history and ramifications of this horror as effectively, as movingly, as poignantly and as stirringly as Dr SL Bhyrappa has done in his blockbuster novel, Aavarana. Here is a small sample. Kashi! The enormous sprawl that seemed to suddenly unfold itself before her eyes dazzled under the exploding rays of the afternoon sun. From this distance, the towering mosque appeared like a gigantic fist that had wrapped the whole of Kashi in its thrall. Its dominating presence commanded the sight of every visitor much before he actually entered Kashi. ‘Sarmaji, I see only mosques. Where’s the Vishwanath temple?’ ‘Oh? Didn’t you know, mataji? See that mosque on the left…’ The tall, fat mosque that looks like it is sniggering because it’s the biggest mosque in Kashi? That’s the Gyanvapi masjid standing on the original Kashi Vishwanath temple. Aurangzeb Badshah demolished it and built a gumbaz over its walls and pillars in 1669. And though he did all this, people still call it the Gyanvapi mosque. And see the mosque at the right? That’s where the Bindu Madhava temple stood. He demolished that in 1659 and used its pillars and stones and beams to raise this Alamgiri Masjid…” From that distance she clearly saw how the intimidating Gyanvapi mosque, standing for centuries on the grave of the Vishwanath temple, ruled over the skies of Kashi, nonchalant in its unbending arrogance. The triumph of Aurangzeb’s religious zeal. And now she saw how well-protected it was. Not even a mosquito could get inside the impregnable, twelve-feet-high fence of intestine-piercing barbed wire… Despite her vast reading, Lakshmi failed to grasp the message this scene conveyed. ‘Our government has built fences, and our soldiers are guarding the mosque that Aurangzeb built by destroying the Vishwanath temple,’ Sarma said. From an overall perspective, the yeoman service that Dr Bhyrappa has done to Kashi is nothing short of offering a Puja through the medium of literature. Its distilled essence instantly resonates with every Sanatana psyche: that Hindus spanning over three centuries cutting across panthas, margas and philosophical schools never had any doubts about the real identity of the Gyanvapi mosque or the heartbreaking story of how it was “built”. This historical light provides us the inevitable illumination if we need to accurately understand the ongoing discourse around the Gyanvapi mosque survey. Indeed, the very fact that a survey had to be conducted, by itself, shows the extent to which vulnerabilities within the Hindu community have been drilled into for so long by so many hostile stakeholders. The very terminology used in public discourse is also revealing. Instead of calling it a civilisational and spiritual reclamation, it has been branded as a “mosque row”, evoking an eerie parallel with “disputed structure” in the case of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir. But to contextualise the issue more directly, lawyers and judges and courts are now trying to “interpret” or confirm what a truly rooted Hindu always knows both about the current Kashi Visveswara Temple and the Gyanvapi mosque: that Aurangzeb demolished the original Kashi Visvesvara Temple and raised the Gyanvapi mosque using its debris; that the current Visvesvara Temple was erected by the revered Ahalyabai Holkar in 1775; that even during 1857, Muslims, in the name of fighting against the British, attempted to hoist the green Islamic flag atop even this small temple. Which brings us to a crucial civilisational question: over the three centuries since Aurangzeb’s demolition, which court or law book or school or university had the capacity or power to impart the sort of mass education to generations of Hindus about the truth of the Visvesvara Temple? In extremely simplified terms, this is the real significance of what is casually dismissed as traditional education. From this perspective, it has to be regrettably said that of all the tragic and cruel travesties plaguing India since independence, the progressive and substantial loss of self-restraint on the part of the judiciary is perhaps the most dangerous. *** Governor-General Wellesley’s “most obedient servant” Viscount Valentia extensively toured India in 1802-06 and recorded his detailed observations in three copious volumes, dedicating a separate chapter to Benares. Here is an excerpt describing the Gyanvapi mosque: The mosque with its minars was built by Aurungzebe, to mortify the Hindoos. Not only is it placed on the highest point of land, and most conspicuous from being close to the river, but the foundations are laid on a sacred spot, where a temple before stood, which was destroyed to make room for it. This edifice violated the holy city, and proudly overlooked all the temples… I therefore satisfied myself with ascending to the roof of the mosque, whence I overlooked the whole of the town and the river… A little stone temple, dedicated to Maha-deva, displays its trident at a humble height, close to the side of the crescent at the summit of the minars… Tyranny and oppression seem to be necessary concomitants of the Mussulman religion, whose first principle is intolerance. Valentia was simultaneously violated and moved by the whole experience, his heartstrings tugging at the plight of the Hindoos. All around Benares, he saw desolation and a sense of resigned helplessness on the part of the Hindus. It burst forth in emotive prose: It is a pity that anything should prevent this noble city from being brought to that perfection of which it is capable. I felt myself sufficiently a Hindoo when viewing the lofty minars [of the Gyanvapi Mosque] to wish that hereafter, [the British] government may restore the spot to its original owners, and remove this cruel eye sore from the holy city. Clearly, Valentia’s observations continue to remain accurate even to this day. This also reveals the other side of the coin. The real story of the Gyanvapi mosque “row” is best noticed in the ongoing response from influential sections of the Muslim community, ostensibly, a minority in constant need of constant protection from God knows what. The intent behind the covert and overt pressure it continues to exert in order to prevent or stall the surveys of Gyanvapi Mosque is twofold. The first is the familiar template that operated behind the prolonged battle to somehow prevent the reality of the Babri mosque from being discovered. A battle that dragged on for nearly three decades. A losing battle no doubt, but in its final innings, the goal seemed to be not resolution but to keep it in permanent limbo. The historical and physical truths that emerged over the three decades actually vindicated the Hindu case and vindicated the truth of Babar’s (or Mir Baqi’s) pious intent behind destroying the Hindu temple at Ayodhya. The second flows from the first and is perhaps the most crucial. To the historical consciousness of Islam’s victories in a Hindustan overflowing with idol-worshipping infidel Hindus, every Islamic structure is a conquered geography which permanently belongs to Islam. This includes but is not limited to masjids, madrassas, khanqahs, etc, whether they are newly built or built after demolishing infidel structures. Thus, an infidel reclamation of such conquered geographies is regarded as a direct challenge to if not an assault on Islam itself. Only this religious-imperialist and historical context can fully explain the rather severe pushback occurring against the Gyanvapi mosque surveys. This is also the blunt truth which should be told bluntly. Nor will this pushback stop at Gyanvapi. As with the discovery of the Vishnu-Hari murtis and other Hindu artefacts during the Ayodhya excavations, the report of the videography survey of 6-7 May of the Gyanvapi mosque has revealed quite an impressive list of Hindu sculptures, murtis, iconography, and slabs which “seemed to be part of a big edifice.” Doubtless, when the survey is completed in a comprehensive and truthful fashion, it will offer unambiguous physical evidence of the aforementioned history of the Gyanvapi mosque kept alive in the Hindu spiritual and cultural tradition. It is precisely this that the powerful sections of the Muslim community want to prevent using pressure tactics. Which neatly ties in with that other deadly cancer that was allowed to grow in our public discourse by the Nehruvian establishment: denial of the dark and savage history of medieval Islamic invasions and despotisms. Denial premised on obvious and demonstrated falsehoods. In the context of the Gyanvapi mosque, the legacy of Aurangzeb’s destruction of the Kashi Visvanatha temple as a proud service to Islamic piety has today been tarnished by the global club of his contemporary apologists led primarily by the secularist-left-liberal clique. Had Aurangzeb been alive today, our eminent Marxist “historians” would have been the prime candidates for receiving unspeakable punishment at his hands. Meanwhile, Nandi is still mutely facing the Gyanvapi “mosque”, his eyes barren, drained of the tears of three centuries. But then, if hope can spring in a desert, Hindus around the world await to see if our courts are nobler than a desert.* Also Read **Explained: The Gyanvapi case and the connection to the Ayodhya dispute** **Explained: After Gyanvapi, why right-wing activists are seeking permission to pray at Tipu Sultan-era mosque in Karnataka** **How discovery of Shivling at Gyanvapi mosque holds key to amicable Hindu-Muslim relations** **Gyanvapi mosque: Sculptures of gods, Sheshnag found in premises during survey, says advocate Ajay Mishra in report** **From Babri Masjid to Gyanvyapi mosque: Why liberals fail to learn any lesson** **Off-centre | The Delhi Files-3: India’s unresolved civilisational conflict** Explained: The relevance of the Places of Worship Act ahead of the Gyanvapi Mosque case hearing in Supreme Court **First Gyanvapi Mosque survey: Here's what happened in 1996** **Court allows videography inside Varanasi's Gyanvapi Mosque: A look at the case, the verdict, and past controversies**

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The author is founder and chief editor, ‘The Dharma Dispatch’. Views expressed are personal. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.