Hindus be allowed to offer prayers before Gyanvapi ‘Shivling’: Seers

We should be given the right to worship Adi Vishweshwar ‘Shivling’ found in Gyanvapi. If this doesn’t happen, there should be prohibition on offering namaz on the upper floor of the Gyanvapi complex, says seer

VARANASI Kashi Dharma Parishad, an organisation of seers, on Friday demanded that Hindus be allowed to offer prayers before the ‘Shivling’, which was claimed to be found in the Gyanvapi Mosque complex.

Police and administration officials request Swami Avimukteshwaranand not to offer prayers at the ‘Shivling’ in the Gyanvapi complex, in Varanasi on Friday. Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati has said that he and other scholars will on June 4 offer prayers at the ‘Shivling’ claimed to have been found in the Gyanvapi complex. (PTI Photo)

“We should be given the right to worship Adi Vishweshwar ‘Shivling’ found in Gyanvapi. If this doesn’t happen, there should be prohibition on offering namaz on the upper floor of the Gyanvapi complex,” said Baba Balakdas, chief of the parishad.

“The simplicity of Sant Samaj is our identity. When oppression happens, we peacefully find a way out,” said Balakdas who also heads the Patalpuri Matt.

He was holding a meeting with historians, social workers and other seers at Subhash Bhavan Lamahi here on Friday. The seers included Mahant Vijayram Das, Mahant Avadh Bihari Das, Mahant Rajaram Das, Mahant Satyaswaroop Shastri, Mahant Mahavir Das, Mahant Arihant Das, Mahant Mohan Das, Mahant Lucky Pathak, Mahant Anurag Das, Mahant Umesh Das, Mahant Narayan Das, Mahant Satyanarayan Das, Mahant Ishwar Das, Mahant Siyaram Das, Mahant Shravan Das, and Shyampriya Sakhi.

Historian Rajiv Sriguruji said the principle of purity should be implemented in Kashi like all religious places of the world. “The perimeter of the ‘Shivling’ should be fixed and devotees of Lord Adi Vishweshwar should get entry to offer prayers,” he said.

“Hindus have the right to worship Swayambhu Jyotirlinga Adi Vishweshwar in the Gyanvapi complex. A mass movement should be launched for our right,” said Mahant Shravan Das Ji Maharaj of the ancient Shiva temple of Bhadaini.

Mahant Umesh Das Ji Maharaj of Lota Tilamath Ishwargangi said the 4,000- year-old history of Kashi cannot be denied and there is Shankar in every particle of the holy city.

“Keeping in mind the purity of Kashi and the Panchkoshi Parikrama, the sale and consumption of meat and liquor should be strictly prohibited in the periphery of Varanasi. It should be declared a ‘no meat, no alcohol zone’,” the seers demanded.

They also said that the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 should be repealed, which they claimed, violated the basic rights of Hindus.

The Kashi Dharma Parishad gives moral support for the work being done by advocates Harishankar Jain and Vishnu Jain for the protection of Sanatan Dharma. “We will also seek their legal help, if required,” said the seers.

Mridula Jaiswal, assistant professor of history department at the Banaras Hindu University, displayed the Muslim invasion of Kashi through a power point presentation before the seers. It is claimed that Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had built the mosque in 1669 AD by demolishing the temple of Adi Vishweshwar.