Give us evidence of demolished temples. Will file cases, says lawyer at Goa meet

Lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain said if their research proves that the temples were demolished, “we will start a court battle for their restoration”

PANAJI: Speakers at a convention organised by Hindu groups in Goa have asked people to come forward with ‘evidence’ of demolished temples across the country and especially in Goa so that petitions can be filed in court to restore the temples.

Vishnu Shankar Jain has been at the forefront of high-profile legal battles espousing the Hindu cause and together with his father, Hari Shankar Jain

Lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain told the week-long Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Rashtra Adhiveshan currently underway at Ramnathi in central Goa’s Ponda that they plan to launch a nationwide movement for restoration of temples for which the evidence gathered would form the foundation to launch the movement.

“Our research… will study the mythological significance of the disputed site, the historical evidence of destruction, the history of the case, the evidence and the legal basis. If the research proves that the temples were demolished, we will start a court battle for their restoration. Many of the disputed sites are currently under the control of the Archaeological Survey of India Department, which is acting against Section 16 of the 1958 Act. As a true Hindu, we are taking an oath to re-establish the cultural tradition of India by rebuilding such temples,” Jain said.

Vishnu Shankar Jain, 36, who has been practising law since 2010, has been at the forefront of high-profile legal battles espousing the Hindu cause and together with his father, Hari Shankar Jain, and is claimed to have filed about 110 cases seeking worship rights for Hindus or representing Hindu deities.

“Not only the Ram temple, Kashi, Mathura, Qutub Minar, Taj Mahal and Bhojshala but thousands of temples have been demolished by the Mughals and Portuguese. India became Independent; however, the ancient religious places of Hindus remained in foreign slavery. If the evidence is available regarding demolished temples in Goa, the legal fight will be initiated,” added Vishnu, who represents some Hindu parties in the Gyanvapi mosque case.

Subhash Velingkar, the former RSS Goa chief who parted ways with the Sangh after differences with former CM Manohar Parrikar, claimed that “thousands” of temples in Goa were demolished by the Portuguese and that this was a historical wrong that needed to be corrected.

“More than 1000 temples were demolished during Portuguese rule. Two of these temples have survived the onslaught of the church, one at Varenyapuri (Verna) and the other Shri Vijayadurga Devi. Despite the temple being declared a protected area by the state archaeology department, a conspiracy to usurp the temple’s land continues through the church. Hindu devotees will have to come together and fight against this attack,” Velingkar who helms an organisation called the Bharat Mata ki Jai said.

The Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Rashtra Adhiveshan is being organised by the Hindu Janajagriti Samiti at the Ramnathi Ashram in Bandora, Ponda which has been at the centre of controversy over several attacks including on rationalists but it distanced itself from individuals alleged to have carried out the attacks.

The annual conference is being organised after a gap of two years due to Covid-19. In 2017, the event came into the limelight after a speaker called for beef eaters to be publicly hanged, which prompted protests from opposition parties in the state.