The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) report concerning Gyanvapi case, made public on 25 January, stated that “there existed a large Hindu temple (at the site), prior to the construction of the existing structure (mosque).”
The ASI submitted its report to the Varanasi district court in a sealed cover on 18 December 2023. The court’s decision to allow the findings to be made public came on 24 January, two days after the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
At the heart of this dispute between the Hindu and Muslim communities is the ‘Wazu’ area of the mosque. The Hindu side claimed that a structure found on the mosque’s premises during a court-mandated survey is a ‘Shivling’ while the Muslim side had dubbed it a fountain.
On 25 January, after the findings were made available to the concerned parties, Vishnu Shankar Jain, lawyer for the Hindu side, said, “The ASI has said that during the survey, a number of inscriptions were noticed on the existing and preexisting structure.”
“A total of 34 inscriptions were recorded during the present survey and 32 stamped pages were taken. These are in fact inscriptions on the stone of a preexisting Hindu temple which have been reused during the construction, repair of the existing structure. They include inscriptions in the Devanagari, Grantha, Telugu and Kannada scripts,” Jain added.
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