Idols will not be removed from Qutub Minar complex, says Delhi Court
On Wednesday Delhi’s Saket Court restrained the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from removing idols of two Hindu gods from Quwwatul Islam Masjid in the Qutub Minar complex.
The orders were passed by Additional District Judge Nikhil Chopra.
Late last month, the National Monuments Authority (NMA) chairman wrote to ASI, requesting that the two Ganesh idols called, Ulta Ganesh and Ganesha in the cage, be removed from the Qutub Minar complex and relocated to the National Museum. He believed that the “placement of the idols is disrespectful,” and that it should be changed.
The petitioner’s counsel Harishankar Jain, in his plea, had said that two idols of Lord Ganesha are lying on the ground in the mosque premises. These should be kept in the right place in the premises, contrary to the suggestion of ASI.
It has been urged in the petition that as per the suggestion given by the National Monument Authority to the ASI regarding the idols of Lord Ganesha, instead of keeping them in the National Museum, they should be kept at a proper place in the premises itself.
The petition also said that the complex has idols of several deities including Jain Tirthankaras, Lord Vishnu, Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva, Goddess Gauri, and Hanuman Ji. Many of which were destroyed by the Mughals.
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) spokesperson Vinod Bansal claimed that Qutab Minar is actually is “Vishnu Stambh” built with materials obtained after demolishing 27 Hindu-Jain temples.
A petition was filed last year stating that the premise was made after demolishing Hindu-Jain temples. However, the petition was dismissed saying that the present cannot be disturbed due to past mistakes. After which an appeal was made in the Saket court regarding this.
According to the Delhi Tourism website, Qutab Minar was built with materials obtained after demolishing 27 Hindu temples at the site after the defeat of Delhi’s last Hindu kingdom.
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