Thread by @SouleFacts

#KashiVishwanath Temple and Gyanvapi Mosque dispute, Hindu parties say that the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb demolished the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in 1669 and built the Gyan Vapi Masjid. 1/5

Aurangzeb demolished the #KashiVishwanath Temple in 1669 and built the Gyan Vapi Masjid. That is, the place where the mosque is now located was earlier a real Jyotirlinga dedicated to Lord Shiva. But later Aurangzeb demolished the temple. And built a mosque.

The court has asked the Archaeological Survey of India to form a five-member team to dig up the Gyan Vapi complex which will lead the survey work. Importantly, the five-man team will also have two members from the Muslim community.

The main objective of the survey is to find out whether the Gyanvapi Masjid was built by demolishing, or changing a temple already there. #KashiVishwanath

If investigators finds concrete evidence that there was a temple at the mosque site earlier, the team have also been told in its report what kind of sculpture the temple had on it & if there was a temple, which deity's idol was sitting in the temple. This has to be explained also

The five-member team will have the right to visit and conduct an inquiry in any part of the Gyan Vapi campus during the survey. It will be the job of the police to ensure that the team is not prevented from doing so. #KashiVishwanath

Media persons cannot be present during excavations. The court has allowed only Hindu and Muslim parties to be present during this period. It has also been directed to Photography and Videography.
#KashiVishwanath

Three parties to the case are the self-styled Jyotirlinga Visve-Swar. That is, God himself is Shiva. Just as Ramlala was sitting in the Ayodhya case, it was the party itself.The court has appointed advocate Vijay Shankar Rastogi as the suit friend of Lord Shiva.
#KashiVishwanath

The other side is Sunni Central Wakf Board and the third party is the Anjuman Sanjharia Masjid Committee. This is the committee of the Gyanvapi Mosque.
#KashiVishwanath

Three major demands were placed. First entire #GyanVapi land should be declared as a part of the temple.
Second that Muslims should be evicted from there and the mosque be demolished.
Third that Hindus should be allowed to reconstruct the temple in place of the original Shivling.

The matter also went to court in 1936 before Independence. Then, Muslim side had filed a petition in the Varanasi District Court. The petition was filed by a person named Deen Mohammad and demanded that the entire Gyan Vapi complex should be declared as the land of the mosque.

The decision came in 1937, in which Deen Mohammad's claim was dismissed. But prayers were allowed at the disputed site. The Hindu side was not made a party in this case. But there were many evidences in this case which are very important.
#KashiVishwanath

The #KashiVishwanath Temple, which is worshipped now, is just a few miles from the Gyan Vapi complex. It was built in the year 1780 by Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore in 1780, and not on the original site where a functioning mosque today stands.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the first Sikh Maharaja, had donated 1 ton gold for the new #KashiVishwanath temple’s dome. But since then, the Hindu side has been claimed for the original temple. The case is now under trial in Varanasi District Court.