Aurangzeb demolished temple at site of Mathura’s Krishna Janmabhoomi complex: ASI.

Mughal Ruler Aurangzeb demolished Keshavdev Temple, Krishna Janmabhoomi site, to build mosque in Mathura, says ASI in RTI reply.

Upendra Bharti | HENB | Agra | Feb 6, 2024:: Another big confirmation from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) came to fore on the pre-existence of a Hindu Temple where the  Mathura Shahi Mosque Eidgah stands today as built by Mughal ruler Aurangzeb within the Krishna Janmabhoomi premises.

In response to an RTI query, ASI has disclosed information based on historical records of a 1920 gazette about Mathura’s Krishna Janmabhoomi temple complex. Attaching an excerpt from the Nov 1920 gazette, the ASI stated in its response:

“Portions of Katra mound which are not in the possession of nazul tenants on which formerly stood a temple of Keshavdev which was dismantled and the site utilised for the mosque of Aurangzeb…”.

The RTI was filed by Ajay Pratap Singh, a resident of Mainpuri in UP, and the reply came from the office of superintending archaeologist of ASI, Agra circle. Singh had sought specific information about “dismantling” of Keshavdev temple — claimed to be part of Krishna Janmabhoomi temple complex.  The RTI reply, while not specifically mentioning the words “Krishna Janmabhoomi,” confirmed the demolition of the former temple of Keshavdev at the disputed site by the Mughal emperor.

Boost to Krishna Janmbhoomi litigants

The confirmation has provided encouragement to those involved in the legal battle for the removal of the Shahi Idgah mosque from the site. Advocate Mahendra Pratap Singh, president of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Mukti Nyas and one of the petitioners against the mosque, plans to present this significant piece of evidence to the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court. Singh stated that the ASI’s reply, along with the historical evidence, supports their claim that Aurangzeb issued a decree in 1670 CE to demolish the Keshavdev temple. He believes that this strengthens their demand for a survey of the Shahi Idgah mosque and excludes it from the purview of the Place of Worship Act, 1991.

Advocate Mahendra Pratap Singh said that “he will place the key piece of evidence before Allahabad HC and SC”.

“On basis of historical evidence, we had in our petition mentioned that Aurangzeb issued a decree in 1670 CE to demolish the temple. Following that, Shahi Idgah Mosque was built there Now ASI in reply to the RTI query has attested the information. We’ll put forward ASI reply in HC during the Feb 22 hearing,” he said.

Hindu Temples what happened to them

In “Hindu Temples – What Happened to Them” – a two-volume book by Sita Ram Goel, Arun Shourie, Harsh Narain, Jay Dubashi and Ram Swarup narrated thousands of Hindu temples and shrines were destroyed in Muslim rules in India.

The first volume  includes a list of 2,000 mosques that he claims were built on Hindu temples, based primarily on the books of Muslim historians of the period or inscriptions found on mosques. The second volume excerpts from medieval histories and chronicles and from inscriptions concerning the destruction of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples. The authors claim that the material presented in the book as “the tip of an iceberg”.

These two volumes of  book “Hindu Temples – What Happened to Them” – restrict itself mainly to the study of Hindu temples destroyed and desecrated and converted into mosques and khanqahs without overlooking Islamic ideology of iconoclasm; here and there. These books also mention other theological props and concomitants of the iconoclastic ideology.

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__Inputs from Agencies.