Recently, the Delhi Court issued a notice to the Central Government and Archaeological Survey of India in an appeal filed before it seeking the restoration of 27 Hindu-Jain temples in the Qutub Minar complex in Mehrauli. This appeal was moved against the order of a Civil Judge, who had earlier rejected a civil suit.

The appeal has been filed in the name of Bhagwan Vishnu, Jain deity Tirthankara Bhagwan Rishabh Dev, and others through Advocates Hari Shankar Jain, Jitender Singh Vishen, and Ranjana Agnihotri.

The suit was filed to protect and preserve Bharat’s cultural and religious heritage while exercising the right to religion guaranteed by Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution by restoring 27 Hindu and Jain temples with respective deities which were damaged, dismantled and desecrated by Islamic invader Qutub-Din-Aibak. Aibak, commander of the invader Mohammad Ghori who established the slave dynasty, replaced the temples with the Quwwat-Ul-Islam Mosque.

The suit also requested to declare that Bhagwan Vishnu, Bhagwan Shiva, Bhagwan Ganesh, Bhagwan Surya, Devi Gauri, Bhagwan Hanuman, Jain deity Tirthankar Bhagwan Rishab Dev have the right to be “restored” within the temple complex at the site of Quwwatul Mosque Complex, after rebuilding it with the same honor and dignity.

It was also sought to issue an injunction and direct the Central government to create a trust, under the Trust Act 1882, and hand over the management and control of the temple complex situated within the area of Qutub Complex to the trust.

Last year on 29th November, Civil Judge Neha Sharma rejected this suit and made some outrageous statements. She had said, “Nobody has denied that wrongs were committed in the past but such wrongs cannot be the basis for disturbing the peace of our present and future”. How logical is that especially when a closure for Hindus is the need of the hour?

Nowadays speaking about our ancient history and culture has become taboo in Bharat and bringing out historical facts is termed as backwardness. Similarly, if one speaks about the historical tyranny and injustices or religious oppression then the so-called liberals label it an attack on social harmony and secularism.

Qutub Complex – Hindu-Jain heritage destroyed by Islamic invaders

This Qutub corridor, which is also known as Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, is a grand archeological specimen with beautiful illustrations of the Hindu Devis and Devatas. This complex, which was a part of the Chauhan rulers’ Lal-Kot, was destroyed by the Islamic invader Qutubddin Aibak in 1192.

As per many historians, the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque was made with the debris of 27 Hindu-Jain Temples. One can clearly see pictures of Hindu deities like Shri Vishnu, Shri Ganesh, Yaksha, and symbols like sacred lotus, Kalash, temple wells, which prove the Hindu origin of the complex.

Most of the faces of the deities are broken and temple buildings have also been destroyed. If you, however, observe carefully you will find that the architecture of part of the mosque is quite different from the usual mosque design. The corridors show Vedic architectural style and have rectangular galleries with Hindu holy symbols engraved on pillars.

Another important aspect you may observe is Arabic fonts that have been visibly overwritten forcefully over something. The name Quwwat-ul-Islam was given to one of the 27 temples, the rest 26 temples surrounding the Qutubminar were destroyed completely, and it is hard to restore them now.

Here you can see the official board of Archeological Survey of India in the Qutub Minar complex. It clearly says that this is the oldest mosque of Bharat that was built after destroying 27 temples there. The famous historian late P.N Oak also stated that there used to be an observatory that existed in the complex, many centuries before Qutubddin Aibak arrived. Many historians also observed that the minaret at the site was earlier known as Vishnu Stambh alias Dhruv Stambh.

There is an iron pillar in the complex, which is known as ‘Vishnudhwaja’. The writing in Bramhi script on iron pillar talks about great Hindu King Chandragupt, and it is historically proven that this pillar was erected by Chandragupt Vikramaditya of the Gupta dynasty. The script reveals that the pillar was erected on a hill known as Vishnupadgiri meaning a place where Bhagwan Vishnu’s footprints are engraved. This possibly refers to the Vaman Avtaar of the Bhagwan Vishnu.

Considering our judiciary and bureaucracy’s apathy, particularly towards Hindu heritage, it is difficult to say what effect the notice would have and whether we would see any positive step towards the restoration of the temple. However, it is hoped that ASI and Central Government will address this issue positively and preserve our ancient history and destroy the signs of Islamic invasion that has scarred the Hindu psyche. We have witnessed this injustice for almost a thousand years, it is now time to restore our pride and culture.