India

Ganesha idols at Qutub Minar: Iron grills over deity carved in complex removed by ASI

The two Ganesha idols “Ulta Ganesha” and “Ganesha in a cage” were found engraved in the walls of the Qutub Minar complex.

Following a 6 month row and demands by several Hindu groups including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad over the Ganesha idols engraved in the Qutub Minar complex, the Archaeological Survey of India has now removed the iron grills covering the deities after which they are now visible to the public eye.

Two Ganesha idols “Ulta Ganesha” (as it was earlier presumed to be) and “Ganesha in a cage” that are present in the compound of the 12th century UNESCO world heritage site had been covered by iron meshes years ago.

“Ulta Ganesh” is present on the south-facing wall of the Quwwatu’l-Islam mosque in the complex, while the other idol, is close to the ground level and is part of the same mosque.

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“Ganesha in a Cage”
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Ganesha idol earlier known as ”Ulta Ganesha”

Earlier this year in April, the National Museums Authority (NMA) had asked the ASI to remove the two Ganesh idols from the mosque complex and find a suitable place for them at the National Museum for a more respectable placement.

This came after chairman, BJP leader Tarun Vijay, in a letter to the ASI, pointed out that the “placement of the idols was highly disrespectful”.

“I have visited the site several times and realised that the placement of the idols is disrespectful. They come near the feet of the mosque visitors”, he wrote.

As the matter of removal of the idols reached the Delhi Court, the ASI was ordered to maintain the status quo until the next hearing.

Now, after removing the iron meshes, the idols have been cleaned and covered with bulletproof glass, and are now visible to the public eye.

It has also been found that “Ulta Ganesh” – as it has been believed was in an inverted position, is in fact, upright.

The ASI has however not given tourists the permission to conduct “puja” in honour of the deity in the complex, yet.

It has since long been claimed by various Hindu groups, that Qutub-ud-din Aibak destroyed 27 Hindu and Jain temples in order to build the mosque. 

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has even said that the 73-metre tall structure was a “Vishnu Stambh” before it was rebuilt during Mughal invasion.

“When the Muslim ruler came, some of its portions were reconstructed with the materials obtained after demolishing 27 Hindu-Jain temples, and renamed as Quwwatu’l-Islam (Might of Islam). It was actually a Vishnu Stambh built on a Vishnu temple. They (Muslim rulers) did not build it. Our (Hindu) rulers built it,” VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal said.

Revelations like the Ganesha idols have time and again validated the claims to some extent, or have atleast raised a question mark over the true history and origins of these “Mughal monuments”. 

Even the UNESCO website on Qutub Minar asserts that the surrounding archaeological area containing the funerary building – Alai-Darwaza Gate and two mosques, including the Quwwatu’l-Islam, the oldest in northern India have been built of materials reused from some 20 Brahman temples.

Meanwhile, a similar row is going on over a deity of Shringar Gauri that has been found on the outer wall of the Gyanvapi Mosque adjacent to the ancient Kashi Vishvanath Temple. Hindu groups are fighting a protracted court battle to secure the rights to worship the idol.

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