There have been multiple reports vindicating that the Qutub complex at one point in time used to be a Hindu structure. In fact, it is Dhruv Stambh. People have been demanding that it need to be restored as it has all the signs of a Hindu temple, contrary to what some historians would have us believe. Seems like, the judiciary has heard them.
Delhi court issued a notice
On Tuesday, a notice to the Union of India, Archaeological Survey of India and others was issued by the Delhi court. The notice has been issued over an appeal moved against the order of a Civil Judge. The civil judge, notably, had rejected a civil suit and sought the restoration of 27 temples in the Qutub Minar complex in Mehrauli.
The appeal reportedly is filed by Jain deity Tirthankara Lord Rishabh Dev, Lord Vishnu (Principal Deity, Temple Complex) and others through Advocates Hari Shankar Jain, Ranjana Agnihotri and Jitender Singh Vishen.
Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, the lawyer for Jain deities and Lord Vishnu, along with Amita Sachdeva, argued in the court that “There is no dispute in the matter that the temples were demolished. So there is no need to prove it. We have suffered for more than 800 years. Now they are asking for the right to worship, which is our fundamental right. According to Section 18 of the ASI Act, 1958, the right to worship can be given even in protected monuments.”
As per the appeal, “The temples were dismantled, desecrated and damaged under the command of Slave Dynasty Emperor Qutub-Din-Aibak, who raised some construction at the same very place and named it the Quwwat-Ul-Islam Mosque.”
It further added, “The ruler failed to completely demolish the existing temples and only partial demolition was carried out and after reusing the material of the temples, the said mosque was erected.”
Not Qutub Minar but Dhruv Stambh
Stones extricated from Qutub Complex have Hindu images on one side and Arabic calligraphy on the other. However, the stones have now been moved to the Museum and this clearly depicts that the invaders used to eliminate the stone-dressing of Hindu buildings and change the physical features by inscribing Arabic lettering on the new frontage.
Read more: Qutub Complex: An ancient Hindu legacy lies buried inside it
Interestingly, the tower is part of the surrounding structures and there existed the temples around it. So, how did Qutb-ud-din find a space between them to build the mosque?
The Sanskrit inscription in Brahmi script on the non-rusting iron pillar vindicates the existence of Vishnupad Giri. In addition to that, the seventh storey of the complex actually had a statue built of Brahma holding the Vedas at the beginning of creation.
Thus, now is the time to reclaim Dhruv Stambh and restore the deities to their former glory.