In Madhya Pradesh's Vidisha, Archaeological Body's Statement Sparks Debate
NDTV
The doors of the Vijay Surya Mandir in Vidisha were locked as part of an agreement between the administration and the Hindu and Muslim communities in 1965.
Weeks after its report to the Madhya Pradesh High Court that the Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Masjid in Dhar district was built from the remains of earlier temples, another statement by the Archaeological Survey of India has sparked heated debate in the state.
The centuries-old Vijay Surya Mandir in Vidisha has seen people from the Hindu community worshipping from outside its locked gates during 'Nag Panchami' every year but when permission was sought to go inside and conduct rituals during the festival this year, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said the structure is actually the Bijamandal Mosque.
Some historians said the Vijay Surya Mandir, whose architecture is strikingly similar to the new Parliament House, was built in the 11th century by Chalukya Vanshi Vachaspati, the prime minister of the Paramara period ruler Raja Krishna, and its stones narrate the saga of the Paramara kings.
