Petition at Allahabad HC seeks excavation of Agra’s Jama Masjid to dig up Hindu deity's idol
India Today
A petition has been filed at the Allahabad High Court requesting an archaeological dig at the Jama Masjid in Agra. The petition claims that the steps of the mosque were built over the idol of a Hindu deity.
The mandir-masjid issue doesn’t seem like fading anytime soon in Uttar Pradesh, despite RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's strong statement against Hindu organisations “dragging every mosque into dispute”. Now, a new petition has been filed at the Allahabad High Court requesting an archaeological dig at the Jama Masjid in Agra.
The petitioner, advocate Varun Kumar, claimed that the mosque’s steps could be hiding the 'vigraha (idol)’ of Thakur Keshav Dev Ji. Kumar had earlier filed a similar petition at the court of Civil Judge (senior division) of Mathura, but the petition is yet to be heard.
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Advocate Shailendra Singh told India Today, “On April 14, 2021, a petition was filed in the court of Civil Judge (senior division) of Mathura requesting an archaeological dig at the Shahi Jama Masjid of Agra, but it has not been taken up by the court yet.”
Commenting on this petition, Imamuddin, a regular at the Shahi Jama Masjid, also known as Jahan-Aara Masjid, said that the mosque was commissioned by Shah Jahan's daughter Jahan Ara, who paid for the construction of this mosque with the money that had been kept aside for her wedding.
Imamuddin added that there was little evidence that the said idol had been buried under the steps of the Jama Masjid. To dig up the entire mosque just on the whims of someone would hardly be justified.
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