Gyanvapi mosque row: Where is ‘Vyas Ji Ka Tehkhana’ where Hindus worshipped until 1993

  • The basement of Vyas Ji Ka Tehkhana is located at the southern end of the Gyanvapi complex.

Livemint
Published31 Jan 2024, 05:40 PM IST
The Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi
The Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi(HT)

A Varanasi court on Wednesday allowed Hindu devotees to offer prayers in the 'Vyas Ji Ka Tehkhana' area inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex. The court's order came on a petition filed by Shailendra Kumar Pathak Vyas against the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee, which manages the mosque. According to the lawsuit, priest Somnath Vyas used to perform prayers there till 1993 when the cellar was closed by the authorities. Shailendra Kumar Pathak is the maternal grandson of Somnath Vyas.

Advocate representing the Hindu side Madan Mohan Yadav said the district administration will make arrangements for performing puja and the Kashi Vishwanath Trust will facilitate it. 

Location of 'Vyas Ji Ka Tehkhana'

The basement of Vyas Ji Ka Tehkhana is located at the southern end of the Gyanvapi complex. Madan Mohan Yadav had earlier said that authorities had barricaded and locked the basement known as 'Vyas Ji Ka Tehkhana' in 1993. 

Vyas Ji Ka Tehkhana: A brief history

Speaking to news agency ANI, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, who also represents the Hindu side, said there was, to date, no written order available with any government showing how Hindu devotees were stopped from offering prayers inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex. According to Jain, Hindus used to worship there till 1993, but in November 1993, the then state government unconstitutionally banned the worship there.

Without naming any government, Jain said, "And one state government had misused its power to stop the Hindu devotees from offering prayers there. Today, the court rectified it with its pen and gave the order to allow the prayers".

"There was no written order to stop the prayers. Today, there is also no written order from any government to show how the prayers were stopped. We will soon complete the legal case. And win it."

*With Agency Inputs

 

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