Praful Goradia Quotes

As Mr Quereshi wanted to visit the site along with the Superintendent, Archaeological Department, he went to Siddhpur on March 8, 1980. At first, he agreed to the preservation but later he insisted on getting the trenches closed in his presence that day. The superintendent ordered closure of the trenches and construction of the compound wall and both the works were started in his presence. Should the work of the ASI be allowed to be halted by the intervention of the Minorities Commission? Should a commission work at the behest of narrow local vested interests? Or, should not the government rein in the commission from undertaking such obstructionist activity? If there is legitimacy in such activity, would it not be logical that the ASI be wound up? Which, of course, would imply that we have lost interest in the search for our civilisational heritage.

According to Luard,35 the inscriptions on the eastern and northern _gates indicate that the mosque was inaugurated by Amid Shah Daud Ghori, also known as Dilawar Khan, on January 17, 1405. The word "inaugurated" has been intentionally used, instead of Luard's use of "erected" because, evidently, the edifice is a mandir converted into a masjid. Incidentally, Emperor Jehangir called it Jami masjid. The Lat masjid has no minarets nor the traditional hauz in which the devotee can wash his hands and feet before performing namaz. It is a large rectangular pavilion with a great deal of open space in the centre. The four sided pavilion originally stood on some 300 square shaped stone pillars. On conversion by Dilawar Khan, the spaces between the outermost row of pillars were evidently filled with a wall somewhat thinner than the pillars. The entire scene is reminiscent of a temple rather than a mosque. However, such a feeling is not evidence enough of conversion by Dilawar Khan. Any number of pillars, however, on the eastern or the end opposite to where the mehrab and the mimbar are, have at their lower end, defaced carvings of murtis reminiscent of Vishnu. Every effort has been made on most such pillars to erase the statuettes but the outline of the murti is clearly seen. For example , the pillar at the corner of the eastern and the northern end has two statuettes on two faces of the pillar. Similarly, on the next pillar. Then coming to the south-eastern corner, every pillar bears Vishnu's image outline. All this shows that the Lat masjid is a blatant case of conversion from a mandir. It is not like several thousand mosques which were built with stones and statues, taken from demolished mandirs.

The Adina or Friday mosque is situated on National Highway No. 34 between Raiganj in West Dinajpur district of West Bengal and Maida. At first glimpse, the dual colour of the edifice walls strikes the visitor. The first ten feet immediately above the ground are grey in colour because of stone tiles. The upper 12 feet comprise of red brick work. Evidently, the current mosque was superimposed on an earlier building.

What however is of interest to us is the unusual shuddhi that the temple undervent inside the outer wall of the fortress. This historical event took place in 1948 on the morrow of the police action by the Government of India during the takeover of the Nizam' s Hyderabad. There had been a great deal of local pressure for the restitution of the temple. Leaders like Sardar Val1abhbhai Patel as well as Shri Kanhaiyalal Munshi were also aware that it was a Jain mandir which had been forcibly converted into a masjid by Alauddin Khilji.

The National Minorities Commission has influenced governments, both at Delhi and at Gandhinagar into freezing the excavation work that was begun by the ASI in 1979. The details are available across 38 pages in the commission's Fourth Annual Report dated 1983. Improvement of the environments of the masjid was first conceived in 1959 in response to a complaint repeatedly made by the local Muslims that the ASI had been neglecting the repair and upkeep of the masjid. Yet, after 1983, the commission has not only ensured that the work was frozen but also that all the excavations made should be covered up. And this has been done despite what came out. The author was able to see a stone Nandi bull in a mutilated condition. The rest of the relics were covered up.

Lane Poole's thesis iterates that in most cases, the destruction perpetrated by the invaders on the Hindu capital cities was conclusive enough to see their permanent end. Kannauj is an outstanding example. So was Ujjain, Gaur, the ancient capital of Bengal, and Ajmer. The ruling elites, Rajputs or others, evidently saw no future in a revival and migrated to other areas. Rajputana offered an useful sanctuary because of the Aravalli hills as well as stretches of desert which made defence against Islamic aggression possible. The arrival of Raja Jaichand's grandson in Marwar is an example.

Cunningham called it a masjid which was made up of Hindu materials. It is difficult to agree with Cunningham. The author feels that a Hindu building was converted into a masjid and not made up or rebuilt with Hindu materials. If it had been rebuilt, its Muslim builder would have excluded the inscription of Raja Ajaya as well as all the statuettes on the pillars and walls. The fact that they have been mutilated is a clear indication that the then existing Hindu edifice was quickly converted into a masjid. Apart from the factor of quickness, there must have been the lack of readily available architects and artisans familiar with Islamic architecture. Hence, a great deal of the early Muslim buildings in Hindustan were conversions of Hindu temples. A distinctly Islamic style did not emerge until about the advent of the Lodis in the course of the 15th century.

A visit to Vidisha and interaction with the man in the street, would reflect that there is a lingering, although suppressed, but bitter resentment against the government treatment of what they believe to be their dearest treasure, architectural as well as sentimental. The moral of a pilgrimage to Vidisha is that no purpose would be served by hushing up what is naked history.

The author prefers to quote either British authorities or Muslim chroniclers so that neither authenticity nor objectivity is questioned. However, before moving on to the next monument, he wishes to iterate that additions and alterations of such historic edifices are still taking place. He was quite put off by the white-washing, however fresh or glistening, that had been done on the granite pillars and ceiling of the Jama masjid. The Makhdum Jahaniya fortunately has not suffered this ugly transformation. On the other hand, the Jami masjid at Etawah, only about a hundred kilometres away, which we visited the previous day, was a lso a casualty of whitewashing. What should be the role of the Archaeological Survey is best answered by its directors and, perhaps, the Ministry of Culture.

It is strange that what a writer on Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti and the Dargah Sharief at Ajmer has said about the role of Raja Jaichand should have precipitated our visit to Kannauj on August 2, 2001. Equally strange is the fact that our interest in this great capital city of ancient Hindustan was first aroused in 1983 by Dr N .K. Bezbaruah, the versatile grand old man of Assam. He then told us how proud he was to claim direct lineage from one of the chosen Kannauj Brahmins, who were invited specially to introduce Hinduism amongst the Ahoms who had captured power in Assam and had set up their capital city at Sibsagar in the 13th century. Incidentally, the Ahoms belonged to the Shan race whose base was in Thailand. The doctor was bemoaning the paradox of his clan being, on the one hand, so proud of its Hindu ancestry and, on the other, a few sons of the same proud families taking to gun s and terrorism, as it were, against the rest of Hindustan.

Even today, the ruins demonstrate the finery of the sculpture. Human faces have been mutilated. The tablet displayed at the spot by the ASI says the following: This is the grandest and the most impressive conception of a temple dedicated to Siva associated with Siddharaj who ruled in the 12th century AD though tradition accords its construction to Mularaj during the lOth century AD. The Jami Masjid (mentioned in the blurb) is a modest affair. Its gate is so small that not more than two persons can enter at the same time. On its top are two minarets less than three feet tall. As one crossed the gate, there are four small temple sancti, one on the left and three on the right. It is clear that the sancti had been walled up and converted into a mebraab for the prayer space; Beyond this is the square tank from ancient times which was also used by those who came for ibadat. Beyond, stand a few handsome pillars and carvings that have survived from ancient times.

A.S. Quereshi, advocate, for the (Muslim) Trustees, issued a notice dated February 6, 1980 to the Superintendent, Archaeological Department, asking the department to build compound walls as per the compromise and to cover up the temple remains. The superintendent explained in person the importance of the discoveries made and the need for revision of the compromise in the interests of preserving the precious cultural heritage of the country.

To paraphrase William Shakespeare, not all the scents of Arabia would suffice to wash away the sins of Ghazni and Alamgir at Mathura. And since it is not possible to claim back what was destroyed long ago, the return of the Idgaah and the shuddhi of Krishnajanmabhoomi or the birth place of Krishna, is the only alternative.

There are some 20 alcoves in the northern wall. They all give the impression of temp le carvings. If there be any doubt, it is set at rest by what was used as mimbar or the pulpit for the Imam . The face of t he last step is covered with carvings of two female figures which, of course, have been defaced but are still unmistakably human statuettes.

The masjids being near the centre of Dhar, we were able to talk to several local residents who were not only pained at the prohibitory orders for Bhojshala, but also made repeated references to the Lat masjid. The central thrust of their complaint was that most of them could not afford to travel to distant places of pilgrimage. For them, therefore, Bhojshala represents about the only holy place within their reach. If access to that also is denied, were they expected to become Muslims, so that they could go in every Friday? *There is, as it were, a 364 day ban on the entry of Hindus to what is essentially a Hindu heritage and continues to be called Saraswati mandir. Even the Muslims call it Bhojshala masjid and show little interest in worshipping at this converted temple. Why should Bhojshala be inaccessible to the community to which it belongs?