Lest the author sound antagonistic towards either Bangladesh or Pakistan, let him begin with the destruction that has taken place in the Kashmir Vall… - Praful Goradia

Mind you, the ASI has done nothing to excavate or salvage anything in the complex since independence. With the passing of the Protection of National Monuments Act, 1951 (see Annexure II), all archaeological activities have been frozen. The credit for the excavations goes to Cunningham and Dr. D R Bhandarkar; during the first half of the 20th century by the latter.

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.

However, to avoid giving a religious or a communal colour to the shuddhi or reconversion, the idol installed in the sanctum sanctorum was that of Bharat Mata. It is therefore now known as the Bharat Mata temple, although for 700 years it had been called Jami masjid. The mandir was built on a plan not dissimilar to Palitana in Gujarat and Dilwara at Mount Abu, Rajasthan. There is a large courtyard. There were the usual traditional 52 pillars as in Jain places of worship. At the western end was a hall, typical of an ancient temple. A flat roof was held aloft by 152 stone pillars. The author and his colleagues during their visit in 200-1 were told on authority that the pillars were constructed according to the Himar Panti style of architecture, one of whose special characteristics was the interlocking of stones without the use of any cementing material.