Octogenarian Niranjan Verma, a former parliamentarian, remembers how Jawaharlal Nehru found some reason or the other not to meet the delegations led … - Praful Goradia
" "Octogenarian Niranjan Verma, a former parliamentarian, remembers how Jawaharlal Nehru found some reason or the other not to meet the delegations led by him. Eventually, he diverted Verma to see Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, who could not spare the time to visit Vidisha but deputed Prof Humayun Kabir, the then Education Secretary. The professor was impartial, and immediately conceded in the presence of many a local citizen that it was indeed a temple. However, at this late stage, since the matter would take on political hues, as a bureaucrat, he could do little. Verma and his supporters also approached Dr Kailash Nath Katju when he became Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. The reply they got was that Verma and his men should first persuade the Congressmen of Vidisha into agreeing that the Chief Minister could intervene in Bijamandal. Not long after that, the delegation met the then Chief Minister Mandloi who, incidentally, was sympathetic. His only problem was the fear of Nehru's wrath, which he candidly admitted. As already mentioned, Mishra did bring a halt to namaz being conducted in the edifice. His government donated Rs.40,000 for the construction of a separate idgaah nearby. By then Jawaharlal Nehru had been succeeded by the not antipathic Lal Bahadur Shastri.
About Praful Goradia
Praful Dwarkadas Goradia is a politician from Akhil Bharatiya Jan Sangh party. He was a Member of the Parliament of India representing Gujarat in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament from 1998 to 2000 as member of Bharatiya Janata Party. Currently, he is general secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Jan Sangh.
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Additional quotes by Praful Goradia
Bhojshala was a college. The District Gazetteer says that Raja Bhoj school is a mosque, a part of which was converted from a Hindu institution of the 11th century, the Saraswati temple or school. According to the publication, this shrine of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of learning, is described in the Sanskrit play of Arjunavarma Paramara, 1210-16 as the ornament of the eightyfour squares of Dharanagari. Two slabs were discovered behind the mehrab, one bearing the Prakrit odes of the 11th century (supposed to have been composed by Raja Bhoj himself) and the other the Sanskrit play mentioned above, which praises Arjunavarma. These slabs stand on the north side of the building and are beautiful specimens of the stone cutter's work.
According to the report, Begum Ayesha, MLA, played a leading part in the cover up operation. K.T. Satarawala, the then Adviser to the Governor of Gujarat, also played a yeoman's role by providing a detailed report on the subject. That Muslim appellants were able to push the ASI, is best quoted from the Fourth Annual Report itself.
Rich treasures of sculpture were thus salvaged. Some of the statues were particularly splendid; some were as high as eight feet. The work of the archaeologists, however, did not last long. The ASI soon received instructions to stop further work. The officer of the ASI working on the excavations was transferred, as was the collector. Whether this had anything to do with the new Human Resource Development Minister, Arjun Singh, I 99 1-94, who happened to be the leader of the self-styled secular lobby in Madhya Pradesh, is not known. Since then, the Bijamandal mosque is marking time with a great deal of sculpture hidden under its southern side.