Lucknow: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has given an application in Badaun court, for carrying out a survey of the Jama Masjid there.
A lawyer on behalf of the ASI appeared before the court, agreeing to carry out the survey and also seeking time for it.
Mukesh Patel, state president of Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, had filed an application in the court of civil judge, senior division, Badaun in September 2022, claiming that the Jama Masjid was Neelkanth Mahadev temple that was destroyed and converted into a mosque.
The Mahasabha had sought a survey of the mosque by the ASI. It made three parties to the case, including ASI, the state government and the mosque committee.
According to Hindu Mahasabha’s advocate Ved Prakash Sahu, the ASI will carry out a survey of the Jama Masjid and thereafter submit its report in court.
The court had given 15 days’ time to the ASI for submitting the report, Sahu added.
The next date for the hearing of the case is May 30.
Porbandar: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has filed a police complaint against 19 property owners for unauthorised construction within the 200 metre limit of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthplace in Kirti Mandir.
The ASI’s Conservation Assistant, Junagadh sub-circle, Harish Jivanlal Dasre, filed the complaint under the Archaeology Department’s Rules, 1959 and amended Rules, 2010, which state that no new construction can take place without the permission of the ASI within 100 metres and 200 metres of nationally protected monuments.
Despite being served notice, the property owners continued their construction activities without the required permission. The ASI’s strict action against the illegal construction is a result of increasing concerns about the conservation of India’s cultural heritage.
The ASI has been actively working towards protecting and preserving India’s historical monuments and buildings. The accused property owners face serious charges for their actions, and the ASI has urged the public to cooperate in their efforts to safeguard the nation’s cultural legacy.
SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir police on Monday suspended two cops after a video of them taking bribe from a driver in Ramban district went viral on social media.
In a statement, a police spokesperson said that a video was doing rounds on various social media platforms wherein a traffic cop deployed at Ramban Bazar to Trishol Morh was seen indulging in an unprofessional conduct by accepting money from a driver at Naka Trishol Morh.
The statement reads that taking a serious view of the incident, selection grade constable Mohammed Latief and his in charge ASI Bini Kumar were placed under suspension with immediate effect.
It reads further a departmental enquiry has been initiated against the duo. (KNO)
Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court (HC) has slammed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Director General (DG), V. Vidyavathi for her failure to file a reply, giving an opinion as to whether a safe evaluation of the age of the Shivling-like structure, purportedly found inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi in May last year, can be done or not.
Justice Arvind Kumar Mishra was hearing a revision petition filed by Laxmi Devi and three others, who challenged the Varanasi court’s order of October 14, 2022.
They had sought a HC direction to the ASI to conduct a scientific probe of the Shivling-like structure through carbon dating and ground penetrating radar (GPR).
Justice Mishra called the ASI official’s attitude “lethargic” and said inaction had hampered the court proceedings.
However, the court gave the ASI DG a last opportunity to file a counter-affidavit in the case by April 17, the next date of hearing.
The HC observed, “Certainly, this lethargic attitude on the part of the Director General, Archaeological Survey of India, is highly deplorable and such practice must be deprecated. The desired report has not been submitted as directed since November 2022.”
“A high authority holding post of Director General, Archaeological Survey of India, controlling particular administration all over the country must know the seriousness of the matter and ought to respect the orders of the court, primarily of higher courts,” the bench added.
The HC clarified that it will not permit any authority to occasion delay on the pretext of the submission of the desired report of the ASI.
Earlier, hearing the matter on November 5, the HC had issued a notice to the ASI, essentially asking the ASI DG, to give her opinion by November 21, 2022.
In its October 14 order, the Varanasi court had rejected Hindu worshippers’ plea for conducting a scientific probe of the Shivling-like structure, reportedly found inside Gyanvapi mosque complex on May 16, 2022.
The Hindu side has been calling the structure in question a Shivling, while the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, which manages the Gyanvapi mosque, has been terming it a fountain.
SRINAGAR: A Border Security Officer was found dead on Sunday in the Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said.
The deceased has been identified as Assistant Sub-Inspector Sukhnandan Prasad, a resident of Madhya Pradesh.
Official sources added that the ASI was on duty at border outpost Gurnam in Hiranagar Sector when his colleagues found his body.
“The dead body bears bullet marks. Efforts are on to find whether the officer committed suicide or died in an accidental fire,” said a police officer. [KNT]
SRINAGAR: An assistant sub-inspector of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has allegedly committed suicide in Charar-i-Sharief area of central Kashmir’s Budgam district, officials said on Saturday.
Quoting an official, KNO reported that the officer posted at Radar Station allegedly hanged himself to death late last night.
He said his body has been sent to sub-district hospital Chadoora for post-mortem.
The official said that police have taken cognisance of the matter.
Srinagar: An ASI in CRPF posted in Central Kashmir’s Budgam district allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in his barrack, officials said on Saturday.
They told that a CRPF personnel hanged self to dead in his barrack in Chadoora area of Budgam.
They identified him as ASI Ajay Kumar Lama of Haryana who was part of 181 Battalion CRPF.
Body has been shifted to SDH Chadoora for further procedural formalities, they said.
They added that further inquest proceedings under 174 CRPC has been taken up to enquire the matter and reasons behind taking this harsh step.
Hyderabad: Close to a fortnight after a scuffle at the historic Naya Qila in the Golconda fort, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials here also clarified that the ancient site is fully open and accessible to the general public. This was made clear after it was found that security personnel of the Hyderabad Golf Club (HGC) have been wrongly preventing visitors from seeing parts of the Naya Qila like the Mustafa Khan mosque.
On March 14, a minor scuffle broke out in front of the Golconda Fort’s Naya Qila area in the early hours. A few drunk men attacked Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) guards and the golf course security personnel who were manning the entry gate. The assailants demanded entry into the Naya Qila area, and stabbed one of the guards, who was taken to a hospital nearby for treatment.
The ASI in fact posted its men round-the-clock after it found that the Hyderabad Golf Club began undertaking work to expand, without permission. The work was stopped by the ASI, after which it put up guards at night in Naya Qila as well. The HGC has occupied a majority of the Naya Qila area of Golconda fort, and has expanded to 18 holes over the years. The club however has no control in the areas which house some important historical sites like a 400-year-old Baobab tree.
In fact, the ASI is pretty clear about the fact that it is the only body that can decide to stop public access or give the same. Officials from ASI said that they had even put up a board outside Naya Qila stating that it os is open for the public to visit from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. everyday. The golf course in the area has its own security guards who man the entry into the site.
What has come to light is that the golf course personnel are not allowing the public to see everything at Naya Qila, and only let people visit the old Baobab tree at the site. The Naya Qila area has two mosques – the Mulla Khyali Masjid and Mustafa Khan Masjid – both of which predate Hyderabad. Aside from having a long periphery of the fort, it also has two huge bastions called Laila and Majnu.
Officials said that while the ASI accepted the golf course’s request to allow expansion, the landscaping work required for it would require permission from the ASI without fail. As none was taken, the ASI intervened and got it stopped. It may be noted that activists have from years questioned how ancient historic land of the Golconda fort was given to private organisations like the HGA.
Naya Qila history
The Naya Qila area is in fact believed to be about over 400 years old, and is a part of the Golconda dynasty’s (which founded Hyderabad in 1591) remaining heritage in Hyderabad. The Naya Qila area, which is now cut-off from the Golconda fort due to local encroachments, was developed into an external fortification after the first Mughal attack (during the time of Emperor Shah Jahan) on Hyderabad in 1656.
It has two huge bastions called Laila and Majnu, of which Majnu continues to be in a state of disrepair after its collapse during monsoons in 2021. The ancient historic site was one of the few places which witnessed damage during heavy rains in 2021 in the fort. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which runs the historical site, was supposed to undertake repairs, but that has not happened so far as well.
The collapsed portion of the Majnu Buruz (bastion), which is located in the Naya Qila area of the historic Golconda fort. The bastion fell when Hyderabad was lashed by heavy rains earlier in October 2020. (Photo: Siasat).
Other parts of Naya Qila which are open to the public are the Baobab tree, which is believed to be over 400 years old (it is said to have been planted there by African friars), the Mustafa Khan Masjid (which was built in 1561 and predates Hyderabad), and the Mulla Khyali Masjid, which is believed to be named after the Deccan poet Mulla Khyali.
While the Majnu Bastion’s collapse is the latest instance of the city’s heritage getting damaged, in the past the HGA had also disallowed the general public from entering the Naya Qila area. However, according the ASI, there is no such restriction and the public is free to visit the place.
The Golconda Fort and the Charminar are two monuments that fall under the jurisdiction of the ASI, which works the central government, while all the other heritage sites like the Qutb Shahi Tombs come under the purview of the Archeology Department of Telangana government. Last year, a petition A petition was also created to save Naya Qila and the Golconda fort by local Hyderabadis.
History of Golconda Fort
The Golconda Fort’s origins are traced back to the 14th century when the Rajah of Warangal Deo Rai (under the Kakatiya Kingdom which ruled from Warangal) built a mud fort. It was taken over by the Bahmani Empire between 1358 and 1375. Later, it was developed into a full-fledged citadel by Sultan Quli who founded the Qutb Shahi kingdom in 1518 following the death of last sovereign of Bahmani Emperor Mahmud Shah.
Sultan Quli was a commander and later governor of Tilang (Telangana), under the Bahmani Empire (1347-1518), when its second capital was at Bidar. Sultan Quli, who was originally from Hamadan in Iran, rose to the level of Governor under the Bahmani Empire in early 16th century. At this point of time he was given the fort, around which he began developing a walled-city. It eventually came to be called Golconda Fort (name derived from Telugu Golla-conda, or shepherds hill).
The fort has 87 bastions, and eight gates, of which a few are not accessible to the general public as they are under the army control. It is believed to be one of the Deccan’s most impregnable forts, and had kept Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s army at bay for eight months until he succeeded and conquered Hyderabad in 1687.
Hyderabad was founded in the year 1591 by Mohd. Quli Qutb Shah, the grandson of Sultan Quli, with the Charminar being the city’s foundation. The city turned 429 years old in 2020.
Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court has granted the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) the last opportunity to file its response by April 5 clarifying whether the process of carbon dating will damage an object, claimed to be a “Shivling”, found inside the Gyanvapi mosque or safe evaluation of its age can be done.
The Hindu petitioners have claimed the object to be a “Shivling”. The claim was disputed by the Muslim side, which said the object was part of a “fountain”.
The court expressed its displeasure over non-filing of response by the ASI despite eight months’ time being given to it.
The court fixed April 5 for the next hearing.
The petitioners, Laxmi Devi and three others, have filed the present civil revision petition, challenging a Varanasi court order that had rejected the demand for carbon dating and scientific determination of the purported ‘Shivling’, found during a court-mandated survey of Gyanvapi mosque premises on May 16, 2022.
On Monday, when the case was taken up, the counsel for the ASI sought more time to file its response as according to him, the ASI has to obtain advice from other agencies as well.
Expressing displeasure over the delay in filing response, Justice Arvind Kumar Mishra observed, “The time extension application has already been given in the garb of obtaining advice from other agencies. Further time should not be sought by the ASI, as the ASI may take advice as it thinks appropriate by embarking upon a process which would expedite the matter. It should not be allowed to go on any further from April 5, 2023.”
The court also directed the trial court in Varanasi, where this case is pending, to fix the date in the trial after April 5.
The petitioners have challenged the Varanasi court’s order of October 14 last year, rejecting Hindu worshippers’ plea for conducting a scientific probe of the ‘Shivling’.
Carbon dating is a method of calculating the age of very old objects by measuring the amounts of different forms of carbon in them.
Srinagar, Mar 13 (GNS): An Assistant Sub-inspector of Border Security Forces died of a suspected heart attack in Mendhar on Monday morning, officials said.
Identifying the deceased as one B L Jonko, the officials told GNS that the ASI rank Officer complained of being unwell while he was getting ready for his routine duty. The officer, they said, soon after collapsed and started frothing from mouth.
“Upon sensing emergency, the colleagues evacuated him to SDH Mendhar where despite all possible efforts, the officer couldn’t be saved”, they said.
BMO Mendhar has also confirmed to GNS about the death of the officer at a health facility in Mendhar.
It has been in the meantime learnt that police has initiated investigation into the possible cause of death of the officer. (GNS)
