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Hindu Deities of Zafar Khan Ghazi Masjid

Article by Nayandeep

One must understand how important it is to know of the atrocities committed on Hindu civilization during the past by invading hordes of barbarians from Arabia. Without this knowledge we might remain ignorant and end up celebrating those who were responsible for the cruelty on our ancestors. The paradox stares at us, as many of our leaders end up sending Chadhars to the graves of Sufi extremists who presided over the mass murder of Hindu population. We fail to notice and learn the history behind the  defaced Gods and Goddesses in our ancestral temples and in those temples converted into mosques.

One such prime example is the Ghazi Zafar Khan Mosque near Calcutta in the town of Tribeni. It was a meeting point of three rivers Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswati. For the uninitiated ones the title Ghazi is given to an Islamic warrior who has slaughtered and destroyed the kaffirs. In this case it was an area and people around Tribeni who were slaughtered and the Vishnu temple located there which was converted to a Masjid.

Said to be built in 1298 AD in Tribeni Bengal, Ghazi Zafar Khan Mosque is regarded as the oldest mosque in the eastern India. Circumstances in which the mosque was constructed are aptly demonstrated in its dedicatory inscription, which was translated by H.Balochman a British officer who translated the inscription on Zafar  Khan’s tomb, it  clearly states “Khan the lion of lions has appeared by conquering the towns of India in every expedition and by restoring the decayed religious institutions. And he has destroyed the obdurate among the infidels with his sword and spear and lavished the treasures of his wealth in helping miserable”.

On a close inspection of the mosque one can clearly see the distinct Hindu architecture in the form of various Deities and lord Vishnu’s Dashavatar (ten forms) on the stone slab inside the mosque. The doorways of Zafar Khan’s tomb strongly resemble Hindu Vaishnava architecture. Many of the figures on the walls have their faces disfigured in order to hide the truth that the mosque is actually a Hindu temple.
A British officer D.Money of the Bengal civil services who had met with the Khadims(servents) of Ghazi Zafar Khan’s muesoleum in the year 1847 scanned some of the documents given to him by the Khadims, the documents clearly stated that Zafar Mohamed Khan along with his nephew shah Sufi came from western India to slay the infidels (Hindus) of Bengal and turn them to Islam. It mentions that Zafar Khan fought and converted local ruler Man Nirapati to Islam. It was the second battle with the ruler Budheb that the all conquering Ghazi met his fate by having his head chopped off and his torso buried in Tribeni.

There are many versions and folklore regarding this man Ghazi Khan and his mosque, in some folklore he is presented as a slayer of Hindus. In versions penned by Islamic historians he is however portrayed as a benevolent man who distributed his wealth to the poor.

While the folklore and different versions may contradict themselves but the fact on the ground remains that the once famous temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu is now used as a mosque.
The truth is that the ancient Hindu temples which were a rallying point for the local population and centers of great architecture and learning were destroyed and taken over by Muslim invaders to finish off the oldest and the greatest civilization in the world. So we have to ponder over what keeps this civilization still alive in the face of destruction done centuries ago and the present disdain being heaped upon us by democratic governments.

The answer to this lies in the spirit of our illustrious ancestors who fought to defend our temples and our glorious heritage. Never has been invaders successful in conquering our nation and our temples, great wars were fought to reclaim our temples and restart worship of our Gods.

The same spirit now runs in the countless Dharmik warriors who dream of reclaiming our temples. All Hindu temples will no doubt be liberated from the encroachers and the due worship of Hindu Gods will be reinstated.

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Image Credits: double-dolphin.blogspot.in

Ancient Kalagi temples of Karnataka, now in ruins

Article by @para_praveen

Kalaburagi, Karnataka.

The 2nd century Kaleshwara temple becomes cynosure of all the eyes during the important VeeraShaiva festivals, particularly Mahashivaratri and thousands of devout hindus throng the temple to have the darshan of the ancient linga installed inside the once beautiful temple.But in the eyes of the Archeological Survery of India (ASI) or the State Archeology Department, this temple, considered to be one of the ancient Hindu temples is a non existent once.

The present; kalagi” known as “Kaluge” in an ancient inscriptions; is 40 kms away from Kalaburagi. It has a temple complex of Chalukyan period. Kalagi was popularly known then as the garden of temples. Kalagi in the seventh century was a well-developed rich city with a population of more than three lakhs –according to the historians. There are more than 30 monuments in and around the Kalagi village. So far eleven inscriptions are reported from this place. Most of the temples belonged to the Shaiva style; of them Bibbeshwara, Gonkeshwara, Jayalingeshwara, Kaaleshwara and Someshwara according to inscriptions found here and now called these temples in different names.

Kalagi is famous for the rare set of Shivalingas in India, which are housed in Kaleshwar temple. According to a legend, these lingas are arranged in four floors, one beneath the other. Presently devotees can see Kaleshwar linga installed on the ground floor. The other lingas beneath the ground are said to be ‘agochara’ invisible. These lingas were consecrated in Krithayuga. Someshwar linga in Trethayuga, Neelakanteshwara linga in Dwaparayuga and Kaleshwar linga in Kaliyuga.

An ancient Suryanarayana temple is on the verge of collapse due to lack of conservation. The temple is considered to be one of the rare shrines and the portion of the side walls of the Suryanarayana temple has already fallen down and roots of the tress that had grown wildly around the shrine can be seen. The ceiling as well as the wall that makes the rare elevation is in a dilapidated state owing to absence of maintenance. The inscriptions were carved between 1043 AD and 13 th Century according to research scholars. The inscriptions on Suryanarana temple and Kaleshwara temple in Kalagi is a standing testimony to the existence of famous kings namely Jayakarna son of the sixth vikramaditya, king Jagadekamalla of Kalyan chalukyas.

Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti peetham visited Kalagi in 1982 and made his stay here for eight days. It was a centre for political, educational, cultural and religious, also a capital city of Mahamandaleshwar of baana dynasty during 12 th century. There are numerous Shivalinga in all most all temples in Kalagi. Outside the temples, beautifully carved inscriptions of Brahma, Vishnu,Ishwar,Bhairav,Nataraj,Uma-Mahashwar, Mahisha-Mardini, Ganesh can be seen.

 

A Pushkarni (traditional stepwell with natural springs) is also seen nearby Narasimha and Ishwar temple on the bay of Kalagi stream. A few jain basatis are also in panic condition. These Monuments have enriched the culture of the country, but have not been noticed by many. The need is to catch the attention of research scholars, historians and archaeological experts. Now it is necessary that the Archaeology department and tourism department together have to prepare a plan for development of the forgotten cultural splendour and historic monuments of the Kalagi ruins.

Now it is upto HinduSamaj to get the act together for conservation of the Heritage. The structures are crumbling fast, it may have only a few years left unless the Hindu community renovates and revives worship at the temple site.

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Places of Worship Act, an Unconstitutional Act

Article by Radhey Syam Rai

Any cursory glance of Indian constitution will reveal its reliance on English law and that the core remains the Government of India Act 1935 passed by the British colonial government. The judiciary in India has also been a byproduct of British colonial government, and many a times it reveals the British antecedents. An enactment is presumed to be intravires and the onus of proof lies on the person who challenges its vires. And whenever there is any doubt regarding the constitutionality of an enactment, the doubt should always go in favour of the legislature. 

In short even if the Parliament passes an highly arbitrary law which keeps itself aloof from the concept of justice, the onus will be on the person challenging its provisions to prove its wrong. In normal cases, such an act would be declared ultra vires by the Indian judiciary which has established itself as a vanguard of the Fundamental Rights. But when the Act is another tool of oppression on Hindu religion and civilisation, it requires to be seen if the judges will have the courage and conviction to declare it ultravires.

The spotlight here is on the Places of Worship Special Provisions Act, a two page legislation passed by Narasimha Rao government at the height of Ramjanmabhumi agitation. From the wordings of the Act, the idea was perhaps to nip from bud every agitation to #ReclaimTemples on the lines of the Ramjanmabhumi movement.

We look at some reasons on how this Act is ultravires of Indian constitution and why the courts will have to strike it down if they act without fear or favour.

Places of Worship Special Provisions Act is a ‘colourable piece of legislation’ as defined by the Honorable Supreme Court of India in the case of KC Gajapati Narayan Deo V State of Orissa 1954 SCR 1 wherein the Supreme Court has stated that where a legislature has limited powers because the Constitution lays down a limit on it by providing fundamental rights to the citizens, questions do arise as to whether the legislature in a particular case has or has not, in respect to the subject matter of the statute or in the method of enacting it, transgressed the limits of its constitutional powers. Such transgression may be patent, manifest or direct, but it may also be disguised, covert and indirect and it is to this latter class of cases that the expression ‘colorable legislation’ has been applied in certain judicial pronouncements.

Hindus were driven out from Kashmir by the time this Act was passed and enforced. Kashmiri Hindus left behind them many temples and other Hindu Religious Institutions. This Act washes its hands off when it comes to protection of Hindu Religious Places and Institution. Art 14 and 21 is infringed as far as this provision unreasonably discriminates against Hindus. Mala fide on the on the part of the ruling party which paddled the enactment in the Parliament is clearly apparent here. If the Advocates Act, 1961 and other enactment could be made enforceable pan India, this could have also been enforced in the similar manner.

Also the legislature knew that many temples belonging to Hindus had been desecrated, sacked and converted to Mosques by Islamic invaders at various points of time in the past. The Hindus were not able to claim back the temples which now lay in Pakistan and Bangladesh as the writ of our courts don’t run in those countries but there is definite clamor to reclaim the ones lying within the territory of the Indian Union. The blanket prohibition preventing Hindus from claiming their temples back by instituting a suit to the court and the provision to abate the ones already pending in a court is unjust and ultravires Art 32 of the Constitution as the right to manage religious affairs under Art 26 includes the right to reclaim the temples forcibly converted into mosques. The adjudication of a list is the province of law courts and a prohibition to institute suits and foreclosing the ongoing ones amount to encroachment in the realm of judiciary by the legislature, hence, ultravires on this count too.

It will only be a matter of time that this Act will be challenged in a court of law and declared ultra vires by the learned judges.

The Act is as below, please do have a read.

THE PLACES OF WORSHIP (SPECIAL PROVISIONS) ACT, 1991

ACT NO. 42 OF 1991 [18th September, 1991.]

An Act to prohibit conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on the 15th day of August, 1947, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Forty-second Year of the Republic of India as follows:—

S 1(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

S 1 (3) The provisions of sections 3, 6 and 8 (S 8 Rep. by the Repealing and Amending Act, 2001 (30 of 2001), s. 2 and the First Schedule (w.e.f. 3-9-2001) shall come into force at once and the remaining provisions of this Act shall be deemed to have come into force on the 11th day of July, 1991.

S 2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, — (a) “commencement of this Act” means the commencement of this Act on the 11th day of July, 1991; (b) “conversion”, with its grammatical variations, includes alteration or change of whatever nature; (c) “place of worship” means a temple, mosque, gurudwara, church, monastery or any other place of public religious worship of any religious denomination or any section thereof, by whatever name called.

S 3. Bar of conversion of places of worship.—No person shall convert any place of worship of any religious denomination or any section thereof into a place of worship of a different section of the same religious denomination or of a different religious denomination or any section thereof.

S 4. Declaration as to the religious character of certain places of worship and bar of jurisdiction of courts, etc.—(1) It is hereby declared that the religious character of a place of worship existing on the 15th day of August, 1947 shall continue to be the same as it existed on that day. (2) If, on the commencement of this Act, any suit, appeal or other proceeding with respect to the conversion of the religious character of any place of worship, existing on the 15th day of August, 1947, is pending before any court, tribunal or other authority, the same shall abate, and no suit, appeal or other proceeding with respect to any such matter shall lie on or after such commencement in any court, tribunal or other authority: Provided that if any suit, appeal or other proceeding, instituted or filed on the ground that conversion has taken place in the religious character of any such place after the 15th day of August, 1947, is pending on the commencement of this Act, such suit, appeal or other proceeding shall be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1). (3) Nothing contained in sub-section (1) and sub-section (2) shall apply to,— (a) any place of worship referred to in the said sub-sections which is an ancient and historical monument or an archaeological site or remains covered by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (24 of 1958) or any other law for the time being in force; (b) any suit, appeal or other proceeding, with respect to any matter referred to in sub-section (2), finally decided, settled or disposed of by a court, tribunal or other authority before the commencement of this Act; (c) any dispute with respect to any such matter settled by the parties amongst themselves before such commencement; (d) any conversion of any such place effected before such commencement by acquiescence; (e) any conversion of any such place effected before such commencement which is not liable to be challenged in any court, tribunal or other authority being barred by limitation under any law for the time being in force.

S 5. Act not to apply to Ram Janma Bhumi-Babri Masjid.—Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the place or place of worship commonly known as Ram Janma Bhumi-Babri Masjid situated in Ayodhya in the State of Uttar Pradesh and to any suit, appeal or other proceeding relating to the said place or place of worship.

S 6. Punishment for contravention of section 3.—(1) Whoever contravenes the provisions of section 3 shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine. (2) Whoever attempts to commit any offence punishable under sub-section (1) or to cause such offence to be committed and in such attempt does any act towards the commission of the offence shall be punishable with the punishment provided for the offence. (3) Whoever abets, or is a party to a criminal conspiracy to commit, an offence punishable under sub-section (1) shall, whether such offence be or be not committed in consequence of such abetment or in pursuance of such criminal conspiracy, and notwithstanding anything contained in section 116 of the Indian Penal Code (45 0f 1860), be punishable with the punishment provided for the offence.

S 7. Act to override other enactments.—The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force or any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other than this Act. 8. [Amendment of Act 43 of 1951.]—Rep. by the Repealing and Amending Act, 2001 (30 of 2001), s. 2 and the First Schedule (w.e.f. 3-9-2001).

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