Muslims should give up Gyanvapi masjid, Hindus must stop new demands: Ex-ASI chief
Talking to 'India Today', K K Muhammed pointed out that Mathura and Gyavapi are two other places apart from Ram Janmabhoomi that are
... "as important for the Hindu community as Mecca and Medina are for Muslims."
"The only solution for unity should be that all these three places should be handed to the Hindu community and Hindus should stop coming with a long list of places."
Former Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) regional director K K Muhammed pointed out that Mathura and Gyanvapi are two other places, apart from Ram Janmabhoomi, that are "as important for the Hindu community as Mecca and Medina are for Muslims."
He warned that pursuing additional claims would not resolve the issue and could lead to further conflict.
Former Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) regional director K K Muhammed has called for restraint in ongoing mandir-masjid disputes, stating that only three sites - Ram Janmabhoomi, Mathura, and Gyanvapi - should be at the centre of the discussion.
He suggested that Muslims should willingly hand over these sites, while also urging Hindus to avoid making further demands, emphasising that expanding claims would only create more problems.
According to Muhammed, most Muslims were initially inclined to resolve the matter by allowing the construction of a temple at the disputed site.
Muhammed’s remarks come as several petitions regarding the temple-masjid row are pending before courts across the country.
Muhammad recounted his involvement in the 1976 excavation of the Babri Masjid, led by BB Lal. He said the controversy grew because of the influence of a communist historian.
According to him, they persuaded the Muslim community to reject the evidence of a temple beneath the mosque.
"At that very important time, it was a communist historian who interfered in all these things and then persuaded the Muslim community that Professor Lal had excavated the site, and he did not get anything which favoured the previous existence of a temple.
So this was their creation. So, Muslims had no other way," he told India Today.
"They had never visited the site, even before the excavation nor during the excavation nor after the excavation. So, without knowing the subject, they were propagating this kinds of false stories.
So, somebody had to give an answer for that one. So, for the first time, professor BB Lal, who had led the team, gave a befitting reply," he said.
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On cultural heritage preservation, Muhammed stated that the expectations placed on the government, particularly regarding protection of sites, "did not materialise." He referred to the current period as the "dark age of the Archaeological Survey of India," criticising the lack of substantial progress.
He further noted that his own restoration work at the Bateshwar temple complex in Chambal had slowed considerably in recent years, with only ten temples reconstructed during the last eleven years, despite significant effort.
On the broader issue of mandir-masjid debates, Muhammed advised caution, saying, "We should be very careful." He identified Mathura and Gyanvapi, alongside Ram Janmabhoomi, as sites of particular importance to the Hindu community, describing their significance as comparable to Mecca and Medina for Muslims.
"So, Muslims should willingly hand over these three places," he added.
Responding to questions about other petitions concerning religious sites, Muhammed said, "Other than these three, there should be no demand that should be coming from the Hindu community." He warned that pursuing additional claims would not solve the issue and risked further conflict.
Muhammed asserted that the historian was not an archaeologist and had not visited the site at any stage of the excavation.
He slammed the spread of what he described as false narratives, pointing out the lack of direct knowledge among those influencing public opinion at the time.
"The only solution for unity should be that all these three places should be handed to the Hindu community and Hindus should stop coming with a long list of places. That won't solve the problem," he said.
Muhammed also commented on the lack of internal control regarding such demands, saying, "There is no one to control them" with respect to the problem within the Hindu community.
He categorically dismissed allegations by some Hindu groups regarding the origins of the Taj Mahal, calling them "totally false".
Muhammed detailed the historical transfer of the site, noting that it was originally Raja Mann Singh's palace, which was later transferred to Jai Singh and subsequently to Shah Jahan, with supporting documents preserved in Bikaner and Jaipur museums.
He described such claims as "another attempt by fanatical Hindu groups to claim that everything belongs to them."
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