The five women at the forefront of the legal fight in the Gyanvapi case now want the carbon dating of the “evidence” found in the premises. Speaking to News18, they said obstacles in the way of them paying obeisance to ‘Maa Gauri’ are being removed and they hope they can soon also pay obeisance at the ‘Shivling’ in the Gyanvapi premises.
The five women had filed the plea last year in August, seeking permission to hold prayers for the image of Goddess Maa Shringar Gauri, which exists at the back of Gyanvapi in Ishan Kon. The Varanasi court admitted their plea on Monday, saying the same will be heard from September 22.
The main appellant was Rakhi Singh from Delhi, who did not attend any of the hearings, and was not present in court on Monday either. She was represented by her lawyer. The four other women are from Varanasi and close friends — Lakshmi Devi, Manju Vyas, Rekha Pathak and Sita Sahu. All four of them were present in court on Monday, wearing red chunaris associated with ‘Maa Gauri’.
“This is the first important step to remove obstacles in our quest to pay obeisance to ‘Maa Shringar Gauri’, but we also want carbon dating of the entire evidence found inside the Gyanvapi premises that proves it was a temple. We are hoping the court will soon pave the way for us to pay obeisance at the Shivling in the Gyanvapi premises too,” Lakshmi Devi and Rekha Pathak told News18 on the phone from Varanasi.
They said the carbon dating exercise would prove the existence of the Shri Adi Visheshwar Temple which was being worshipped by devotees of Lord Shiva since time immemorial before Aurangzeb demolished a portion of the temple to build the Gyanvapi premises.
Rakhi Singh, who was not present in court, issued a video statement from Delhi, calling it a historic day and appealed to the Hindu community to be calm in celebrations and ensure the atmosphere is not spoilt. Earlier this year, there was a dispute when it was alleged that Rakhi Singh wanted to withdraw from the case and she also submitted an application in court through her lawyer, asking for her case to be separated from the rest.
Singh had then expressed doubt over the credibility of the legal team of the four other women. “The court’s decision comes as a slap on the face of those who were spreading rumours that I would withdraw from the case. I remained steadfast,” she said.
The four Varanasi women are said to be friends ever since they struck a bond while praying daily at the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Their case was that on the fourth day of Chaitra Navratra Samvat 2078 i.e. on April 16, 2021, the devotees were allowed to have darshan and pooja of ‘Maa Shringar Gauri’, but thereafter, the devotees are not allowed to perform daily pooja.
They also argued that in 1993, the Government of Uttar Pradesh restricted the entry of devotees of Lord Shiva within the “old temple” on all days as earlier and thereafter the devotees were being allowed to worship within “old temple” only on fourth day of Chaitra in Navratra. They wanted these rights restored.
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