Former ASI director KK Muhammed said Muslims should hand over Gyanvapi (Varanasi) and Mathura to the Hindu community, comparing their significance for Hindus to that of Mecca and Medina for Muslims, and that Hindus should not seek more beyond these.
Former Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) regional director KK Muhammed has said that Muslims should give up two more historical places which are temples also – Mathura, the birthplace of Lord Krishna, and Gyanvapi, which is associated with Lord Shiva – and also suggested that the leadership of the two communities “should come to certain terms and conditions”.
Talking to ANI, KK Muhammed noted that India is a secular country because of the Hindu majority and had it been a Muslim majority country, it would never have been a secular country. He said Lord Krishna temple in Mathura and Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi are as important for Hindus as Mecca and Medina are for Muslims.
‘Give Up Two More Historical Places’
KK Muhammed said there should be a certain gesture from the Muslim side. “I had said Muslims should give up two more historical places and these are the temples also – Mathura which is the birthplace of Lord Krishna and Gyanvapi which is associated with Lord Shiva. So, these are the two important places which Muslims should hand over to the Hindu community for constructing magnificent Hindu temples. Because these 2 important places are as important for Hindus as Mecca and Medina are for Muslims,” KK Muhammed said.
‘India Secular Due to Hindu Majority’
He also suggested that the Hindu community should not go beyond the three places of Ayodhya, Varanasi and Mathura. “Muslims should appreciate the fact that even after giving a separate country Pakistan for the Muslim community, if India is a secular country today, it is only because of Hindu majority. Had it been a Muslim majority country, it would never have been a secular country. So, this fact also Muslims should realise and they should understand it. There should be certain gestures from their side,” he said.
A Path to Resolution
“You should not speak about all these things with communist historians because in the earlier case also it was the communist historians like Irfan Habib and a few JNU people who had complicated the issue. Section of the Muslim community was ready to handover the Ram Janmbhoomi also because I had spoken to many people. So, we should not bring in these communist historians, they would complicate the issue and poison the minds of Muslims. Hindu leadership and Muslim leadership should come to certain terms and conditions. At the same time, what Hindus should do is that beyond these three, they should not go behind every mosque,” he added.
PM Modi on Ram Temple and National Heritage
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last month hoisted Dharma Dhwaja at the grand Ram Temple in Ayodha, which marked symbolic completion of the temple. He had said that Dharma Dhwaja is not merely a flag, it is the flag of the renaissance of the Indian civilisation. PM Modi had noted that the divine courtyard of the Ram Mandir is also becoming a consciousness site of India’s collective strength.
“If India is to become developed by the year 2047 and if society is to be empowered, then we must awaken ‘Ram’ within ourselves. For the nation to move forward, it must take pride in its heritage. To accelerate the journey towards Viksit Bharat we need a Chariot whose wheels are valor and patience, whose flag is truth and supreme conduct, whose horses are strength, prudence, restraint, and philanthropy, and whose reins are forgiveness, compassion, and equanimity,” he had said.
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