%20With%20fight%20over%20Ayodhya%27s%20Ram%20temple%20now%20over%2C%20has%20the%20focus%20now%20shifted%20to%20Mathura%3F

#Ayodhya #Mathura #UttarPradesh

A Mathura court has admitted a plea that seeks removal of the Shahi Idgah mosque, adjacent to the Krishna Janmabhoomi
In her plea, the petitioner has claimed that the Krishna temple at the birthplace of Lord Krishna was desecrated by the last Mughal emperor Aurangzeb
The court has fixed November 18 as the next date of hearing in the case

Written By:Sharat

Updated: October 17 2020 04:41:50 PM ET

When%20the%20Supreme%20Court%20ruled%20in%20favour%20of%20the%20much-debated%20Ram%20temple%20in%20Ayodhya%20in%20November%202019%2C%20all%20eyes%20turned%20towards%20the%20other%20two%20contentious%20shrines%20%u2013%20Krishna%20Janmbhoomi%20in%20Mathura%20and%20the%20Kashi%20Vishwanath%20temple%20in%20Varanasi.

%26nbsp%3BEven%20as%20top%26nbsp%3BHindutva%20leaders%20including%20the%20Rashtriya%20Swayamsevak%20Sangh%20%28RSS%29%20chief%20Mohan%20Bhagwat%20sought%20to%20publicly%20emphasise%20that%20Mathura%20and%20Kashi%20were%20not%20on%20their%20agenda%2C%20there%20could%20be%20no%20denying%20that%20the%20ultimate%20victory%20for%20the%20temple%20would%20embolden%20the%20Hindutva%20brigade%20to%20now%20train%20their%20guns%20at%20the%20%u2018Idgah%u2019%20and%20mosque%20erected%20over%20a%20large%20part%20of%20what%20was%20believed%20to%20be%20the%20birthplace%20of%20Lord%20Krishna.%20As%20for%20the%20Varanasi%20shrine%2C%20a%20dispute%20was%20already%20pending%20before%20the%20local%20district%20court%20where%20Hindus%20and%20Muslims%20were%20making%20their%20respective%20claims.

%26nbsp%3BIt%20was%2C%20therefore%2C%20no%20surprise%20when%20Lucknow%20based%20lawyer%20Ranjana%20Agnihotri%20moved%20an%20application%20before%20the%20additional%20district%20judge%20%28ADJ%29%20of%20Mathura%20seeking%20handing%20over%20of%20the%20Idgah%20land%20to%20the%20Krishna%20Janmbhoomi%20temple.%20Unfazed%20by%20the%20rejection%20of%20this%20application%20by%20ADJ%20Chhaya%20Sharma%20last%20month%2C%20she%20filed%20a%20review%20petition%20before%20the%20district%20judge.

%26nbsp%3BAnd%20sure%20enough%2C%20the%20second%20attempt%20did%20not%20prove%20to%20be%20a%20futile%20exercise%20like%20the%20initial%20effort%20that%20was%20turned%20down%20on%20account%20of%20the%20Places%20of%20Worship%20Act%201991%2C%20which%20disallowed%20any%20change%20in%20the%20status%20of%20any%20place%20of%20worship%20from%20how%20it%20stood%20on%20August%2015%2C%201947.%20Agnihotri%u2019s%20plea%20has%20not%20only%20been%20taken%20note%20of%20but%20the%20District%20and%20Sessions%26nbsp%3B%20Judge%20Sadhana%20Rani%20Thakur%20on%20Friday%20afternoon%20decided%20to%20issue%20notices%20to%20all%20concerned%20parties%20named%20in%20the%20petition.%20These%20included%20the%20Sunni%20Central%20Waqf%20%26nbsp%3BBoard%2C%20the%20Shahi%20Masjid%20Idgah%20Management%20Trust%2C%20as%20well%20as%20Shri%20Krishna%20Janmbhoomi%20Trust%2C%20Shree%20Krishna%20Janmsthan%20Sewa%20Sansthan.

%26nbsp%3BIn%20fact%2C%20the%20enactment%20was%20made%20during%20the%20Narasimha%20Rao%20regime%2C%20while%20the%20Ramjanmbhoomi-Babri%20Masjid%20movement%20was%20touching%20its%20crescendo%20and%20the%20Vishwa%20Hindu%20Parishad%20staking%20loud%20claims%20to%20two%20other%20mosques%20%u2014%20the%20Gyanvapi%20mosque%20in%20Varanasi%20and%20the%20Shahi%20Idgah%20mosque%20in%20Mathura.

It%20was%20in%20such%20backdrop%20that%20the%20Narasimha%20Rao%20government%20brought%20in%20this%20Act%20in%20September%201991%20with%20a%20view%20to%20clamping%20a%20freeze%20on%20the%20status%20of%20all%20places%20of%20worship%20as%20they%20were%20on%20August%2015%2C%201947.%20%26nbsp%3B

%26nbsp%3BHowever%2C%20the%20enactment%20excluded%20the%20Ayodhya%20shrine%20from%20its%20purview%20simply%20because%20the%20issue%20had%20already%20been%20pending%20before%20different%20courts%20of%20law%20for%20more%20than%20a%20century.

%3Cstrong%3EAlso%20read%3A%20%3C/strong%3E%3Ca%20target%3D%22_blank%22%20rel%3D%22noopener%20noreferrer%22%20href%3D%22https%3A//opoyi.com/in-pics-pm-modi-performs-bhoomi-pujan-of-the-ram-temple-in-ayodhya%22%3E%3Cstrong%3EIn%20Pics%3A%20PM%20Modi%20performs%20Bhoomi%20Pujan%20of%20the%20Ram%20Temple%20in%20Ayodhya%3C/strong%3E%3C/a%3E

%26nbsp%3BAccording%20to%20a%20report%20in%20The%20Hindu%2C%20%u201Cthe%20enactment%20was%20intended%20to%20pre-empt%20new%20claims%20by%20any%20group%20about%20the%20past%20status%20of%20any%20place%20of%20worship%20and%20attempts%20to%20reclaim%20the%20structures%20or%20the%20land%20on%20which%20they%20stood.%20It%20was%20hoped%20that%20the%20legislation%20would%20help%20the%20preservation%20of%20communal%20harmony%20in%20the%20long%20run.%u201D

%26nbsp%3BSignificantly%2C%20taking%20the%20cue%20from%20the%20Ayodhya%20case%20where%20%u201CRam%20Lalla%20Virajman%u201D%28the%20deity%20of%20Lord%20Ram%29%20was%20recognized%20as%20a%20legal%20entity%2C%20Agnihotri%20moved%20her%20application%20together%20with%20four%20others%20in%20the%20name%20of%20%u201CSri%20Krishna%20Virajman%u201D%20%28the%20installed%20of%20Lord%20Krishna%29.

%26nbsp%3BAlso%20precisely%20on%20the%20same%20lines%20as%20in%20the%20Ayodhya%20case%2C%20these%20applicants%20have%20contended%20that%20Lord%20Krishna%20was%20born%20exactly%20where%20the%20mosque%20stands%20today.%20As%20such%2C%20their%20main%20demand%20is%20%u201Crestoration%u201D%20of%20the%20entire%2013.37%20acres%20of%20land%20in%20and%20around%20the%20shrine.%20They%20also%20want%20the%20annulment%20of%20a%20settlement%20arrived%20at%20way%20back%20in%201968%20between%20the%20Krishna%20Janmbhoomi%20temple%20governing%20body%20and%20the%20mosque%20management%20committee%20to%20coexist%20in%20harmony.

%26nbsp%3BWhile%20the%20next%20date%20of%20hearing%20in%20the%20case%20has%20been%20fixed%20for%20November%2018%2C%20the%20applicants%20are%20confident%20of%20mobilising%26nbsp%3B%20huge%20support%20for%20their%20plea.%20%u201CYou%20will%20see%20this%20turning%20into%20a%20people%u2019s%20movement%20very%20soon%u201C%2C%20asserts%20a%20confident%20Agnihotri%2C%20who%20was%20closely%20involved%20with%20the%20Ayodhya%20legal%20battle%20for%20many%20years.

%3Cstrong%3EAlso%20read%3A%20%3C/strong%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22Babri%20verdict%20another%20feather%20in%20PM%20Modi%u2019s%20cap%3F%22%3E%3Cstrong%3EBabri%20verdict%20another%20feather%20in%20PM%20Modi%u2019s%20cap%3F%3C/strong%3E%3C/a%3E

%26nbsp%3BAgnihotri%20and%20her%20compatriots%20were%20leaving%20no%20stone%20unturned%20in%20citing%20similarities%20between%26nbsp%3B%20Mathura%20and%20Ayodhya.%20Quite%20akin%20to%20Ayodhya%20where%20Hindus%20alleged%20destruction%20of%20the%20original%20Ram%20temple%20by%20Mughal%20emperor%20Babur%u2019s%20army%20commander%20Mir%20Baqi%2C%20Agnihotri%20has%20contended%20that%20the%20Krishna%20temple%20at%20his%20birthplace%20was%20desecrated%20by%20Aurangzeb%2C%20the%20last%20of%20the%20Mughals.

%26nbsp%3BHowever%2C%20what%20the%20petitioners%20seem%20to%20be%20overlooking%20was%20one%20marked%20difference%20between%20Ayodhya%20and%20the%20two%20other%20contentious%20shrines.%26nbsp%3B%20Unlike%20Ayodhya%2C%20both%20Mathura%20and%20Varanasi%20continued%20to%20have%20the%20temple%20and%20mosque%20co-exist%20all%20along%2C%20even%20after%20the%20desecration%20of%20the%20temples.%20So%20how%20the%20new%20court%20battle%20plays%20out%2C%20only%20time%20will%20tell.

%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23Mathura%22%20data-user-id%3D%22q96bLUhzDwT2%22%20href%3D%22/topic/mathura%22%3E%23Mathura%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23Ayodhya%22%20data-user-id%3D%22NWBmyg0fd2YY%22%20href%3D%22/topic/ayodhya%22%3E%23Ayodhya%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23UttarPradesh%22%20data-user-id%3D%228fpxFfZw7Hfa%22%20href%3D%22/topic/uttar-pradesh%22%3E%23UttarPradesh%3C/a%3E%26nbsp%3B