On May 10, Wednesday, members of several Hindu organizations like VHP and Mahakal Manav Sewa gathered near the Qutub Minar complex in Mehrauli, Delhi to stage a protest. They recited Hanuman Chalisa at the site after gathering there. The groups are demanding that the Qutub Minar should be renamed Vishnu Stambh. They have also been demanding that roads named after Mughal rulers should be renamed.
Delhi | Members of Hindu organisation Mahakal Manav Sewa protest near Qutub Minar, demand renaming of Qutub Minar as Vishnu Stambh pic.twitter.com/HuPsf6oakP
— ANI (@ANI) May 10, 2022
#WATCH दिल्ली: कुतुब मीनार के पास हिंदू संगठन महाकाल मानव सेवा के सदस्यों ने विरोध किया और कुतुब मीनार का नाम बदलकर विष्णु स्तंभ करने की मांग की। pic.twitter.com/8hClQHeWBe
— ANI_HindiNews (@AHindinews) May 10, 2022
Members of the Mahakal Manav Sewa and the VHP who sat near the premises and peacefully chanted Hanuman Chalisa were later detained by a police contingent stationed in the vicinity.
Delhi | Members of Hindu organisation Mahakal Manav Sewa protest near Qutub Minar, demand renaming of Qutub Minar as Vishnu Stambh
— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) May 10, 2022
Track updates – https://t.co/InvdVehNuL
📸: ANI pic.twitter.com/w9GXMPLXyw
It may be noted that personnel of Delhi Police and CAPF personnel were deployed outside the monument after an international Hindu Organisation by the name of United Hindu Front (UHF) announced a recital of Hanuman Chalisa on the premises of the Qutub Minar on Tuesday along with other Hindu groups.
According to reports, the members of the UHF gathered in front of Bhool Bhulaiya and marched toward Qutub Minar.
Numerous Hindu organizations objected to the placement of two inverted idols of Lord Ganesha in the building of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque in the Qutub Minar complex, claiming that it violated the religious sentiments of Hindus. The organizations demanded that the idols be removed from the edifice and placed somewhere where they could be worshipped.
Notably, on April 7, Thursday, The National Monuments Authority (NMA) also asked the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to retrieve two Ganesha idols placed in the Qutub Minar complex in Mehrauli, Delhi.
As per the report, the NMA chairman wrote to ASI late last month, requesting that the two Ganesh idols called, Ulta Ganesh and Ganesha in a cage, be removed from the complex and relocated to the National Museum. He believed that the “placement of the idols is disrespectful,” and that it should be changed.
Meanwhile, Jai Bhagwan Goel, the working president of UHF, stated that he intends to proceed peacefully with their plan to demand that the mosque inside the Qutub Minar be deemed a temple and that permission to perform Hanuman Chalisa on the site be granted.
Goel further stated that he just requested permission to worship the Hindu God idols in the edifice or their removal and subsequent re-establishment in a worshipful location.
Qutub Minar built after the destruction of 27 Hindu and Jain temples
Goyal further asserted that the mosque inside the Qutub Minar was erected after destroying 27 Hindu and Jain temples. Goyal cited the existence of scientific proof supporting that the Qutub Minar is actually a Vishnu pillar. He lambasted historians of different ideologies for penning incorrect history. The UFF president further demanded that the Qutub Minar be renamed Vishnu Stambh.
Notably, on April 18, in a conversation at World Heritage Day in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, renowned archaeologist KK Mohammed also said that 27 temples were demolished to build Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque near Qutub Minar in Delhi. He said, “Remnants of temples were found near Qutub Minar, including Lord Ganesha temple. It proves there was a temple.”
The Delhi Tourism website also clearly mentions that the 73-meter high Qutub Minar was built using the material obtained from 27 Hindu and Jain temples.
The website says, “An inscription over its eastern gate provocatively informs that it was built with material obtained from demolishing ’27 Hindu temples.”
