As the Shivling is found in the survey and the videography of the disputed structure at the Gyanvapi complex in Varanasi, Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain has become a household name among the devotees of Kashi Vishwanath patiently waiting to reclaim the abode of their God. The young lawyer walking along the way to the disputed site along with the court commissioner and others in his team in the scorching hot sun became a frequently watched visual on the TV sets in the last two weeks.
With Vishnu Shankar Jain, who is now quite a familiar face with his impressive appearance in many TV debates, people also saw an experienced lawyer with a sagely look who walked on the streets of Varanasi with the court commissioner and others as he stood in the civil court senior division to represent the five petitioner women who asked for the permission to worship and pray to Goddess Shringar Gouri on a daily basis as their fundamental right. He is none other than Advocate Hari Shankar Jain – Vishnu Shankar Jain’s father.
Though much has been talked about the disputed structure, its legal status, and various suits filed in different courts about the site and their corresponding updates; the courage, and devotion of the Jain father-son duo is an aspect, not talked about enough in the popular discourse. It, therefore, becomes necessary to write about the ones who have been continuously pursuing the path less followed.
Advocate Hari Shankar Jain (born on 27th May 1954) is a practising lawyer from the year 1976. He started his practice from the Lucknow court and gradually took to the cases in High Court and the Supreme Court as his practice advanced. Vishnu Shankar Jain (born on 9th October 1986) has seen his father fighting various cases for the noble cause of civilizational reawakening right from his childhood. Vishnu Shankar Jain completed his law studies in 2010 and has been assisting his father since then in his cases which hold unparalleled significance in the Indian society in general and the Indic civilization in particular.
Vishnu Shankar Jain is the spokesperson of the ‘Hindu Front for Justice’. He started his practice with the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi case of Ayodhya, challenging the 2010 verdict of the Allahabad High Court in 2011. He assisted his father Hari Shankar Jain in this case. In 2016, he passed the exam of the advocate on record of the Supreme Court and registered his first appearance in the Supreme Court in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi case of Ayodhya in the year 2016 itself. Vishnu Shankar Jain never forgets to mention that he and his family, especially his father and guide Hari Shankar Jain feel blessed to have had an opportunity to do the work they are into. Let’s have a look at what cases, other than the current Gyanvapi temple case, this father-son duo has represented the Hindu side.
There are as many as 102 cases in which either or both of the father-son duo appeared for the Hindu side before the court. The oldest of the cases dates back to 1990. Many of the cases are decisively won by them. Some others are still going on in various courts. Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi‘s case at Mathura is one of the major ongoing cases in which they are representing the Hindu side.
The duo is also fighting a case for the 27 Hindu and Jain temples which were destroyed by the Muslim invaders to build the Qutub Minar. Besides, there are also the cases filed for the claimed Shiv Mandir in the Taj Mahal, challenging the Places of Worship Act, 1991, challenging the Waqf Act of 1995 and its amendments made in 2013, challenging the validity of the Sachar commission, and hence the subsequent provisions made by various governments based on the Sachar committee report.
In Lucknow, which once was Laxmanpur, there is a disputed structure called Teele wali masjid which according to Hindu beliefs is Shesh Gufa. Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain and advocate Hari Shankar Jain are fighting a case to reclaim that too. Not only this, but they have also challenged the validity of the constitutional amendment to include the words Socialist and Secular in the preamble of the constitution of India.
Well-known constitutional lawyer and one of the pioneers of India’s decolonization literature advocate J Sai Deepak has also praised their work after the civil court (senior division) ordered to ensure the security of the Shivling found in the disputed structure at Gyanvapi during the survey and videography by the court commissioner. J Sai Deepak tweeted, “Appreciation tweet for Advocates Shri Hari Shankar Jain and Shri Vishnu Shankar Jain for their unrelenting pursuit of freeing occupied Temple sites, from Sri Ramjanmabhoomi to Kashi Vishwanath. Kudos!”
Appreciation tweet for Advocates Shri Hari Shankar Jain and @Vishnu_Jain1 for their unrelenting pursuit of freeing occupied Temple sites, from Sri Ramjanmabhoomi to Kashi Vishwanath. Kudos!
— Sai Deepak J (@jsaideepak) May 17, 2022
While expressing himself in a public speech, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain has shared some less-known facts about his family’s commitment to the work they have undertaken and the inspirations behind the same. He said in a talk at Ujjain in April 2022, “My father enrolled as a lawyer in 1976. In 1989, when he was in the middle of his innings that was running quite successfully, he got an opportunity to argue in the Shri Ramjanmabhoomi case of Ayodhya which was then transferred from the Faizabad district court to the Allahabad High Court. It was his test as a lawyer and as a human to choose between professionalism and one’s own Dharma.”
Elaborating on how his father chose his Dharma over his profession, Vishnu continued, “My father – advocate Hari Shankar Jain had an offer from the Muslim side to fight this case on behalf of the Waqf board. He was told that he will be paid all his fees properly. At that time he took a decision. He did not sell off his own conscience. As he narrated this to me, he said, ‘Vishnu, if I had wished so, I would have stood for the Babri mosque. I would get better fees and everything that comes along. Even while facing society, I can just tell people that it is my professional duty as a lawyer to defend my client irrespective of his background. But, I did not sell off my conscience in exchange for an attractive amount to stand opposite to my deity in the court of law.’ He went on to fight the case for 32 years as a part of the team of the lawyers.”
How Hari Shankar Jain fought against all odds to continue the Darshan Puja of Ramlala after Babri demolition
According to Vishnu Shankar Jain, the continued presence of Hindu devotees in the Ram Janmabhoomi premises that was reinitiated in 1949 when the idols were found inside the disputed structure, would have been stopped in 1992 when the disputed structure was demolished by the Karsevaks and subsequently after the site was sealed. To turn the case around on the Hindu side, it was necessary to continue the Darshan Puja of the deity Ramlala in Ayodhya in order to ensure the physical presence which holds equal importance as the evidence and witnesses and ASI reports, etc. in that case. In his talk, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain narrated how amidst personal difficulties his father arose to file the relevant petition and get the court’s permission for the continued Darshan and Puja of Bhagwan Ramlala after the disputed structure was demolished.
Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain said, “On 6th December 1992, the so-called Babri mosque was demolished. My grandmother passed away on the same day. My father was so much connected to her. It was my grandmother who taught my father about Hindutva and ignited his mind to fight these civilizational battles for our society, country, Dharma, and nation. And my father, in turn, passed it on to me. So it was a huge loss for my father and my family too. Grandmother was our key inspiration. But after the 13 days of post-death rites were completed, on 20th December 1992, with his head shaved as per the rituals, my father stood tall in front of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court with a petition.”
In his petition to the Allahabad High Court, Advocate Hari Shankar Jain contended that it was the birthright of every Hindu to get Darshan of Bhagwan Ram. “My father is the first person who put it on the floor of the court that Bhagwan Ram is a constitutional entity as his picture is denoted on the pages of the original copies of the Constitution of India. And, therefore, Hindus cannot be prohibited from his Darshan. So, the hearing took place in presence of honourable Justice Hari Nath Tilahari in a special court for 10 consecutive days.”
Vishnu Shankar Jain further added, “My father would go alone and come back alone; because in those days, there were not many facilities and we come from a very humble background. In those days, even in the High Courts, there would be no great security measures deployed out there. He was always surrounded by people from the Muslim community. So, amidst all these odds, a lawyer went to the court with the help of nothing but the will within and succeeded in bringing a historic judgment on the 1st January 1993 which said that Bhagwan Ram is a constitutional entity and his Darshan cannot be stopped and hence it should be opened with immediate effect.”
“From that day till today we are doing the Darshan continuously. This case is buried in the pages of history and not many people know about this. But this is a very important case. Because had there not been any such case or the decision, we would not have seen the decisions come in the manner they did in 2010 and 2019. It was our continuous existence on that site that had to be counted. Otherwise, many different kinds of people had brought a lot of offers for Hindus to compromise,” Vishnu had said.
Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain also narrated an incident from 2013, when he was a fresh practising lawyer, that gave him a never-ending inspiration to fight the battles for civilizational causes. He said, “I would like to share an incident that ignited this fire within me to fight for my society, country, Dharma, and nation. The incident inspired me to dissolve all my personal wishes and voluntarily fight for society.”
The sheer devotion of the father-son duo towards reclaiming Hindu sites and commitment to protecting Dharma and the nation
“This experience truly shook me to the core. We are the youth of India. We all have personal aspirations and not everyone has that commitment to learning what is the actual meaning of Hindutva and one’s own Dharma, etc. As a young lawyer, it is very obvious to dream of becoming some advocate general and enjoy decent foreign tours. Why would one invest his time to see what is this secularism and why would one take up the cases? I too had such aspirational feelings which gradually faded away with time, especially after this incident,” he narrated the incident that inspired him to champion the cause of reclaiming civilisational heritage.
He added, “In 2013, I was practising in Delhi. My father had an asthmatic attack. I drove back home and reached the hospital to hear from the doctor that there are fewer chances of his survival and as we don’t even have a ventilator, we cannot say anything about what next. You may take the steps you feel right. He is suffering from septicemia and we don’t think that he can be saved. It was indeed like a death bed and from that death bed, my father told me, ‘Vishnu, don’t forget to send the notice of the case of the ‘Teele wali masjid’. If we miss the deadline, the case may be dismissed.’ Listening to these words, I was completely finished. Such a huge commitment he is carrying within his heart for our society, country, Dharma, and nation.”
Despite this dedication to his cause, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain worships pious values in all the deities he believes in and fights for and gives his best to practice them, just like his father Hari Shankar Jain. A devotee of Bhagwan Shri Krishna, Vishnu Shankar Jain never forgets to express his gratitude for his ascetic Guru Jayant Balaji Athavale whose inspiration always keeps his morale on a higher note.
Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain explained his resolution as he said, “After this incident of 2013, I assumed that whatever time of my life is left, I will dedicate it to rectifying the historical mistakes and injustice imposed on us for centuries. It is in this series that we have filed so many different cases. Whether we win in the courts or do we lose is a completely different issue. But I assure you that our legal research is very strong and honest.”
This commitment by Vishnu Shankar Jain and his father Hari Shankar Jain is in cohesion with what Lord Shri Krishna has said in Geeta “कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन । मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भुर्मा ते संगोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥” (Chapter Number 2, Verse Number 47 of Bhagvadgeeta) which means “You have the right to work only but never to its fruits. Let not the fruits of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction.”
