As SC stays order on survey of Mathura site, the parallels across the three temple disputes

Six days ahead of the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, marking the end of the long dispute over the site, the Supreme Court Tuesday stayed an Allahabad High Court order that had allowed a court-monitored survey of another contested structure: the Shahi Idgah Mosque adjoining the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura.

Along with Ayodhya and Kashi (Varanasi), Mathura is part of one of the Sangh Parivar’s oldest Hindutva projects, to free shrines revered by Hindus from “Muslim influence”.

While the Supreme Court stay is a setback to the Parivar’s Mathura plans, it may prove temporary. The case’s progress so far mirrors what has happened at the other two sites.

What are the disputes about?

In Ayodhya, the Babri Masjid stood atop what many Hindus believe is the birthplace of Lord Ram, an opinion that the Sangh Parivar began building into a sustained campaign starting the late 1980s, leading eventually to the mosque’s demolition in 1992.

In November 2019, the Supreme Court held the destruction “illegal” but awarded the land title to the Hindu side.

On January 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the consecration ceremony for a temple at this site.

In Varanasi, the Gyanvapi Mosque stands cheek-a-jowl with the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The Sangh wants the mosque brought down, saying it was built on the ruins of a temple. Meanwhile, the temple complex, which falls in the PM’s constituency, has seen a complete makeover.

In the case of Mathura, the Hindu petitioners who have gone to court argue that the Shahi Idgah Mosque was built atop the birthplace of Lord Krishna, on the orders of Emperor Aurangzeb, in 1670. Today, it lies adjacent to the Krishna Janmasthan Temple.

How did courts deal with the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri