The condition of the temples before the attacks of Muhammad bin Qasim should be restored !

Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain’s petition in the Supreme Court against the Places of Worship Act 1991

Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain

New Delhi – During the ongoing hearing in the Supreme Court on the Places of Worship Act, 1991, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain challenged the constitutional validity of the Act. Objecting to the act, O]Raising objection to this act he demanded that “The cut-off date of August 15, 1947 has been fixed as a cut-off date in the Act. It is unconstitutional. This cut-off date should be made as 712 as this year muhammad bin Qasim invaded India and destroyed temples here.” A total of six petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court in connection with the Act, which is being heard together.

🚩In a plea against the ‘Places of Worship Act 1991’, Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain argued that the condition of temples must be restored to what they were, before the invasion of Muhammad bin Qasim.

📌Advocate @Vishnu_Jain1 further demanded that the cutoff date in the… pic.twitter.com/09BZMn4laG

— Sanatan Prabhat (@SanatanPrabhat) December 6, 2024

Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain said,

1. We have challenged the constitutional validity of the Places of Worship Act, 1991. We say that this law interpreted by Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind means that under this law, one cannot go to court under any circumstances in respect of disputed places. To file cases other than Shriram mandir is anticonstitutional.

2. Parliament does not have the power to make a law that takes away the right of the people to go to court, which violates the basic structure of the Constitution and Articles 14, 15, 19, 21.

What is the law ?

The Act was introduced in 1991 by the then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao of the Congress government. It maintained the status quo of religious places in the country as on August 15, 1947. The case of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya was only an exception. This law prevents the conversion of a place of worship of a religion. If anyone does so, he can be punished with imprisonment of up to three years. It deprives people of Jain, Sikh and Buddhist religions of their constitutional rights.

900 temples will be benefitted

According to Advocate Jain, there are 900 temples in the country which were demolished between 1192 and 1947 and their land was taken over and converted into mosques or churches. There are 100 temples which are mentioned in our 18 Mahapuranas. If this law is repealed or its date changed, then it will be easy to search for these 900 temples.

Editorial Perspective

The Place of Worship Act has been passed by the then Congress government in Parliament. It needs to be repealed by Parliament itself. Hindus should not have to knock on the doors of the court. So the Union Government needs to take a decision. Hindus need to unite and demand for the same to create pressure on the government.