This is a cross-post from Centre Right India where Jijnasa team member K V Sarma J detailed some facts behind the Bhagyalakshmi Temple Issue. Please read.
Who was Quli Qutb Shah?
Books citing Bhagya Lakshmi Temple’s existence for a long time
1961 Census Data
Questions unanswered by The Hindu
Role of ASI
References
Recent controversy surrounding Charminar and the abutting
Bhagyalakshmi Temple has been a talking point among the AP media circles for
some time now. Media concentrated on whether or not the government of AP will
fall after MIM took High Court judgement ruling in favour of the temple trust
in a very bad taste. Swami Paripoornananda Saraswati’s visit to the temple was
not handled well by the police, who had no reason to stop him from going to do
the planned puja. MIM took opportunity of the situation. Result was riots and
violence in Old city immediately after Friday prayers at Makka and Jama Masjids.
Within a few days of riots, The Hindu came up with an old
photograph showing that the temple structure never existed. As expected, this
led to a lot of speculation so much so that The Hindu had to release a note asserting
the authenticity of the pic (which looked a lot like tampered with) that it was
a standard procedure in 60s. In that note, the Hindu even pointed to a pic from
1989 showing how the structure became what it is today. Surely, as The Hindu
asks, ASI has a lot to answer.
There is no so much of an issue with The Hindu’s data. There
is however, a lot to ask about The Hindu’s analysis. Somehow, The Hindu left
out lot of details. What came out of a persistent search just with digitized
documents and data available on the web is startling.
Who was Quli Qutb Shah?
Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah was a king from the Shahi dynasty.
There is a lot of excruciating detail about him in history school text
books. However, they don’t mention like
Sahitya Akademi’s book “Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah”
by Masud Khan that he was born to a Hindu mother. This book gives historical
evidence which contradicts the theory that “Bhagmati is a myth”. Bhagmati did
exist. Details come out from Qutb Shah’s shers
(poems in urdu) too[1].
From what we get to know, Qutb Shah even speaks of
“celebrating Basant”, describes his lover as “padmini” (a classification of
women in hindu texts). The influence of Hindu culture on Qutub Shah seems
unmistakable. As Masud Khan explains in his book, Qutb Shah wrote:
I left my own faith and adopted
the path of this religion
I was brought up in the lap of
a gracious Hindu mother [Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah by Masud Khan Page 11,12]
the path of this religion
I was brought up in the lap of
a gracious Hindu mother [Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah by Masud Khan Page 11,12]
Records indicate that Quli Qutb Shah built Hyderabad for
Bhagmati[2]. But there are other versions
of the story too[3]. Dr. Sherwani’s
theory is relatively a new one. Most of the European travellers refer to the
story of Bhagmati in their travelogues. Masud Khan rejected this thesis citing
number of documents talking of Bhagmati (called Bhagyavati in many other
records too) and Qutb Shah. In fact, the role of Hindus in Golconda and
Hyderabad is a matter of detailed study in various books and research works[4, 5]. Dharmendra Prasad too confirms it as he narrates
the story of Akkanna and Madanna who rose in ranks under Shahi kings in 17th
century due to their sheer efficiency and skill[7].
Given such close ties between Hindus and Muslims, one tends
to ask “what are the chances that Qutb Shah in fact consecrated a stone in a
corner of Charminar as either start or conclusion of the construction work?”
Not only these research works, but also records of European
travellers indicate that Bhagmati story and the name Bhagyanagar are in fact
true [7,8,9,10,11].
Hyderabad is variously referred to as Bagnaggur, Bhagnagar, Baghnagar in all
these travelogues of the European travellers. Bhagyalakshmi temple therefore
remains a direct link for every Hindu in Hyderabad to Hindu history of
Hyderabad.
Books citing Bhagya Lakshmi Temple’s existence for a long time
There are many books that quote the existence of Bhagyalakshmi
Temple since Charminar’s time. S K Ghosh in his book “Indian Democracy
Derailed” notes that the temple was built by Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah for
Bhagmati who was a harijan and that a harijan remained trustee[Page
number 74]. Given that S K Ghosh’s book came from Law Research Institute,
it gathers even more importance.
Another important book that cites the existence of the
temple is Asgharali Engineer’s “Communal riots in
Post-Independence India”. Asgharali Engineer acknowledges the existence of
the temple but states that the structure came up in 1970 after a Muslim APSRTC
bus driver drove a bus at the temple. The bus driver was suspended from service[Page
Number 291, 292]. In a very surprising recent statement according to Siasat
Daily, PCC General Secretary G Niranjan pointed out that the idols were indeed
there and that it was Marri Chenna Reddy who ordered the construction of a
structure through Endowments department[12].
Endowments department lists temples that generate an annual
revenue of less than five lakh rupees under classification 6c[13]. AP Endowments lists the Bhagyalakshmi Temple
under section 6c which means that at least since the structure was constructed,
Government of AP has been receiving revenue under the list “temples that
generate revenue less than 5 lakh rupees”[14].
Prior to 1987 endowments act, 1966 Endowments Act was in force[15]. However, Endowments reports (if they exist)
are not available in digital format. An RTI in this regard may help. However,
given that RTI can reject an application citing sensitivity of the information
as a reason, there are chances that information is not provided.
There are at least two other books which note that a temple
was existing in the same place - one
by Shashi Tharoor and another by Roshan
Dalal.
In Tharoor’s words : “But at the foot of the city’s most
famous monument, the four-turreted Charminar Charminar, sits a Hindu temple to
the goddess Mahalakshmi, the priests
chanting their mantra for centuries
under the celebrated Islamic minarets”.
Roshan Dala quotes a different story. He writes: “In a myth
associated with the Charminar in Hyderabad, Lakshmi is said to have fallen in
with a guard. The guard left, asking her to wait for him, and never returned,
so that Lakshmi continues to wait, and brings prosperity to the city”.
1961 Census Data
1961
Census Data is different from other Census data in one very important way.
1961 Census documented fairs and festivals across India. In the author’s
limited knowledge, it seems that 1961 census is the only census when such data
was collected and recorded. In 1961 Census, state specific data was collected.
In “Census of India 1961 Andhra Pradesh Volume II Part VII-B (13)”, data was
collected and recorded about temples, fairs and festivals in Hyderabad
district.
Google Books snippets indicate that there are at least 100
temples identified and recorded (this number could be more)[Page
number 161]. Also, within the book there are at least 21 pages with the
search key “Lakshmi temple”. This could be one pointer to whether or not the
temple was on records.
Questions unanswered by The Hindu
The Hindu was very quick off the block to paste several
photos of Charminar to prove their point – that the temple never existed. Several
uncomfortable questions come up given that Govt of AP has the temple in its
control under Endowments Act 1987.
·
The Hindu has been active in Hyderabad even as a
permanent structure was placed in 1970 by most probably the Endowments
Ministry. Why didn’t the Hindu raise any objections then?
·
It is public domain information that the temple
is classified under section 6c of the Endowments Act 1987 (probably even
earlier, which is not clear as of now). Why didn’t The Hindu find it
conflicting that the temple abuts and also poses a risk to a Ticketed Protected
Monument (as listed by ASI) and that the Govt should have considered debating
whether or not a permanent structure should be built?
·
It is also public domain information that every
Hindu knew that there was no structure before 1970. However, every Hindu
attached sanctity to the place as a worship place and an indication of Qutb
Shah’s affinity to Hindu worship. Didn’t The Hindu think they should have shown
some respect to the Hindus who thronged to the place after recent High Court
order?
·
Given that the temple is listed as a 6c temple
and that the Govt of AP has been collecting revenues from the temple (whatever
is the amount) since a long time (possibly even before 1970), is it right for
The Hindu to ask that the structure be removed? Many Hindus have grown
emotionally attached to this particular temple simply because it happens to be
a direct link to the Hindu history of Hyderabad which according to Masud Khan,
was deliberately obscured by Nizams.
The Hindu’s reporting in this particular case is contrasting
compared to its reporting and editorials in case of Babri Masjid. In both the
cases – Babri Masjid and Bhagya Lakshmi Temple – there is a clear encroachment
in real estate. In case of Babri Masjid, the Hindu seems to indicate that the
Masjid should stand despite it being an encroachment while in the case of
Bhagya Lakshmi Temple, it should go simply because there are photographs
showing the structure come into existence. In case of Babri Masjid, the
majority Hindus are expected to show magnanimity by offering the place to
Muslims but in the case of Bhagya Lakshmi Temple, minority Hindus should again
bow and step aside! This is the very discourse that has pushed several issues
bordering on faith in India into unresolvable conundrums.
Role of ASI
To put the role of ASI in perspective, because The Hindu
doesn’t consider the fact that the temple is controlled by the Endowments Act
1987, it gets to the conclusion that ASI is the one which is wrong. But once we
put Endowments Act in perspective, the conflict between ASI and GoAP comes out
strongly. This is not to say that ASI has done a perfect job. Many Hindu
temples too lie in dilapidated condition due to ASI’s insensitivity.
In fact, Endowments Report in 1960-1962 is another important
document which can reveal more about the status of this temple 50 years ago.
The best opportunity for Govt of AP was definitely when the first accident at
the temple happened in 1965. Unfortunately, neither GoAP nor ASI took it up.
Like with Babri, with the court’s order to maintain status quo, the issue is
slowly entering into a phase post which, the damage would be irreversible.
References
[3]
http://books.google.co.in/books?id=YPPiumz4vx0C&pg=PA1071&dq=bhagnagar&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TfSwUNDfF8zprQfUx4CgDA&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=bhagnagar&f=false
This author refers to Dr. Sherwani while Masud Khan rejected Sherwani’s theory.
[15] A judgement citing that
1966 charitable endowments act was repealed to introduce 1987 endowments act in
AP http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/1777702/
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