A court in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi on Thursday, May 12, has said that the survey of the Gyanvapi mosque, located near the Kashi Vishwanath temple, will continue despite objections from mosque authorities. Setting the final date for the report on the survey to be submitted as May 17, the court-appointed two additional advocate commissioners to oversee the inspection and decided not to replace the present advocate general, as was being demanded by the mosque authorities.

The same day, the Allahabad high court hauled up a Bharatiya Janata Party leader for his petition seeking a study along with directions to the Archaeological Survey of India to open the doors of 22 sealed rooms within the Taj Mahal to enable research that would lead to the alleged “real history” of the structure.

Senior editor of The Wire Arfa Khanum Sherwani discusses these issues with JNU professor Ajay Gudavarthy, Delhi University professor Apoorvanand and secretary of Indo-Islamic Foundation Athar Hussain.

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