Qutub Minar row intensifies after Hindu, Jain idols found on site, govt considering iconography

After the Qutub Minar row erupted in Delhi, the Ministry of Culture is most likely planning to conduct the iconography of the Hindu and Jain idols found inside the complex of the monument, a senior official told PTI on Monday.

Though the government is considering the iconography of the idols found on the Qutub Minar site, there is no decision regarding the excavation of the monument, as was being claimed by media reports earlier.

The comments came days after the Chairperson of the National Monument Authority Tarun Vijay wrote to the ASI requesting that two Ganesha idols found in the adjoining Quwwat-ul–Islam mosque be moved out of the complex “owing to their disrespectful placement”.

While discussing the fate of the artifacts found on the Qutub Minar site, the official said that the central government is discussing if some of these idols can be labeled and displayed. This comes soon after the Centre denied reports that they are planning to excavate the mosque on the monument complex.

He also said that since the mosque was built from stones of temples, such idols in different forms can be seen all around. The official said that as of now there is no plan to reinstate these idols or move them elsewhere.

A controversy broke out over reports that the ministry has ordered the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct excavations at the Qutub Minar complex. Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy had denied the reports.

Senior officials said that religious practices are allowed on the premises of ASI-protected sites only if they were “functioning places of worship” at the time it took charge of them.

This controversy erupted just a few days after the Allahabad High Court rejected the plea to open the doors of the 22 underground rooms of the Taj Mahal. The petitioner had claimed that the rooms contained Hindu idols and artifacts, which need to be displayed.