The demand comes amid claims by a delegation of Jain monks that a Sanskrit school and a temple had once existed at the site of the historic Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra in Ajmer
Rajasthan assembly speaker Vasudev Devnani on Saturday demanded an Archeological Survey of India (ASI) survey at the historic Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra in Ajmer, amid claims by a delegation of Jain monks that a Sanskrit school and a temple had once existed at the site.
“An ASI survey should immediately be done at Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra to find out whether the Jain delegates’ claim is true. I will write to the chief minister to conduct this survey as soon as possible. It’s a subject to research whether it was occupied and converted into a mosque. The necessary action can be taken after that,” said Devnani, who is also the MLA from Ajmer North.
The development comes days after a delegation of Jain monks, accompanied by members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), visited the historic monument on May 7.
“A Sanskrit school used to be there at the historical Adhai Din ka Jhonpra. It seemed that it started being called Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra and was converted into a mosque due to the Mughal influence. They might have also changed the early structure of the place, but a slew of symbols is still there,” Jain monk Sunil Sagar, who led the delegation to the monument, said.
“We have also found similar idols and many other old structures in Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra that indicate the presence of a Jain temple as well on the premises. But everything is gone now, and only a mosque is visible,” he added, asserting that “things should be returned to those it belonged to historically”.
This story was originally published in hindustantimes.com. Read the full story here.
