Back to Story
An Aerial view shows Gyanvapi mosque, left, and Kashiviswanath temple on the banks of the river Ganges in Varanasi, India, Dec. 12, 2021. A group of Hindus petitioned a local court seeking access to pray inside the mosque compound, saying they believe the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, one of Hinduism’s holiest cities, was built on top of the ruins of a medieval-era temple and that the complex still houses Hindu idols and motifs, a claim that has been contested by the mosque authorities. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

An Aerial view shows Gyanvapi mosque, left, and Kashiviswanath temple on the banks of the river Ganges in Varanasi, India, Dec. 12, 2021. A group of Hindus petitioned a local court seeking access to pray inside the mosque compound, saying they believe the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, one of Hinduism’s holiest cities, was built on top of the ruins of a medieval-era temple and that the complex still houses Hindu idols and motifs, a claim that has been contested by the mosque authorities. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

FILE - In this Oct. 29, 1990, file photo, security officers guard the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, closing off the disputed site claimed by Muslims and Hindus. India's Hindu nationalists have long claimed that thousands of medieval-era mosques are built on the sites of prominent temples that were demolished by Mughal rulers. One such campaign to reclaim these mosques culminated in 1992 with the destruction of the 16th century Babri mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya by Hindu mobs. (AP Photo/Barbara Walton, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 29, 1990, file photo, security officers guard the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, closing off the disputed site claimed by Muslims and Hindus. India's Hindu nationalists have long claimed that thousands of medieval-era mosques are built on the sites of prominent temples that were demolished by Mughal rulers. One such campaign to reclaim these mosques culminated in 1992 with the destruction of the 16th century Babri mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya by Hindu mobs. (AP Photo/Barbara Walton, File)

FILE- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi performs rituals during the groundbreaking ceremony of a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Ram, at the site of a demolished 16th century mosque, in Ayodhya, India on Aug. 5, 2020. Hindus believe the site of the mosque was the exact birthplace of their god Ram. Its demolition in 1992 sparked massive communal violence across India that left more than 2,000 people dead, mostly Muslims, and catapulted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party to national prominence. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh, File)

FILE- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi performs rituals during the groundbreaking ceremony of a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Ram, at the site of a demolished 16th century mosque, in Ayodhya, India on Aug. 5, 2020. Hindus believe the site of the mosque was the exact birthplace of their god Ram. Its demolition in 1992 sparked massive communal violence across India that left more than 2,000 people dead, mostly Muslims, and catapulted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party to national prominence. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh, File)

An Aerial view shows Gyanvapi mosque, left, and Kashiviswanath temple on the banks of the river Ganges in Varanasi, India, Dec. 12, 2021. A group of Hindus petitioned a local court seeking access to pray inside the mosque compound, saying they believe the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, one of Hinduism’s holiest cities, was built on top of the ruins of a medieval-era temple and that the complex still houses Hindu idols and motifs, a claim that has been contested by the mosque authorities. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

An Aerial view shows Gyanvapi mosque, left, and Kashiviswanath temple on the banks of the river Ganges in Varanasi, India, Dec. 12, 2021. A group of Hindus petitioned a local court seeking access to pray inside the mosque compound, saying they believe the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, one of Hinduism’s holiest cities, was built on top of the ruins of a medieval-era temple and that the complex still houses Hindu idols and motifs, a claim that has been contested by the mosque authorities. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)