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ASI submits excavation report
To be opened on August 25
Our Correspondent

Lucknow, August 22
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) today submitted a report in the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on the excavation carried out in Ayodhya to ascertain whether a temple existed at the site where a mosque was built during the 16th century.

“The report has been kept as a secret document under lock and key will be opened on August 25,” a court official told The Tribune.

Mr Narendra Prasad, Officer on Special Duty, Ram Janmabhoomi case, received the report on behalf of the court. Source claimed that 15 sets of the excavation report were submitted. The report was submitted by Mr Hari Majhi, excavation team leader. The sources claim that the report is voluminous. It is in English and comprises 574 pages.

The digging work was started on March 12 and continued for almost 163 days. As many as 1,374 artefacts were discovered during the excavation, a source said.

“Figurines, earthen stoves, bangles, bone pieces and glazed tiles were among things discovered from the excavation site,” the source said.

The court had asked government archaeologists to report within a month whether ruins of an ancient Hindu structure lay beneath the site of the demolished mosque. The court extended the time limit and asked the ASI to submit its report by August 22.

The nearly five-month-long excavation witnessed high drama in which the ASI team leader was changed once after Muslims complained that he was biased.

The excavation was carried out as per the suggestion of an Indo-Canadian firm, Tojo Vikas Ltd. The firm had carried out a survey through the ground penetrating radar (GPR) system.

Counsel for Sunni Central Muslim Waqf Board Zaffaryab Jilani told reporters that the ASI report carried more political than legal value because the BJP would try to desire political mileage out of it.

“The BJP has politicised the ASI excavation and has already claimed the discovery of a temple at the disputed site,” Mr Jilani, who is also member of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, said.

He said the board would seek at least a month’s time to study the report. The board had hired a team of archaeologists to study the report, he said.

Mr Vishveshwar Dwivedi, counsel for Hindu bodies, said the excavation had proved that the mosque was not built on vacant or virgin land. “It (mosque) was constructed after demolishing some structures. Which structures these were, only the court will decide,” he told this reporter.

Mr V.P. Sharma, All-India, Hindu Mahasabha, said they were not happy with the excavation. “The disputed site should have been dug deeper,” he said.