No mosques built on Hindu religious sites in Hyderabad: ASI

The Archaeological Survey of India, a Central government agency attached to the Union Ministry of Culture, has stated that there was no evidence of ancient mosques built on Hindu religious sites in Hyderabad.

The statement, which came as a reply to a Right To Information application filed by RTA activist Robin Zaccheus, who asked ‘whether the ASI had any historical evidence pertaining to ancient mosques in India built on Hindu religious sites’, apart from asking for ‘details of all such ancient mosques in Telangana in which Hindu religious temples were existing’.

The ASI in its reply on



Thursday said ‘none of the monuments/sites under the jurisdiction of the Archaeological Survey of India, Hyderabad Circle in Telangana State have any evidence of ancient mosques built on Hindu religious sites’.

The reply, signed by K Chandrakant, Central Public Information Officer, ASI, Hyderabad Circle, was also tweeted by the RTI activist, in an indirect response to BJP State president Bandi Sanjay Kumar’s recent alleged challenge to dig up mosques in Hyderabad to see if there were Shiva lingas beneath, pointing out that there was no need for such an exercise.