Lakshmi, Sita, Rekha, Manju, Rakhi — meet the 5 women at the centre of Gyanvapi petition
Varanasi: A petition filed in August 2021, seeking daily worship rights at the Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal within the contentious Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Mosque complex in Varanasi, is driven by five women. The petitioners, backed by the Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh (VVSS), headed by Jitendra Singh Vishen, have largely remained unknown so far. ThePrint spoke to four of the five women — including a housewife married to a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) member, a beautician and an RSS worker — on what inspired them to fight and what united them. Lakshmi Devi Originally from Mumbai, Maharashtra, Lakshmi Devi moved to Varanasi after marriage. Her husband Sohanlal Arya, VHP vice-president for Varanasi ‘ prant’ , was the first to claim the black stone structure found inside the “ wuzukhana ” of the Gyanvapi mosque was a Shivling. Lakshmi, a housewife who has studied till intermediate, said she was inspired by her husband to join the legal battle. Speaking to ThePrint, the 66-year-old a...