From “friend of several deities” to being labelled “crusaders” of modern-day Hindutva who are out to “reclaim” temples, the father-son duo of Hari Shankar Jain and Vishnu Shankar Jain — advocates for the Hindu side in the Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath dispute — is once again in the limelight.
Visuals of Vishnu Shankar Jain, flanked by the survey team, have become a common sight on news channels since the case hit headlines. On Friday, the Supreme Court transferred the Gyanvapi mosque case pending before civil judge, senior division, to the court of the Varanasi district judge for trial.
Observing that a “slightly more mature” and “seasoned hand” should handle the Gyanvapi mosque case, the apex court suggested that the matter be heard by a district court in Varanasi. “A slightly more seasoned and mature hand should hear this case. We’re not making aspersion on trial judge. But more seasoned hand should deal with this case and it’ll benefit all parties,” the bench said.
The two reports on a videography survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex, submitted in the Varanasi court Thursday, state that debris of old temples were found at the corner of the northern and western walls outside the barricading, and Hindu motifs such as bells, kalash, flowers and trishul were visible on pillars in the tehkhana (basement).
While the case and its history have been a topic of much debate, News18 takes a look at the father-son duo and their role.
Born on May 27, 1954, advocate Hari Shankar Jain has been practising law since 1976. He started his practice from the Lucknow court and gradually reached the high court and the Supreme Court. His son Vishnu Shankar Jain, born on October 9, 1986, completed his law studies in 2010 and has been assisting his father since then.
Vishnu Shankar Jain is also the spokesperson of the ‘Hindu Front for Justice’. He started his practice with Ayodhya’s Shri Ram Janmabhoomi case, challenging the verdict of the Allahabad High Court. In 2016, he passed the exam of advocate on record of the Supreme Court and registered his first appearance in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi case.
There are as many as 102 cases in which either or both of the father-son duo appeared for the Hindu side before a court of law. The oldest of the cases dates back to 1990, with Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi’s case at Mathura being one of the major ongoing battles for the two.
Talking about his father’s decision to choose ‘dharma’ over his profession, Vishnu Shankar Jain once shared via a public platform how Hari Shankar Jain refused the offer from the Muslim side in the Babri Masjid case as he did not want to “sell his conscience”.
He also credited his father for ensuring the right to pray to Ram Lalla in Ayodhya, saying the continued presence of Hindu devotees in the Ram Janmabhoomi premises that was reinitiated in 1949 when the idols were found inside the disputed structure, would have been stopped in 1992 when the disputed structure was demolished by the Karsevaks and subsequently after the site was sealed.
He recalled how it was crucial for the Hindu side to continue the ‘puja’ of Ram Lalla even for legal reasons and his father, despite personal problems, filed the relevant petition and got the court’s permission for the continued ‘darshan’ and ‘puja’ after the disputed structure was demolished.
Hari Shankar Jain, meanwhile, has been a vocal supporter of fundamentalism to save religion. On July 31, 2017, he wrote on Twitter: “Religion can be saved by any community only by adopting fundamentalism. Tolerance is curse and anti-religion. Rigidity is fundamental for survival.”
However, he was quick to defend his post, claiming he is against over tolerance and Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava (equality of all religions).
The senior Jain is also the chief patron of the Right-wing outfit Bhagwa Raksha Vahini (BRV), formed about seven years ago with the aim of “saving Hindus”. He is also the national president of the Hind Samrajya Party (HSP), which came about in August 2021 to establish “Hindu Rashtra” in the country.
As the Gyanvapi case goes through several twists and turns, all eyes will be on the father-son duo and their efforts to “bring back what’s rightfully ours”.
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