Gyanvapi case: ASI survey will reopen wounds of past, mosque committee tells SC
New Delhi (PTI): Muslim body Anjuman Intezamia Masjid committee told the Supreme Court on Friday the ASI survey at the Gyanvapi mosque intends to go into history and will "reopen wounds of past".
Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the mosque management committee, contended before a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud the exercise by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is "digging into history", violating the Places of Worship Act and impinging upon fraternity and secularism.
"You can't oppose every interlocutory order on same ground and your objections will be decided during the course of hearing," said the bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
"The ASI survey intends to go into the history as to what happened 500 years ago. It would reopen wounds of past," Ahmadi said voicing displeasure over the survey ordered by the Allahabad High Court.
During the hearing, which is underway, Ahmadi said the survey violates the Places of Worship (special provisions) Act, 1991 which prohibited change of character of religious places as they existed in 1947.
The apex court is hearing a plea by the mosque committee against the Allahabad High Court order permitting an ASI survey at the Gyanvapi mosque.
The high court had on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by the Gyanvapi committee challenging a district court order directing the ASI to conduct the survey to determine if the mosque was built upon a pre-existing temple.
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Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurates Gems and Jewellery Institute campus in Udupi
Udupi (Karnataka) (PTI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday inaugurated the premises of the Indian Institute of Gems and Jewellery here, praising the centre for providing professional training and promoting entrepreneurship among youth.
Speaking at the event, Sitharaman said the centre, established in 2016 with support from the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council and the district administration, has grown steadily despite disruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We started in a very small place, unsure of the response. Today, advanced facilities including CAD and 3D printing are available, enabling students to gain industry-relevant skills,” she said.
Sitharaman highlighted the centre’s reach across Karnataka and beyond.
“Students have come from Karwar, Chitradurga, Raichur, and Tamil Nadu. Some had no prior experience but are now running successful jewellery businesses,” she said, citing examples of trainees who returned to their hometowns to start enterprises.
Emphasising affordability, she noted, “Training abroad is expensive, but here the Indian Institute of Gems and Jewellery offers professional courses at accessible costs, making skill development widely available.”
The minister also underlined the centre’s contribution to India’s jewellery export sector.
“This region, from Ratnagiri to Kerala, has a rich jewellery tradition serving the Indian diaspora. Skilled manpower from such centres strengthens our exports and creates livelihood opportunities,” she said.
Sitharaman commended the collaboration between the government, GJEPC, and local jewellers, noting that around 600 students were trained last year.
She urged greater awareness to attract more youth to the institute, describing it as a model public-private partnership that fosters entrepreneurship and skill development.
The minister also witnessed the signing of an MoU between the Indian Institute of Gems & Jewellery and IIT Madras under the InCent LGD platform for a specialised, industry-oriented certification programme in lab-grown diamond technologies.
The office of the minister said in a post on X that the programme will help bridge critical skill gaps, create job-ready professionals, boost value-added manufacturing, and strengthen India’s position in the global LGD (lab-grown diamond) value chain, aligned with Make in India, Skill India, and the goal of a self-reliant, globally competitive LGD ecosystem.
It further said that the Rs 242 crore grant announced in the Union Budget 2023–24 for lab-grown diamond research at IIT Madras is helping build a world-class ecosystem.
Under the InCent initiative, India’s first indigenously designed scaled prototype of a High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) LGD machine has been developed and installed at IIT Madras, while imported commercial HPHT machines have also been installed for benchmarking.
Sitharaman also witnessed a demonstration of the ‘Design to Manufacturing’ process by students at IIGJ Udupi and interacted with trainees of the institute and entrepreneurs from the gems and jewellery industry, the minister’s office said in another post.
