Looking at the photographs and videos of Shivling found in the Gyan Vapi of Varanasi, anybody can say without any doubt, that it could not be a fountain as it is being made out by some Muslim leaders. I have seen this place scores of times during my student days at BHU and always felt that Muslims should themselves come forward to hand it over to Hindus to amicably take out the thorn of contention. The frescoes of deities on the walls of Masjid and the continuous looking of Nandi Bull leave no one in doubt about the location of Shivling.
The claim of some Muslim leaders about the Shivling as a fountain is farfetched. Firstly, there was no concept of any fountain in any Houj meant for waju (ablution) at the entrance. Secondly, it could not have been possible to have a modern fountain more than three hundred years ago when the part of the temple was demolished to convert it into a mosque. Such fountains can be operated only through electricity, which was unheard of. Hence, by seeing the Kashi Vishwanath temple or the Krishna Janmbhumi through naked eyes, one will have no doubt that they have been the temples, not the Mosques. Therefore, sane Muslims must come forward to resolve the tangle by sidelining the politico-religious bigots.
Interestingly, the idea of presenting the Shivling as the fountain has not come from the local Muslims but from those rabid and vile communal leaders, who possibly have never visited Gyan Vapi yet want to make capital out of it. Hence, their claim is patently false and should be rejected and dismissed by the Muslims of Varanasi with vehemence. There is hardly any doubt that innumerable historical wrongs have been done by the Muslim tyrants. They had no respect or sympathy for the peace-loving public. They indulged in pillaging, looting, raping and killing indiscriminately men and women. In the name of Islam, they committed such horrific crimes as to scar humanity with shame permanently.
Go to any place in the country and the barbarity of Muslim rulers is all visible there. What is most surprising is that those whose ancestors were converted to Islam by force, fraud and inducements are not even ready to retribute and condemn them. Any problem with a temple or mosque cannot be resolved through litigations in the courts. but by reconciliation and negotiations. Solutions obtained through courts will not last long but that will widen the gulf of mistrust between the two communities.
The governments(s) should also promote helping different communities solve their religious problems with mutual understanding, logic and in a realistic manner. It will be helpful in isolating those leaders who are spewing venom day and night. Verily speaking, the religious problems of some places like Kashi, Mathura, Ayodhya and Dhar (Madhya Pradesh) should have been given to Hindus long back and that would have set a sterling example of peace, tranquillity and harmony in society leading the country on the highway of progress.