Nazrul Islam does not know why the 16th century Babri Masjid was demolished. But the construction worker and his colleagues — all Muslims — knew that the old stone pillar they stumbled on must be saved. For, the pillar with snake motifs around its base appeared to be the remnant of an ancient temple.

Thanks to Nazrul, Imtiazul and Jahirul, the remains of what seems to be an 11th century stone temple found in the premises of the Mahendra Mohan Choudhuri Hospital (MMCH) in Guwahati were not reduced to rubbles.
The construction workers found the ancient stone-pillar while demolishing dilapidated residential quarters in the MMCH premises to build a Regional Diagnostic Centre under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

Initial efforts
“The pillar did not look extra-ordinary initially and we were about to demolish it. But when we dug around it, more of it was uncovered and the seven snake motifs on its base were visible,” said Nazrul.

Nazrul and his colleagues informed the contractor and the MMCH officials about the pillar. But none took them seriously and they were asked to carry on demolition works.

“But we did not demolish the pillar as it appeared to be the remnant of an old temple,” added Jahirul. Imtiazul even lit some incense-sticks and earthen lamps around the stone-pillar and offered flowers.

This finally woke up the local Hindus.

A priest from a nearby temple came to see the stone-pillar and declared that that the structure was nothing less than an ancient Shiva lingam.

Religious frenzy
The priest’s decree triggered a religious frenzy. The hospital employees and local residents, most of whom are Hindus, turned the site into a makeshift shrine overnight. A cloth resembling tiger-skin was wrapped around the pillar. The sacred Om sign was inscribed on it with vermilion. All these were enough to pull a steady stream of devotees towards this new discovery. The director of the state Department of Archaeology H N Datta already carried out a preliminary study on the pillar.

“It looks like the remnant of a large 11th century stone temple. But we cannot say now whether or not it is the relic of a Shiva lingam,” he said.

Datta wrote to the district’s Deputy Commissioner, state government’s Department of Health as well as the MMCH authorities to preserve the stone-pillar and reserve a portion of the infirmary for archaeological excavations.

The joint director of the MMCH G K Das said that the hospital authorities would cooperate with the Department of Archaeology to preserve the pillar.