Fact Check: Viral image of ‘Shivling’ from Vietnam wrongly shared as one from Gyanvapi

New Delhi, May 20: A photo of a structure that looks like a 'Shivling' went viral amidst the Gyanvapi Mosque row. It is being claimed that the 'Shilling' was discovered inside the Mosque complex.

While sharing the image many claimed that the photo was taken during the court mandated survey that was conducted inside the complex in Varanasi. "Mughal architecture is amazing! They always built an ancient Hindu temple in the basement first," a tweet read.

However, OneIndia has learnt that this claim is false. While doing a reverse image we found news reports of May 2020 in which it said that the Archaeological Survey of India excavated a sandstone Shivling in Vietnam. The idol dates back to the 9th century CE.

This image was also tweeted by External Affairs Minister, Dr. S Jaishankar. While sharing the image, he said, "reaffirming a civilisational connect. Monolithic sandstone Shiv Linga of 9th c CE is latest find in ongoing conservation project. Applaud @ASIGoI team for their work at Cham Temple Complex, My Son, #Vietnam. Warmly recall my visit there in 2011.

Hence we can conclude by looking at the tweet of the minister and the news report that the 'Shivling' image being shared is from Vietnam and not from the Gyanvapi Mosque complex.