Jaipur: A civil court in Ajmer on Wednesday (November 27), issued notices to the Ajmer Dargah committee, Union Ministry of Minority Affairs and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), after a petition was filed, claiming that the Dargah was originally a Shiva temple.
The petition, filed by Vishnu Gupta, the national president of Hindu Sena, seeks a survey of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah — the most famous Sufi shrine in India and an international pilgrimage spot for devotees from different countries.
The petition for the survey of the Ajmer Dargah was admitted by the court days after three Muslim men were killed as a mob opposing the survey of the Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh clashed with the police.
The people associated with the Ajmer Dargah have slammed the move, terming it as against the interest of the country and communal harmony.
‘Dargah built after demolishing Shiva temple’
“Before 11th century AD, a temple of Lord Shiva existed in the place where the Ajmer Dargah stands today. There was also a Jain temple near it. Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty had come to India accompanying Muhammad Ghori as his adviser. At the time Ajmer was named as Ajay Meru. Ajmer is also the birthplace of Prithviraj Chauhan. It is clear that the Dargah was built after demolishing the Shiva temple,” petitioner Gupta, the national president of Hindu Sena, told The Wire.
In the petition filed by Gupta, it has been said that a Shiva Linga lies beneath the underground passage to the cellar within the Dargah complex and that the Hindu devotees are not being allowed to have darshan of the deity beneath the underground passage to the cellar.
“The original Mahadev Temple at the site of Ajmer Dargah was partly demolished and utilising the remaining structure and the materials and spoils used for construction and a Dargah was raised whereas the deities continued in visible and invisible form within the premises,” says the petition.
The petition mentions that the petitioner came to know this fact from the 1911 book titled Ajmer Historical and Descriptive, written by Har Bilas Sarda, where it is mentioned that underneath the courtyard between the Buland Darwaza and the inner courtyard are cellars of an old Hindu building of which many rooms remain intact.
“Muslims never got proprietary right over the property in question. None of the Muslim has so far dedicated the land to the God for the simple reason that the property belongs to deity. The deity will not lose its rights only for the reason that during foreign rule the temple was damaged/demolished as the right of the deity over the property is never lost and the right of worshippers to perform pooja of the deity and Asthan is protected under Hindu law,” adds the petition.
The petition seeks to conduct a detailed scientific investigation by using GPR survey, excavation, dating method and other modern techniques of the present structure to find out as to whether the same has been constructed over a pre-existing structure of Hindu temple.
“In our petition, we have asked permission to pray inside the Dargah where a Shiva temple existed. The court of civil judge Ajmer West Manmohan Chandel admitted the petition and directed the issuance of notices to the Dargah committee, Ministry of Minority Affairs and the ASI,” said Ramswaroop Bishnoi, counsel of Gupta.
Bishnoi added that he hasn’t received an order of the copy yet. The court order has not yet been uploaded online.
‘Dargah symbol of communal harmony, will remain so’
People associated with the management of the Ajmer Dargah have criticised the move and said that they are deciding on the further course of action.
“The Dargah is a symbol of communal harmony, diversity and pluralism. It promotes unity and diversity. Along with this, it is also a very big Islamic pilgrimage for people right from Afghanistan to Indonesia. It has crores of followers. This is not a joke where we will keep tolerating this. The next hearing date is on December 20,” said Syed Sarwar Chishty, secretary of the Anjuman Syed Zadgan, the representative body of hereditary khadims (caretakers) of the Dargah.
Also read: Sambhal and the Pattern of Official Narratives Without Truth
Earlier this month, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Rajasthan had renamed Hotel Khadim in Ajmer — operated by the state tourism department — as Hotel “Ajay Meru” following the instructions from assembly speaker Vasudev Devnani, who is an MLA from the district.
“Everywhere they see Shiv Lings and Mandirs. They are doing this with centuries old mosques. These things are not in the interest of the country. We are seeing what is to be done. This was and is the Dargah of the Garib Nawaz and will remain so,” said Chishty.
“After Babri Masjid we swallowed a bitter pill and thought it will not happen again. But this is not stopping. Sometimes Kashi, sometimes Mathura… On June 22, Mohan Bhagwatji had said that one shouldn’t search for Shiv Lings in every mosque. This fault is of retired Chief Justice of India [D.Y.] Chandrachud. When Places of Worship Act 1991 says that apart from Babri Masjid the status quo will remain the same as 1947 for all religious places, what is the need for this?” added Chishty.
