Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Dargah dispute: Ajmer has been the laboratory of the Sangh
By Prabha. November 30,2024
Hindu Sena may have claimed that there is a temple beneath Ajmer Sharif, but now the BJP’s agenda behind it has come to the fore. Anyway, Beawar and Bhilwara adjacent to Ajmer have been the laboratory of the Sangh Parivar for years. Before claiming the Sufi saint’s dargah, the name of Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation’s Hotel Khadim in Ajmer was changed to Ajaymeru Hotel. BJP leaders never tire of saying that the real name of Ajmer was Ajaymeru, which was changed to Ajmer by the Mughals.
The last Hindu emperor Prithviraj Chauhan used to be the ruler of Ajaymeru. After his death, the Mughals forcibly converted the local people to Islam, who are called Merati Muslims. Vishwa Hindu Parishad has been running a campaign to convert them to Hinduism again in this belt for several decades. Parishad leader Praveen Togadia had organized a Trishul Diksha program in Bhilwara and Ajmer and the then Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had also got him arrested.
Hindu Sena may have claimed that there is a temple beneath Ajmer Sharif, but now the BJP’s agenda behind it has come to the fore. Anyway, Beawar and Bhilwara adjacent to Ajmer have been the laboratory of the Sangh Parivar for years. Before claiming the Sufi saint’s dargah, the name of Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation’s Hotel Khadim in Ajmer was changed to Ajaymeru Hotel. BJP leaders never tire of saying that the real name of Ajmer was Ajaymeru, which was changed to Ajmer by the Mughals.
The last Hindu emperor Prithviraj Chauhan used to be the ruler of Ajaymeru. After his death, the Mughals forcibly converted the local people to Islam, who are called Merati Muslims. Vishwa Hindu Parishad has been running a campaign to convert them to Hinduism again in this belt for several decades. Parishad leader Praveen Togadia had organized a Trishul Diksha program in Bhilwara and Ajmer and the then Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had also got him arrested.
Overall, the latest controversy needs to be seen in this background. Interestingly, the Justice Harbilas Sharda whose book Hindu Sena is referring to is the same Justice Sharda whose name is also the name of the Sharda Act which prohibits child marriage. In 1929, Judge Sharda had declared the marriage of boys below 18 years of age and girls below 14 years of age as child marriage and made a provision for fine and punishment. Obviously, the judge was neither a historian nor did he have anything to do with archaeology.
On the basis of a book by a legal expert, it is claimed that there is a temple and a Sanskrit school beneath the Dargah Sharif and the lower court declares the case fit for hearing and even issues a notice. BJP state president Madan Rathore supports the survey while education minister Madan Dilawar openly says that the Mughals had demolished temples to build mosques and now the truth will be revealed through excavation.
Madan Dilawar, it is necessary to remind that Ajmer Sharif is not a mosque, it is the dargah of Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti. There is a difference between a mosque and a dargah. The faith of about 70 countries of the world is associated with the dargah of the Sufi saint. The 813th Urs will be celebrated here in January next year. Mughal rulers like Akbar, Jahangir, Aurangzeb had got the dargah constructed in phases, while Hindu kings had given grants from time to time. The king of Jaipur also got the dargah constructed.
More Hindus than Muslims visit Ajmer Sharif Dargah. The roses offered during the pilgrimage are produced by Hindus in Pushkar, 20 kms away. Recently, the cattle fair held on Kartik Purnima in Pushkar has concluded. The truth is that mostly Hindus visit Pushkar but during the cattle fair, the number of pilgrims visiting the Dargah increases by 25%. It is obvious that these pilgrims are Hindus only.
Many years ago, during the Urs at the Dargah, I met a Sikh family from Delhi. The Sikh family was running a langar there. They said that they have been running the langar for ten years. Actually, their motorcycle was stolen. During that time, they came to Ajmer and prayed to Khwaja Sahib. When their prayers were answered, they started coming every year. Soon, this became a routine. After the Sikh family, my eyes went towards a foreign woman who was praying with a dupatta on her head. I came to know that the woman was from Korea. She comes every year and sits quietly outside the Jannati Darwaza. Many times, she bursts into tears.
For the people of Delhi, I want to tell you that just like people have faith in the Dargah of Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi, Ajmer Sharif has a similar place. It is said that intentions are made every day but they get broken, only those come to Ajmer who are called by Khwaja. You will remember that during the time of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the ruler of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf had come to Agra. He was supposed to come to Ajmer later but could not come. He came after that.
Benazir Bhutto, who was the Prime Minister of Pakistan, had also come here many times. Once I was also covering the event. After the visit, Benazir sat on the cold floor and answered the questions of the journalists. The rulers of the Gulf countries also keep sending money etc. to the Dargah Sharif through their Khadims. Every year, Modiji himself offers a chaadar on the Urs.
In such a situation, some people say that the Central Act of 1955 is applicable for the management of the Dargah, besides this, Khwaja Saheb has a great respect in the Gulf countries, so the Modi government will have to intervene and they would not want the matter to drag on in the courts. It remains to be seen how much evidence the Modi government brings in favor of the Dargah on the next date of 20 December.
