As tensions persist in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district following a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, a local court in Rajasthan’s Ajmer has issued notices to the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Ajmer Dargah Committee over a petition calling for a survey of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah.
The petition, filed by Hindu Sena chief Vishnu Gupta, claims that the dargah, the mausoleum of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, was originally a Shiva temple, akin to claims made about structures in Kashi and Mathura.
Civil Judge Manmohan Chandel issued the notices on Wednesday, though the court’s order has not yet been made public or shared with the petitioners. Speaking to a section of media, Gupta alleged that historical accounts, including writings by Har Bilas Sarda, a judge, politician and academic from the British colonial era, support his claim.
Gupta quoted Sarda’s 1910 book, which states: “Tradition says that inside the cellar is the image of Mahadeva in a temple, on which sandal used to be placed every day by a Brahmin family still maintained by the dargah as gharyali (bell striker).” He argued that the roads in Ajmer named after Sarda lend credibility to his assertions and urged the court to order a survey to uncover the truth.
Gupta further alleged that the dargah was constructed by demolishing Hindu and Jain temples, claiming locals remember a priest praying at the site and a Shivling that was purportedly relocated to the basement. He seeks to have the dargah declared a Hindu temple, its registration revoked and an ASI survey conducted.
The case has sparked concern among Dargah caretakers. Syed Sarwar Chishty, secretary of Anjuman Syed Zadgan, criticised the spate of claims targeting religious sites. “We swallowed a bitter pill after Babri Masjid and accepted it in the interest of the nation, believing that something like that wouldn’t repeat. But Kashi, Mathura, Sambhal … it refuses to stop,” he said, referencing RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s recent remarks discouraging searches for Shivlings in mosques.
Chishty emphasised the dargah’s symbolic importance as a beacon of communal harmony, diversity and pluralism. “Such things are not in the interest of the nation,” he said, adding that Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti’s legacy is cherished by millions worldwide.
The legal challenge comes amidst broader cultural and political shifts in Rajasthan. Last week, the Rajasthan government renamed Ajmer’s Hotel Khadim, an undertaking of the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation, as Ajaymeru. Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani, an MLA from Ajmer North, cited the city’s historical association with 12th-century warrior king Prithviraj Chauhan, asserting that Ajmer was originally known as Ajaymeru in ancient Indian texts.
This case also echoes developments in Sambhal, where a district court recently ordered a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid following claims it was built on a Hindu temple site. The subsequent survey sparked violence in Sambhal, leading to the deaths of four Muslim men during clashes.
The next hearing in the Ajmer Sharif Dargah case is scheduled for 20 December.
Also Read: IIT-Delhi Student Dies as Excavation Pit Collapses at Gujarat’s Lothal Site
