Court Petition Claims Ajmer Sharif Dargah as Former Hindu Temple
Ajmer: A court in Rajasthan's Ajmer issued notices Wednesday to the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) over a lawsuit filed by the Hindu Sena. The suit claims the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, a revered Sufi shrine, was built over a Shiva temple, citing "historical evidence." The Ajmer munsif criminal and civil (west) court will next hear the case on December 20. The Dargah Khwaja Saheb Committee, a statutory body under the ministry, is also a respondent.
The Hindu Sena's legal team submitted to the court excerpts from Har Bilas Sarda's 1911 book Ajmer: Historical and Descriptive, which reportedly references remnants of a pre-existing Shiva temple at the site. The petitioners claim religious rituals were performed at the temple until its alleged demolition and have requested an ASI survey to investigate the dargah’s structure. They assert the dome contains parts of the temple and that a sanctum sanctorum exists in the basement.
The petition seeks the site to be declared a Hindu temple and the removal of the dargah structure, sparking debates on the Places of Worship Act, 1991. This law prohibits altering the religious character of any place of worship as it stood on August 15, 1947. Critics warn that such claims threaten communal harmony and question the historical basis for these assertions.
This case follows similar disputes involving other historic sites, including the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi and the Shahi Idgah in Mathura. The outcome could have far-reaching implications for India's religious and cultural landscape.