Shiva Temple beneath Ajmer Sharif Dargah, claims petition; notices issued to Centre, ASI

The petitioner has sought the dargah to be declared a Hindu temple, its registration cancelled, and an ASI survey conducted.

A local court in Rajasthan's Ajmer on Wednesday issued notices to the Union Ministry for Minority Affairs, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Ajmer Dargah Committee over a petition seeking 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 a temple of Lord Shiva. The notices were issued by court of Civil Judge Manmohan Chandel.

“The court asked us why we are filing it. We told the court everything and after listening to us earnestly, the court issued notice to the concerned parties once it was satisfied,” Gupta said, speaking to The Indian Express.

The civil suit claims that a Shiva temple once stood on the site of the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, alleging the Sufi shrine was built over the temple’s remains. The case will be heard next on December 20.

According to Gupta, Har Bilas Sarda, “who held an important position during British Rule, wrote in 1910 about the presence of a Hindu temple”.

“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),” Sarda, a judge, politician and an academic, wrote in one of his books, referring to the dargah.

“There are roads in Ajmer named after Sarda, so we said that the court should take his words seriously, that at least a survey should be done so that the truth comes out,” Gupta said, claiming that “the Ajmer structure was constructed after demolishing Hindu and Jain temples”.

Gupta said his outfit, the Hindu Sena, wants the dargah to be declared a Hindu temple, its registration cancelled, an ASI survey conducted, "and that we should be permitted to pray”.

Citing locals and other "evidences", Gupta further claims that as recently as 50 years ago, a priest used to pray there, and that there used to be a Shivling which was moved to the basement. "So, a survey should be done so that everyone becomes clear,” he said.

Reacting to the developments, Syed Sarwar Chishty, secretary of Anjuman Syed Zadgan — a body of Dargah caretakers, slammed the petition as well as the recent flurry of cases claiming the presence of temples at the mosque sites across the country.

“The Dargah is a symbol of communal harmony, diversity and pluralism. It promotes unity in diversity and there are crores of followers of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti across the world… Such things are not in the interest of the nation,” he said.