NEW DELHI – A Muslim shrinein Ajmer, which sits at the heart of the Indian sub-continent’s syncretic tradition, is the latest place of worship caught in a deepening effort by Hindu nationalists to restore temples once built on Muslim sites, further straining inter-religious ties. ties.
A civil court in Ajmer city, in the state of Rajasthan, issued notices on Nov 27 to the Indian government and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), among others, in a suit claiming that Ajmer Sharif Dargah was built on the site of a Hindu temple.
The suit, filed by Mr Vishnu Gupta, president of the Hindu Sena nationalist group, claimed that a temple to Lord Shiva previously existed on the site of the tomb of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, who died in AD1,236.
NEW DELHI – A Muslim shrine, which sits at the heart of the Indian sub-continent’s syncretic tradition, is the latest place of worship caught in a deepening effort by Hindu nationalists to restore temples once built on Muslim sites, further straining inter-religious ties.
A civil court in Ajmer city, in the state of Rajasthan, issued notices on Nov 27 to the Indian government and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), among others, in a suit claiming that Ajmer Sharif Dargah was built on the site of a Hindu temple.
The suit, filed by Mr Vishnu Gupta, president of the Hindu Sena nationalist group, claimed that a temple to Lord Shiva previously existed on the site of the tomb of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, who died in AD1,236.
The nationalist group has not only sought a survey of the site by the ASI, but also the right for Hindus to pray at the shrine built by Mughal King Humayun, even though it is already revered across faiths in the sub-continent.
The dispute has sparked wide-ranging reactions, with the shrine’s caretakers blaming the Hindu nationalists for seeking to disturb peace.
“There is no doubt that right-wing forces are aiming to isolate Muslims and disrupt communal harmony by eyeing the Sufi shrine,” Mr Syed Sarwar Chishti, secretary of the Anjuman Syed Zadgan body that represents the shrine’s caretakers, told reporters
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