Tilak on Sufi saint, Hindu posters: How an Ahmedabad dargah is getting saffronised
Sufi shrine has been allegedly given a Hindu name by its Hindu trustees, much to the chagrin of their Muslim counterparts
The 'dargah' of saint Imamshah Bawa, a famous 15th-century Sufi shrine in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, which once symbolised Hindu-Muslim unity, has now become the bone of contention between the two communities.
While Muslim trustees of the shrine have accused their Hindu counterparts of trying to saffronise it by renaming the Sufi saint Imamshah Bawa as Sadguru Hanstejji Maharaj, the latter claim that scriptures provide proof that the two were the same person.
The dargah of Saint Imamshah Bawa dates back to 600 years and has been always revered amongst both Hindus and Muslims of Pirana village on the outskirts of Ahmedabad city. The Hindu devotees of the Saint are called Sathpanthis while the Muslim followers are called Shahdads or Saiyeds. A trust has been taking care of the dargah, a well as a mosque, a tomb of the Pir (Imamshah Bawa) and a graveyard on the premises. The trust has 11 trustees – of them eight are Hindus and three Muslims.
Saffronisation bid?
Earlier this month, one of the Muslim trustees wrote to the District Collector of Ahmedabad, requesting his intervention in preventing the shrine from allegedly being turned into a temple.
“The dargah has been a symbol of Sufi culture and Hindu-Muslim unity over the years. We have requested the collector to intervene and prevent the saffronisation of the shrine and retain its religious character,” Sirajuddin Saiyed, an elected trustee of the shrine told The Federal.
He said a tilak (a mark worn by Hindus on the forehead) has been put on a 15th century painting of Saint Imamshah Bawa to portray him as a Hindu. “This apart several posters of Hindu deities have been hung inside the dargah premises,” he added.
Hindu devotees posing in front of a poster of a Hindu goddess recently put up at the dargah.
Meanwhile, the Saiyeds and other Muslim followers of the dargah have threatened to sit on an indefinite hunger strike inside the premises to protest against the move. The shrine’s trustees have informed the local authorities about the hunger strike and asked for police protection for the 25 people who are expected to sit on the hunger strike.
What flared up the feud?
The feud over the shrine’s identity began in 2021 after its Hindu followers began calling the Sufi saint as Sadguru Hanstej Maharaj, sparking reaction from the Muslim followers.
Sirajjuddin Saiyed, representing the Muslim trustees of the shrine, filed a PIL in the Gujarat High Court against the renaming of the saint. He, however, withdrew the petition within months after an agreement was reached amongst the trustees on not changing the religious identity of the dargah.
Sunni Awami Forum, a Muslim outfit, had filed another PIL objected to the alleged mushrooming of temples around the Sufi shrine. The PIL is still pending in the Gujarat High Court.
A fresh controversy broke out this month when the Muslim trustees of the shrine filed a police complaint and later a PIL alleging that their Hindu counterparts were trying to convert the dargah into a Hindu temple.
“The PIL has sought to restrain Hindu trustees of the shrine from constructing a temple. Earlier, the Gujarat High Court had issued notices to the state government, the Ahmedabad Collector and others in this connection. But the court did not accept our plea to order a status quo that would halt the ongoing construction within the premises. The attempts to turn the dargah into a Hindu religious place still continues unabated,” MTM Hakim, the lawyer of the petitioners told The Federal.
Protests staged by Muslim devotees in February this year.
A complaint was also filed by three Saiyeds of the management at Aslali police station in Ahmedabad Rural stating, “From March 1 to March 17, 2022, the shrine was closed for the public and during this time the Hindu trustees placed 10 idols in the premises to make it look like a temple. Multiple posters were put up by some anti-social elements around the shrine on August 13 and 15 along with a 25-feet hoarding calling the dargah Om Shree Sadguru Hanstejji Maharaj Akhand Divyajyoti Mandir.”
Harshad Patel, one of the Hindu trustees of the dargah argues that the name of Hanstej Maharaj has been in the scriptures for 4,000 years and Saint Imamshah Bawa has been mentioned as Hanstej Maharaj in several books.
Souring brotherhood
Pir Imamshah Bawa was a Satpanth preacher in the 14th century. He is buried in Pirana, a village around 20 km from Ahmedabad city. The residents of Pirana, both Muslims and Hindus, have been devotees of the Pir for years.
In 1939, a trust was formed to run and take care of the dargah. In the first trust that was formed, out of the 10 trustees, seven were Satpanthis or Hindus and three were Saiyed or Muslim who are considered to be the descendants of the Imamshah Bawa. Later it became a trust of 11 members with the addition of one more Satpanthi.
“The trust was functioning cordially until a few years ago. However, with time, the ideology of the Satpanthi trustees began to change,” said Shadab Saiyed, spokesperson of the Saiyed Sadat Community, an organization of Muslim devotees of the Pir.
“The feud began when the trust passed a resolution to erect a wall around the dargah. It was supported by the Satpanthi trustees who are in majority. The Saiyed trustees, however, had opposed the proposal,” he added.
“We have felt ignored by the Satpanthi trustees in the last few years,” shared Saiyed Nadeem Ahmed, one of the Saiyeds.
‘Attack on identity’
However, the construction of the wall isn't the sole cause of the feud between the trustees. The Saiyeds have maintained that there have been gradual attempts to change the identity of the shrine.
“Until 2003, the name on the gate of the shrine was Imamshah Bawa Roza Sanstha Trust. In fact, that name still remains in the official government records. But, first, they removed the word Roza, changing the name on the gate to Imamshah Bawa Sanstha Trust. Now they have removed the original name altogether from all the places on the premises of the dargah,” added Ahmed.
On August 15 this year, a 25-feet hoarding was put just outside the gates of the shrine naming it, ‘Om Shree Satguru Hanstejj Maharaj Akhand Divyajyoti Mandir’. The hoarding was later taken down after protests by locals.
“I have been going to the dargah since I was a child. I am fine with it as it is, and we don’t want it to change. We want peace to prevail here,” tells Binaben, a resident of Pirana.
