Rajasthan court admits plea claiming Shiva temple in Ajmer dargah

Close on the heels of the violence in Sambhal in UP over a court survey of a mosque, a local court in Rajasthan’s Ajmer on Wednesday (November 27) has issued a notice to Muslim defendants in a civil suit claiming that the shrine of 13th century Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti was built over a Shiva temple.

The suit has been filed by Vishnu Gupta, leader of a right-wing organisation, the Hindu Sena.

The local court in Ajmer directed that notice be issued to three parties - the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, Archaeological Survey of India and Dargah Kwaja Saheb committee, seeking their response in the civil suit filed by a Hindu organisation, the Hindu Sena, which claims that they have historical evidence of the existence of a Shiva temple before the dargah was built.

The plaintiff's advocate Yogesh Siroja told reporters in Ajmer that the suit was heard in the court of Civil Judge Manmohan Chandel.

Also watch: Sambhal violence: Is it part of Yogi's brazen politics? | Capital Beat

'Give Hindus right to worship'

The suit, claiming that there is a Shiva temple in the dargah, was filed in September seeking directions to start the worship in the temple again. The Dargah Khwaja Saheb committee, a statutory body constituted by the minority affairs ministry is the third respondent in the case.

The dargah of the sufi saint is a famous landmark in Ajmer.

Plaintiff Vishnu Gupta said, "Our demand was that the Ajmer dargah should be declared as Sankat Mochan Mahadev Temple and if the dargah has any kind of registration, then it should be cancelled. Its survey should be done through ASI and Hindus should be given the right to worship there."

The legal team submitted a copy of the former judicial officer and academician Har Bilas Sarda's 1911 book, 'Ajmer: Historical and Descriptive', which allegedly mentions that the Ajmer dargah was built over the remnants of a Shiva temple.

Vijay Sharma, the third counsel, sought a survey by ASI of the premises to verify the petitioner's contention that the "dargah's dome contains pieces of the temple" and there is evidence of the presence of the sanctum santorum in the basement.

The Ajmer munsif criminal and civil (west) court will next hear Delhi-based Hindu Sena's suit on December 20.

Muslim body head responds

Syed Sarwar Chishty, secretary of the Anjuman Moinia Fakhria, a representative body of the caretakers of the dargah completely dismissed the presence of a Shva temple at the dargah, saying these claims by the Hindu Sena are "baseless".

In a video-recorded statement, he said that these "frivolous assertions are aimed at harming the country' communal harmony".

The dargah is one of the most revered places for Muslims after Mecca and Medina and such actions deeply hurt the sentiments of devotees worldwide, he added.

This development comes after five young men were killed and many others injured in violence that broke out in Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh, when a local court ordered the survey of a mosque which petitioners said was built after destroying an old temple.

Other mosques or monuments battling such claims?

Gyanvapi mosque, Varanasi: Hindu groups claim the mosque was built atop a Hindu temple. A 2022 court-ordered survey led to disputes over a supposed shivling, which the Muslim community argued was a fountain.

Shahi Idgah mosque, Mathura: Hindu groups claim that this mosque was built on a sacred Hindu site. The Supreme Court’s Ayodhya verdict in 2019 further fuelled these claims.

Haji Malang dargah, Maharashtra: Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde recently claimed that the dargah was originally a Hindu temple. This stirred up tensions in the area.

Sambhal Shahi Jama Masjid, Uttar Pradesh: A court ordered a survey on a plea alleging the mosque was built on a Hindu temple. This led to violence, 5 deaths, and government-imposed restrictions last week.

Qutub Minar, Delhi: Hindu groups claim it was originally a temple complex referred to as the Vishnu Stambh. This theory gained ground after ASI officials suggested the site’s Hindu origins.

Bharatiya Jhagda Party, says AAP

Reacting to the development, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh urged the Supreme Court to intervene, citing the Places of Worship Act, 1991.

Singh said, “The Act clearly states that religious structures must remain as they were on August 15, 1947. If such precedents of claiming temples beneath mosques or vice versa continue, it will lead to nationwide chaos. PM Modi and the BJP are fueling these conflicts, and I call them the Bharatiya Jhagda Party.”