Ajmer

Ajmer Sharif Dargah's Gaddi Nashin, Syed Afsan Chishty, condemned the ongoing controversy surrounding the Dargah on Thursday, underlining that the communal harmony of the country should not be affected in any manner.

This comes after a Rajasthan court accepted a petition submitted by the Hindu Sena, claiming that Ajmer Sharif Dargah is Lord Shiva's temple.

Speaking to ANI on Thursday, Chishty said that the followers of Khawaja Gharib Nawaz are spread across the world, and they come from not only Islam but every religion.

"I say this with great sadness and surprise that the court has accepted a claim that has no substance...Our country is huge and the nation is above everyone else. Whoever is doing all this to impact the peace of India should be deterred from this. The communal harmony of our country should not be affected in any manner...Khawaja Gharib Nawaz's followers are spread across the world. His followers are not only in Islam but in every religion. Even PM Narendra Modi sends chadar on His Urs every year. The Prime Ministers before him also did the same," he said.

Chishty further urged the intervention of the Centre and PM Modi in such matters adding that the people involved should be probed.

"Dragging the Dargah into controversies is hurting the belief of everyone. I condemn this strongly. I urge the Centre and PM Narendra Modi to intervene in such matters and rein them in. We suspect that such people (petitioners) are colluding with enemies of India...These people should be probed," Chishty said.

Earlier on Thursday, Syed Zainul Abidin Ali Khan, the Sajjada Nasheen of the Dargah, said that anyone can file a petition for "publicity" and "personal interest." He cited the example of the November 24 Sambhal stone-pelting incident in Uttar Pradesh, which resulted in the deaths of four people.

"...Anyone can go to the court. And the court will entertain it (petition). There will be proper evidence, and the proof will be submitted. Then the final verdict will be passed. There is a long way to go," Syed Zainul Abidin Ali Khan told ANI.

On a query regarding why the Dargah's (shrine) are turning out to be the targets, he said, "It is their personal interest. Anyone can do it for publicity. You can't forbid anyone."

On the recent claims to mosques across the country, the Ajmer Dargah chief said, "What did (RSS chief) Mohan Bhagwat say in 2022? 'How long will you look for a shivling in every mosque'? The same was done inside Samhal. The consequences were that five innocent people lost their lives. Out of the five dead, two were the lone breadwinners."

"How big is this setback (to their families)? They (authorities) do not have any remorse for it," he said.

On Wednesday, a local court in Ajmer directed that notice be issued to three parties in a civil suit that claims that there is a Shiva temple in the dargah of Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, the plaintiff's advocate said.

Advocate Yogesh Siroja told reporters in Ajmer that the suit was heard in the court of Civil Judge Manmohan Chandel.

"The concerned parties have been issued notices; one is the Dargah Committee, the ASI, and the third is the Ministry of Minority Affairs. I am a descendant of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty, but I have not been made party to it... We are in touch with our legal team," he said.