A Rajasthan court has accepted a petition claiming that the Ajmer Sharif Dargah was originally a Shiva temple. This move follows a recent court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, which erupted protests and resulted in the deaths of five Muslims, including a juvenile , reportedly due to police gunfire.
The petition, filed by Vishnu Gupta, leader of the right-wing Hindu Sena, led to an Ajmer lower court issuing notices to three entities concerning allegations that the revered Ajmer Sharif Dargah, dedicated to Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, was originally a Shiva temple.
Civil Judge Manmohan Chandel, overseeing the case, has directed the Ajmer Dargah Committee, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to respond to the allegations. Advocate Yogesh Siroja, who is representing the petitioner, confirmed that the notices were issued in relation to a lawsuit filed in September.
Petitioner Vishnu Gupta has called for the Ajmer Sharif Dargah to be officially recognized as the “Sankat Mochan Mahadev Temple.” He has also demanded an ASI-led survey to determine the site’s historical and religious significance.
“Our demand is that the Ajmer dargah should be declared as the Sankat Mochan Mahadev Temple. If the dargah has any kind of registration, it should be cancelled. Its survey should be conducted by the ASI, and Hindus should be granted the right to worship there, ” reads Gupta’s plea
“…I call them the Bharatiya Jhagda Party”
In response to the development, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh called on the Supreme Court to intervene, invoking the Places of Worship Act, 1991. Singh emphasized that the Act mandates that religious sites must remain as they were on August 15, 1947, and warned that continued claims of temples beneath mosques, or vice versa, could lead to nationwide unrest. He accused Prime Minister Modi and the BJP of exacerbating these tensions, referring to them as the “Bharatiya Jhagda Party.”
“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,” Singh Said.
“Will they (BJP) burn the whole nation for their political benefit?
Congress MP Imran Masood on Thursday criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party over a legal claim asserting the existence of a Shiva temple within the Ajmer Sharif Dargah in Rajasthan. Masood warned that such actions could “set the whole country on fire” and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene, questioning the underlying motives behind these disputes.
“Will they (BJP) burn the whole nation for their political benefit?” news agency ANI quoted Imran Masood as saying.
Masood added, “Such things will set the whole country on fire. What is happening? The PM should look into this matter, and the Supreme Court should take cognizance of this matter. Where do you want to sideline a whole community? You are not leaving their religious places and properties. Where do you want to sideline us?… Under which mosques will you look for temples? Is there any limit or not? They (the central government) have kept aside the Worship Act 1991. Will they (BJP) burn the whole nation for their political benefit?”
The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 aims to maintain the religious character of places of worship as they existed on August 15,947. It prohibits the conversion of any place of worship into a different religious denomination or sect and bars legal challenges to this status, except for the Babri Masjid case, which was already sub judice when the Act was enacted14. Recent court decisions have raised concerns about interpretations that may undermine this Act, leading to communal tensions, as seen in ongoing disputes over sites like the Gyanvapi mosque and Shahi Jama Masjid
