In a surprising twist, a court in India’s Rajasthan has issued a notice in a lawsuit filed by extremist Hindu groups, claiming that a Hindu Shiva temple lies beneath the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti shrine at Ajmer Sharif and requesting worship rights at the site.
The case, filed by Vishnu Gupta, the national president of the Hindu Sena, was heard by Civil Judge Manmohan Chandel on Wednesday.
The petition, titled “Bhagwan Shri Sankat Mochak Mahadev Virajman vs. Dargah Committee,” was filed in September and claims that remnants of a Hindu temple are incorporated into the structure of the famous Ajmer Sharif dargah.
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The court has issued notices to the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, the Ajmer Dargah Committee, and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which is named as a party in the lawsuit. The next hearing has been scheduled for December 20.
Ajmer: Historical and Descriptive
The petitioner’s counsel, Ramswaroop Bishnoi, cited a 1911 book, Ajmer: Historical and Descriptive, by retired judge Harvilas Sharda.
The book alleges that debris from a Hindu Shiva temple was used in the construction of the Ajmer Sharif dargah, and it also claims that a sanctum within the dargah housed a Shiva Lingam, earlier worshiped by a Brahmin family.
The book further maintains that remnants of a Jain temple were also incorporated into the dargah’s structure, including elements of temple debris in the 75-feet-tall buland darwaza.
The case has ignited debate, with significant religious and historical implications, and the legal proceedings are being closely followed.
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