Tensions rise as Indian court mandates survey of Sufi shrine

Nationalist group claims saint’s tomb was built on site of a Hindu temple

- Nirmala Ganapathy

NEW DELHI - A Muslim shrine sitting at the heart of the Indian subcontinent's syncretic tradition is the latest place of worship caught in a deepening effort by Hindu nationalists to restore temples once built on Muslim sites, further straining inter-religious ties.

A civil court in Ajmer city, in the state of Rajasthan, issued notices on Nov 27 to the Indian government and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), among others, in a suit claiming that Ajmer Sharif Dargah was built on the site of a Hindu temple.

The suit, filed by Mr Vishnu Gupta, president of the Hindu Sena nationalist group, claimed that a temple to Lord Shiva previously existed on the site of the tomb of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, who died in AD1236.

The nationalist group has not only sought a survey of the site by the ASI, but also the right for Hindus to pray at the shrine built by Mughal King Humayun, even though it is already revered across faiths in the sub-continent.

The dispute has sparked wideranging reactions, with shrine's caretakers blaming the Hindu nationalists for seeking to disturb the peace.

"There is no doubt that rightwing forces are aiming to isolate Muslims and disrupt communal harmony by eyeing the Sufi shrine," Mr Syed Sarwar Chishti, secretary of the Anjuman Syed Zadgan body that represents the shrine's caretakers, told reporters on Nov 28.

Places of worship in India have constitutional protection under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, which mandates their preservation and prohibits their conversion to places of worship for any other faith.

In the last four years, however, the courts have allowed surveys under the guise of clarifying the religious character of disputed sites, prompting a flurry of petitions.