The long-standing tradition of offering a ceremonial chadar at the Ajmer Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti during the annual Urs has landed in legal controversy. The Ajmer district court has issued a notice to the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs on a petition filed by the Hindu Sena and asked the ministry to present its stand at the next hearing scheduled for December 10.
According to information from Jaipur, Hindu Sena national president Vishnu Gupta filed the petition in the Ajmer district court claiming that the Ajmer Dargah was originally an ancient temple of Lord Shiva. He said a civil suit based on this claim is already pending before the court. In such a situation, Gupta argued, the act of the Prime Minister and other constitutional authorities sending a chadar during the Urs sends the “wrong message”, and the Muslim side uses this tradition to strengthen its claim in court.
Tradition Started by Jawaharlal Nehru, Says Petition
The petition also states that the practice of sending a chadar to the Ajmer Dargah was started by India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, which the Hindu Sena describes as part of a policy of “Muslim appeasement”. The organisation has claimed that this tradition has gradually turned into a “malpractice” and should be stopped until the main case is decided.
Urs to Begin on December 16, Hearing on Stay Plea on December 10
Vishnu Gupta told the court that he had submitted memorandums to the Prime Minister’s Office and other departments requesting that the chadar not be sent, but approached the judiciary after no action was taken. He has urged the court to intervene and impose a ban on the practice.
The annual Urs at the Ajmer Dargah is scheduled to begin on December 16. Traditionally, the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and other constitutional authorities send chadars to the shrine during the Urs. Hindu Sena has claimed that offering a chadar is not even part of Islamic tradition and therefore has no religious justification. The Ajmer district court will hear the plea seeking a ban on chadar offerings by constitutional authorities on December 10, while the next hearing in the main petition is fixed for January 3. Meanwhile, preparations for the Urs are underway at full pace in Ajmer as all eyes now turn to the court’s decision.
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