Hindutva groups claim Ajmer Sharif built Over Shiva Temple

In India, a new controversy is brewing as hardline Hindutva groups have raised allegations about the famous Ajmer Sharif Dargah in Rajasthan.

According to them, the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti was built on the site of an ancient Shiva temple. This claim has surfaced shortly after a similar dispute surrounding the Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh.

The Hindu Sena, led by Vishnu Gupta, has filed a petition in a lower court, asserting that like in Ayodhya, Kashi, and Mathura, Muslims constructed a religious structure on top of a pre-existing Hindu temple at Ajmer. 

He is calling for a thorough investigation or survey of the dargah area to uncover the truth about the existence of the temple. Additionally, Gupta is urging the court to grant Hindus the right to worship at the site if evidence supports the claim.

Following this petition, District Judge Manmohan Chandel issued notices to the central government, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and the Dargah Committee. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for December 20.

Vishnu Gupta spoke to The Indian Express and referred to a 1910 book written by Harbilas Sarda, a local judge, politician, and academic.

According to Sarda’s account, a Shiva temple originally stood at the location where Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti’s dargah was later established.

As the court prepares to hear the case, this allegation has added another layer of tension to ongoing debates over religious sites in India.