AJMER, India – In a significant development, a court in Rajasthan has accepted a petition asserting that the Ajmer Sharif Dargah, one of India’s most famous Muslim shrines, was originally an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, known as the Sankat Mochan Temple. The court has issued a notice to the Dargah administration in response to the claims.
The petition, filed by a group of Hindu petitioners, argues that symbols commonly associated with Hinduism, such as the Om and Swastik, were discovered on the windows of the Dargah. These markings, the petitioners contend, are evidence of the site’s original Hindu origins before it was converted into a Muslim Sufi shrine by Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, the 12th-century saint venerated at the Dargah.
The petitioners claim that during the Mughal period, Hindu temples across India were systematically destroyed and replaced by mosques. They argue that this was a deliberate attempt by the Mughal rulers to wound Hindu sentiment and erase the temples from India’s religious landscape. According to them, the Ajmer Sharif Dargah was one such site that was originally a Hindu temple before being transformed into a mosque.
“This case, if successful, will be our biggest victory after the Babri Masjid case,” one of the petitioners said, referencing the controversial demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and its aftermath, which led to a nationwide debate on religious identity and historical ownership of religious sites.
The court’s decision to issue a notice to the Dargah administration marks the beginning of legal proceedings, though it remains to be seen whether the petitioners can present sufficient evidence to substantiate their claims. The matter has sparked a fresh wave of debate on religious history, with both Hindu and Muslim communities keeping a close watch on the outcome.
While the Ajmer Sharif Dargah has long been a place of reverence for Muslims, the petition has reignited a conversation about India’s colonial and Mughal-era history, religious identity, and the struggle over sacred spaces. The Dargah, located in Ajmer, Rajasthan, continues to attract millions of devotees from across India, irrespective of their faith.
As the case progresses, the Dargah administration has yet to officially respond to the allegations, and the legal battle may take months to unfold. The development adds a new layer to ongoing religious and political discussions surrounding the preservation of historical monuments and their contested pasts.