Amid Shiva temple row, PM Narendra Modi to ship ceremonial chadar to Ajmer Sharif Dargah
Since becoming Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has presented a ‘chadar’ to the Ajmer Sharif Dargah ten times. These 12 months will mark his 11th participation.
Amid the continued Shiva temple controversy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to ship a ceremonial ‘chadar’ to the Ajmer Sharif Dargah on Thursday, continuing his yearly lifestyle. The ‘chadar’ will be given to Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju and BJP Minority Morcha President Jamal Siddiqui at 6 pm, who will then offer it at the shrine in the course of the Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. Since becoming high minister, Narendra Modi has provided a ‘chadar’ to the Ajmer Sharif Dargah 10 times. This 12 months will mark his 11th participation in this tradition.
Last year, during the 812th Urs, the ‘chadar’ was presented on his behalf by the Union minister Smriti Irani and Jamal Siddiqui, along with a delegation representing the Muslim community. The gesture comes a month after a Rajasthan courtroom heard a petition from the Hindu Sena claiming that the revered Ajmer Sharif Dargah in Rajasthan is sincerely Lord Shiva’s temple.
The Ajmer Sharif Dargah became a bone of rivalry over the last 12 months when a local court docket in Ajmer, on November 27, ordered a notice to be issued to 3 parties in a civil suit claiming that a Shiva temple exists within the dargah of Moinuddin Chishti, consistent with the plaintiff’s endorsement.
On December 20, the Ajmer Sharif Dargah Committee filed a five-page utility inside the Munsif Court in Ajmer, urging the dismissal of a petition alleging the existence of a temple below the Ajmer Dargah. The subsequent listening is scheduled for January 24. During the Urs pageant, supplying the chadar is regarded as a powerful form of worship, believed to carry blessings and fulfill vows.
Ajmer Sharif Dargah, one of India’s most revered Sufi shrines, hosts hundreds of thousands of devotees annually during the Urs competition. The occasion marks the anniversary of Khwaja Moinuddin Hassan Chishty’s demise. The 813th Urs of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti began on December 28, 2024, and is being observed with superb reverence. Devotees from across India and beyond collect to pay respects and try to gain advantages.