PM Modi sends sacred chadar for Ajmer Sharif Dargah amid Shiva temple claim petition row

Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over a ceremonial 'chadar' to Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Thursday, January 2. This sacred 'chadar' will be offered at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah on the occasion of the Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti – the 13th-century Sufi saint.

“PM Narendra Modi ji presented the Chadar that would be offered on his behalf at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah on the Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti,” Rijiju said in a post on X sharing the picture of the chadar.

PM Modi has been sending a 'chadar' to the shrine annually to mark the occasion. Rijiju is expected to hand over the chadar oat the dargah on Modi's behalf on January 4, according to reports.

“This gesture reflects his deep respect for India’s rich spiritual heritage and the enduring message of harmony and compassion,” Rijiju said. The minister was accompanied by Jamal Siddiqui, the national president of BJP minority morcha, during the handing over of the ‘chadar’

Since assuming office as Prime Minister, Modi has offered a 'chadar' to Ajmer Sharif Dargah ten times. This will be the 11th time he has participated in this tradition. 

Last year, during the 812th Urs, the 'chadar' was presented to the shrine by then Union Minister Smriti Irani and Jamal Siddiqui, along with a delegation representing the Muslim community, on behalf of the Prime Minister.

Modi greeted people on the Urs occasion on Thursday. “May this occasion bring happiness and peace into everyone’s lives,” he said on X.

The Ajmer Sharif Dargah is one of the most revered Sufi shrines in India. Every year, millions of devotees from all over the world gather here to celebrate the annual Urs, that commemorates the death anniversary of the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.

The 813th Urs of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti commenced on December 28, 2024, and is observed with great reverence. The annual event attracts devotees from across the country and beyond, who come to pay their respects and seek blessings.

Lord Shiva's temple claims

Modi's gesture comes over a month after a Rajasthan court accepted a petition submitted by the Hindu Sena, claiming that the revered Ajmer Sharif Dargah in Rajasthan is Lord Shiva's temple.

The ‘chadar’, will be placed over the shrine (Mazar-e-Akdas) of Khwaja Garib Nawaz. It symbolises devotion and respect.

The dargah landed in controversy last year when a local court in Ajmer on November 27 directed that notice be issued to three parties in a civil suit that claims that there is a Shiva temple in the dargah of Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, the plaintiff's advocate said.

On December 20, the Ajmer Sharif Dargah Committee, functioning under the Union Minority Affairs ministry, submitted a 5-page application to the Munsif Court in Ajmer, urging dismissal of a plea alleging the presence of a temple beneath the Ajmer Dargah, according to a report inThe Times of India. The court has scheduled the next hearing for January 24.

The petition came amid a raging debate over the Places of Worship Act, which has been challenged before the Supreme Courtafter a series of controversial surveys of mosques and dargahs in different parts of the country.

On December 12, 2024 the Supreme Court restrained courts across the country from admitting or passing orders in any fresh suit or plea seeking the survey of mosques to determine whether temples lie beneath them.