Controversial Claim of Shiva Temple Beneath Ajmer Sharif Dargah Sparks Legal Battle

New Delhi : The claim that a Shiva temple existed prior to the construction of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah has sparked a major controversy. A Hindu organization asserts that a Shiva temple once stood on this site before being replaced by the dargah. This matter is becoming increasingly sensitive, not only religiously but also politically and socially.

Vishnu Gupta, the president of the National Hindu Army, filed a petition in an Ajmer court, claiming the existence of a Lord Shiva temple within the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Dargah of Ajmer. On November 27, the court issued notices to the Dargah Committee, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), seeking their responses. The case is being heard by Civil Judge Manmohan Chandel. The next hearing is scheduled for December 20.

In the legal petition, Vishnu Gupta claims that the 13th-century Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti’s shrine was originally a Shiva temple. What evidence is there as per the books written on Gupta and Ajmer, this should be discussed.