All-India Women’s meet: Gujarat CM attends RSS event at disputed shrine, Muslims allege ‘saffronisation bid’

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“The dargah is a disputed site and she shouldn’t have come to participate in the event. We have been saying that the real identity of this place has been ruined by Hindutva forces. The shrine belongs to both Hindus and Muslims. But, for the past three decades, we can’t even offer namaz at the dargah while they can do anything they want, hold any celebrations they like,” said Nuroddin Bade Miya Saiyed, a local resident and one of the three Muslim trustees of the Pirana Imam Shah Bawa Roza Trust, which manages this over 600-year-old shrine.

The trust also has eight Hindu trustees, originally from Saurashtra region, who have been followers of Imam Shah, a Sufi saint. The Hindu followers of the saint are known as Satpanthi. The three Muslims trustees – who all are Saiyeds – are said to be direct descendants of the saint who allege that they have been cornered for being in the minority in the trust.

Over the years, the name of “Pirana Imam Shah Bawa Roza Trust” has been changed to “Imam Shah Bawa Sanstha Trust”. The Hindu trustees said that the place was not a “shrine” but a “samadhi” of “Sadguru Imam Shah Maharaj” who was a “Hindu”. Bharat Patel, one of the trustees, said over phone, “The place is not a shrine but samadhi. This place belongs to Nishkalanki Narayan Bhagwan, who is the 10th incarnation of Lord Vishnu.” Patel has been a trustee for the past 10 years.

There are several on-going litigations over the ownership of the property in Ahmedabad city civil court as well as Gujarat High Court. According to advocate MTM Hakim, who is representing Muslim trustees against the Hindu counterparts, said that all the litigations are pending for long and courts have directed to maintain the status quo. Despite that, he said, the nature of shrine was changing. The Muslim trustees have been claiming that the shrine and the entire campus belonged to Waqf board since it was a Muslim property.