Ajmer dargah holds special place in many hearts

When Pakistan8217;s President Pervez Musharraf could not make it to Ajmer in 2001, as per his original itinerary in Agra he flew off in a huff, the then Indian Foreign Minister, Jaswant Singh, said; 8220;Ajmer wahi jaate hai, Khwaja jinhe bulaate hain only those people, whom the Khwaja invites, are able to visit Ajmer.8221; The unease that this comment stirred in Musharraf was discussed for days later by the Pakistani press, and he made sure he was there the next time he visited India. This is only one of the more recent examples of the enduring significance of Ajmer sharif.

The centre of the Chishtiya-Sufi order in South Asia, the dargah houses the tomb of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, Gharib Nawaz, the founder of the Chishtiya Sufi order in the region. Born in 1143 in Sistan in southern Iran, he came to India and preached Sufism. He died in Ajmer in 1236. The dargah gained tremendous prestige in the times of Akbar, chiefly as he used to walk barefoot from Agra to the shrine in Ajmer. The Chishtiya-Sufi order that the Khwaja founded started as a puritanical and pacifist one, that emphasised the 8216;Oneness of God8217; Wahdat ul Wujud. But slowly, it came to symbolise a crucial and unique aspect of Islamic spiritual life and became the holiest spot for followers of the Chishtiya silsila 8212; an order within the Islamic framework that is premised on what its followers term 8220;universal human brotherhood8221;.

Says Dr Akhtar ul Wasey, Director, Institute of Islamic Studies in Jamia Millia Islamia: 8220;This is the biggest and most important shrine for Muslims in all of central Asia, South Asia and Afghanistan. Islamic spirituality in these parts is impossible to imagine without this shrine.8221;

The fact that this dargah is the only one in this entire region to be controlled and managed by an Act of Parliament passed in 1955, say experts, is also a key to understanding how important it is in modern Indian life. Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad together conceived this Act.

A shrine revered almost equally by both Hindus and Muslims, it has carved a unique place in popular Indian life, with a visit to the dargah being vital before undertaking auspicious tasks, asking for special things, as well as a place that virtually symbolises Indian syncretic life for centuries now.

Says renowned historian, Mohammed Amin: 8220;There is pressure from some Hindu fundamentalist groups and Muslim fundamentalists respectively, asking followers not to go to such places which defy both the rigid Hindu and Muslim boundaries. Yet, Ajmer continues to attract lakhs of people of all faiths each year8221;.

Popular music, qawwalis and even cinema has paid tribute to this unique and special dargah in Rajasthan and to the Pir, or saint that Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti is believed to be, by lakhs of his followers.