Even as the furore over the demand for a ban on entry of women during namaaz at the Ajmer Dargah is yet to die down, the khadims today triggered a fresh controversy when they rudely interrupted a Pakistani singer from performing at the shrine. Saying that women are not allowed to sing even devotional qawwalis at the Dargah, the khadims stopped the singer, part of a delegation of 32 artistes and writers from across the border, midway through her performance and disrupted the programme. The incident happened when the delegation from Pakistan, currently in Ajmer to participate in the ongoing Indo-Pak festival, visited the Dargah. After the delegates were welcomed in one of the courtyards of the Dargah by the khadims, they were invited to recite qawwalis with some local singers. But just as Mario Balos, a delegate from Sindh, started reciting some devotional couplets, she was interrupted by the khadims and asked to stop. Immediately after the disruption, the delegation was asked to end the cultural programme and leave. Several office-bearers of the Dargah management committee and the head of the Anjuman (association of khadims) were present when the performance was halted. Anjuman secretary Sarwar Chisty defended the action. ‘‘As part of the established custom, women are not allowed to sing on the Dargah premises, he said. There should be no dispute over this. Women are allowed to perform ziyarat at the shrine but if they start singing here it would become a different sort of place,’’ he said. ‘‘The Pakistani delegates are not to be blamed. They are outsiders and are not aware of the tradition,’’ he added. Balos, the offended singer, expressed dismay at the incident. ‘‘It was the voice of my soul. What was the harm if they had listened to my expression of devotion to the saint,’’ she said. ‘‘They should be lenient at least to people who come from far away,’’ she added. Other members of the delegation could not be contacted, while witnesses to the incident said they too were shocked by this humiliation of women. Only a few days ago, the Dargah khadims had demanded a ban on allowing women on the Dargah premises during namaaz, saying that men were objecting to their presence. If a man sights a woman during his prayers, they become futile, the khadims had argued.
