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Knowledge Nugget: Ajmer Dargah
Subject: History and Architecture
(Relevance: Indian architecture is an important part of UPSC CSE’s art and culture syllabus. Previously, the commission has asked questions about various historical monuments and their architecture. Additionally, knowing about places in the news is essential.)
Why in news?
On November 27, an Ajmer court accepted a petition from the Hindu Sena. The petition claims that there is a Shiva temple situated beneath the revered Ajmer Sharif dargah and requests that an archaeological survey should be conducted to ascertain the same. This case emerges amid a series of similar legal disputes in India, where claims have been made regarding the existence of Hindu temples beneath prominent Islamic religious sites.
Key Takeaways :
1. Over the centuries, the Ajmer Dargah has established itself as one of the most important Sufi sites in the subcontinent. It stands as a testament to historical significance, spiritual harmony and cultural richness.
2. Dargahs are shrines built over graves of revered religious figures, most often Sufi saints. The Ajmer Dargah is the mausoleum of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (also spelt Muinuddin or Mu’in al-din), fondly known as Gharib Nawaz, one of the most pivotal figures for the spread of Sufism in the subcontinent. It was built by Mughal King Humayun in honour of the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.
3. According to historical records from the ‘Siyar-ul-Auliya’ (a comprehensive biography of Sufi saints), Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti arrived in Ajmer from Persia around 1192 CE, establishing the foundations of the Chishti Sufi order in India. His teachings emphasised universal love, peace, and spiritual equality.
4. Architecture of Ajmer Dargah: The Dargah complex is a example of Indo-Islamic architecture. The white marble shrine, adorned with intricate silver and gold decorations, reflects the architectural sophistication of the medieval period. The main gate, known as the Nizam Gate, was donated by the Nizam of Hyderabad in the 19th century, symbolising the widespread reverence for the saint.
5. According to Explore Rajasthan, Ajmer Dargah is a “true representative of the Mughal style of architecture” with the structure of the Dargah having “the touches of Humayun to Shah Jahan.” The grave is encased within a silver railing and adorned with a marble screen. Nearby, a dedicated prayer room, constructed by Chimni Begum, the daughter of Shah Jahan, offers a serene space exclusively for women.
6. The Ajmer Dargah has been part of India’s cultural diplomacy too, especially with its neighbours. While former US President Barack Obama has offered a chadar, political leaders from the neighborhood, including Pervez Musharraf, General Zia-ul-Haq, Benazir Bhutto, and Sheikh Hasina, among others, have personally visited the Dargah.
History of Ajmer City
1.Ajmer, then referred to as Ajaymeru, was once the capital of the Chauhans, a Rajput clan that ruled parts of present-day Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh from the seventh to the 12th centuries CE. Ajaydeva is credited with constructing the city in the mid-12th century.
2. The town was sacked by the Afghan invader Muhammad of Ghor after he defeated Prithviraj III (popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan) in the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192. The Ghurid army killed, looted, and “destroyed the pillars and foundations of the idol temples” in Ajaymeru, Har Bilas Sarda, an Ajmer-based jurist, wrote in Ajmer: Historical and Descriptive (1911). Sarda’s book is the primary source material cited in the petition filed before the court.
3. Subsequently, the city fell into a state of disrepair for almost 400 years, until it saw a revival during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar (1556-1605). The mausoleum itself was built some time in the second half of the 15th century.
BEYOND THE NUGGET: Sufism
1. Sufism, the mystical aspect of Islam, emerged between the 7th and 10th centuries as a counterweight to the orthodoxy of the clergy, and the increasing worldliness of the ummah. Islamic texts refer to Sufism as tasawwuf.
2. Sufis embraced a more ascetic and devotional form of Islam, and often engaged in a variety of mystical practices. Eventually, Sufi practitioners came to be organised in various orders which congregated around the teachings of a certain teacher or wali.
3. Sufi traditions — especially those of the Chishti order of Sufism to which Moinuddin and later Sufi masters such as Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, and Nasiruddin Mahmud Chiragh Dehlavi, all of Delhi, belonged — drew heavily from pre-existing local practices, which were seen as heretical in orthodox Islam. The Chishti saints in India preached a message of tolerance and inclusivity.
(Sources: Ajmer Sharif Dargah: Rajasthan’s beacon of spiritual and cultural richness, Explained: Story of the Ajmer dargah and Khwaja Garib Nawaz)
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Photograph of Ajmer Sharif from Reema Abbasi’s book Historic Temples in Pakistan: A Call to Conscience. 
Ajmer Sharif Dargah will observe its 813th Urs in January next year. (File)
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