Attempts to appropriate the 600-year-old shrine of Imam Shah Baba, a figure revered by both Hindus and Muslims are at their peak
By KARUNA JOHN
The last time most media focussed on Pirana village, a short drive away from Ahmedabad, Gujarat was when the trust that looks after the 600-year-old dargah (shrine) of Imam Shah Baba, a figure revered by Muslims, Hindus and others, suddenly decided to build a wall between the shrine and a mosque next to it, virtually cutting off smooth passage between the two. This was seen by the minority Muslim community as a “deliberate act of aggression”, and many families migrated out of the village. Nearly 500 of them were detained, and released later.
They are all now back home in Pirana, but last week, to their shock, they realised that a major transformation had taken place inside the dargah compound which had been closed until recently, as there was a massive conclave of Hindutva groups.
According to Azhar Saiyyed, one of the descendants of the Pir, who lives in Pirana, there was a programme by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from March 1-17, and on March 19-20, there was another program by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal. Entry to the dargah was restricted to all other people during this period. He told SabrangIndia, that this decision had been informed beforehand by the dargah committee, and the villagers wanted to maintain peace, so they did not object to it. However, when they visited the shrine on Saturday, to mark Shab-e-Barat they saw that there were statues of Hindu gods installed in the dargah compound!
“Even the gaddi (seat) of Imam Shah Baba was broken and a statue they say is of him was placed there,” recalled Azhar. Locals shared photos showing a statue of a bearded man installed. A man wearing a saffron cap is seen putting a tilak (Hindu vermillion mark of prayer, reverence or respect) on the statue. However Muslim devotees are aghast that any such statue has been installed, as Islam does not permit idor worship or reverance of any statues.
This story was originally published in sabrangindia.in. Read the full story here.
