Centre is likely to decide next week whether to takeover the management of the 800-year-old dargah in Ajmer dedicated to the revered 12th century Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. According to reliable sources, the state police and intelligence agencies have recommended that the affairs of the shrine be managed by a trust under the direct control of the Centre. The recommendations were discussed at a meeting in Delhi held by Salman Khurshid, minister of state independent charge Union ministry of minority affairs. The suggestions forwarded by agencies also recommended the shrine be managed by a trust akin to the Tirupati Venkateswara Temple Trust model. This would bring about transparency in the day-to-day functioning of the dargah. The present management of the dargah has been accused of mismanagement of funds.
Investigations by intelligence agencies have disclosed many sordid aspects of the dargah management. The dargah is visited by thousands of devotees, politicians and celebrities from all over the world and receives crores of rupees for which no account is maintained. Many khadims are millionaires with assets that are spread all over the world for instance a lot of khadims own real estate and properties overseas. At the moment there are over 5,000 khadims with about 1,900 in the voters’ list in the dargah who are in the profession due to lineage or being sheer disciples of the Khawaja. “We do have a functional trust as per the Dargah Khwaja Saheb Act of 1955 governing the Ajmer shrine. The government can’t change the custom that has been continuing for years.”
Among other things of concern were the porous security arrangements at the dargah, wherein very recently there was a case of stabbing in the dargah premises. It is likely that the decision to pass on the responsibility of security arrangements at the dargah from the state police to Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) would also be finally decided in the meeting. The Government should consider clearing the entire area and creating a dedicated corridor like at Tirupati, Golden Temple and the Vaishno Devi Temple at Dargah also so that visitors will not get problems in Dargah.
Source: TOI News
Investigations by intelligence agencies have disclosed many sordid aspects of the dargah management. The dargah is visited by thousands of devotees, politicians and celebrities from all over the world and receives crores of rupees for which no account is maintained. Many khadims are millionaires with assets that are spread all over the world for instance a lot of khadims own real estate and properties overseas. At the moment there are over 5,000 khadims with about 1,900 in the voters’ list in the dargah who are in the profession due to lineage or being sheer disciples of the Khawaja. “We do have a functional trust as per the Dargah Khwaja Saheb Act of 1955 governing the Ajmer shrine. The government can’t change the custom that has been continuing for years.”
Among other things of concern were the porous security arrangements at the dargah, wherein very recently there was a case of stabbing in the dargah premises. It is likely that the decision to pass on the responsibility of security arrangements at the dargah from the state police to Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) would also be finally decided in the meeting. The Government should consider clearing the entire area and creating a dedicated corridor like at Tirupati, Golden Temple and the Vaishno Devi Temple at Dargah also so that visitors will not get problems in Dargah.
Source: TOI News
Khadims.. will never let it happen.. dargah is golden hen
ReplyDeleteDe do bhai sahi h
ReplyDeleteThis will be nice step...
ReplyDeleteatleast our dargah area will be clean and secure from anti national activists