Cement wall widens divide between Hindu and Muslim followers of Sufi Saint

The Ahmedabad district police on Sunday detained more than 100 people from Pirana village for protesting against construction of a wall inside the 14th century Sufi shrine of Imam Shah Bawa. Once famous as a place of communal harmony, the shrine has turned into a major dispute between Hindus and Muslims over control of its management for the past several decades.

More than 100 Muslim residents of Pirana village, about 20 km from Ahmedabad city, stormed the shrine premises after learning of construction of the wall in the place of barbed wire fencing. The wire fencing had first appeared in 2003 after Hindus and Muslims followers of Pir Imam Shah Bawa clashed. The fencing segregated the entire campus into two areas controled by Hindus and Muslim followers.

Locals said that as word spread of construction of the concrete wall in place of wire fencing, the villagers rushed to the spot. The local police bundled them into several police vehicles and kept them under detention at various police stations before releasing them later in the night.

Among the protesters were 64 women and 69 men, mostly from Pirana village. Ahmedabad district superintendent of police Virendra Singh Yadav said that the wall was being constructed following the permission of the collector. He said that police detained the villagers briefly to maintain law and order.

The shrine is run by Imamshah Bawa Roza Trust, which has nine trustees. Six of the trustees are Hindus while the rest three are Muslims. The Hindu followers of the Sufi saint are known as "Satpanthis" meaning "true path" while the Muslim devotees are called Shahdads as they are considered to be direct descendants of the saint.

At present, the shrine or dargah remains divided. The Satpanthis, who have a large chunk of the premises under their custody, call the place as "Prerna Tirth or Samadhi" and address Imam Shah Bawa as "Imam Shah Maharaj." The Muslim trustees have alleged the Hindus have approrpriated the shrine and "converted it into a Hindu temple" over the year.

One of the Muslim trustees, who was also detained by the police, told DH, "With the help of local administration and by dint of their majority, Hindu trustees are trying to take control of entire dargah. The collector gave them permission to construct the wall even without consulting us. The construction has damaged the graves of our ancestors. But, there is no one listening to our grievances."

When contacted, a Hindu trustee's associate said, "We are well within our rights to construct the wall. We have done it for the safety of the visitors as there have been instances of stone pelting and trespassing. We haven't damaged any graves or any structures for that matter."

Sources said that Hindu trustees are "renovating the campus" for hosting an annual event of RSS from March 9 to March 13. In the event, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and other top saffron leaders are expected to come.