Welcome to our Pirana Dargah!

Pirana is a village near Ahmedabad, Here Hajrat Imamuddin Kufresikan (R.H) Dargah is situated, and some people referred it as an Imamshah bava Dargah or

Welcome to our Imamshah bava Dargah - Pirana Dargah!

Welcome to our Pirana Dargah!

Pirana is a village near Ahmedabad, Here Hajrat Imamuddin Kufresikan (R.H) Dargah is situated, and some people referred it as an Imamshah bava Dargah or Pirana dargah. The shrine also attracts followers from different parts of India. Hindu followers, called `Satpanthis', comprise 85 per cent of the sect. Several of them are from the Kutchi Patel community. Muslim followers, called `Saiyeds', are considered to be the saint's direct descendents.Both Hindu and Muslim devotees participate in this procession.

Fencing in Imamshah bava Dargah (Pirana Dargah)

A barbed wire fence was built separating the masjid from the dargah. Two entrances to the dargah were sealed off. "In our village, there is no discrimination. Only they are creating it within the shrine," said Chandrakant Patel, a Pirana resident from the Kutchi Patel community. "We used to pray at both the masjid and the dargah. After they put up the fence, it has become difficult to walk across and pray in both. They blocked the route of the Tazia procession. Hindus and Muslims have not done Tazia for six years. They are doing this to harass us. They want to cut off the Saiyeds totally and gain full control." The Kaka discarded his old title and re-appointed himself `Maharaj' and `Acharya'. The trust cut off water and electricity supply to the masjid, saying that it was not part of the dargah complex. The `Om' symbol was painted all over the shrine. The Dholia was renovated with pictures of Hindu gods. The communal violence of 2002 further emboldened the VHP. Led by Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi, an accused in the Naroda Patiya massacre (the worst mass murder in Gujarat), they stopped the traditional Tazia procession from the masjid to the dargah on the day of Moharram in January 2003.

Imamshsh bava Dargah (pirana Dargah) Controversy

Two copies of the "Kuran" placed near the Pir' Imamshah bava tomb mysteriously disappeared. One of them was handwritten by Imamshah Bawa. Other Islamic books lying near the tomb were also removed. A wooden box with silver used during the Moharram procession also disappeared. Framed copies of a farman, a document from King Aurangzeb donating 45 acres of land and money to the trust, also vanished. The original copy of this document is written on a silver plate, which is in the trust's possession. The 50-year-old tomb of Saiyed Taskdukhusain, a trustee, located near the dargah, was demolished completely.

Imamshah bava Dargah Trust

The court ordered that a public trust be set up to manage the property. The trust was to consist of seven Satpanthi and three Saiyed representatives elected every five years. But elections to the trust have not been held for the past 15 years. A conflict between the Satpanthis and the Saiyeds emerged when the last religious leader Karsan Das Kaka tried to Hinduise the belief. The dispute has resulted in a spate of legal battles. IN the late 1980s, the Kaka made several changes to the literature, rituals and prayers, removing any hint of Islamic influence. When this writer visited the shrine, the guide appointed by the trust made it a point to keep telling her, "This is a Hindu samadhi mandir. It has no connection with Islam." "Our prayers had words like Om as well as Rehman and Rahim." "The shrine administration has taken out the Islamic words. They are destroying the meaning of the philosophy," said Bharat Patel, a carpenter who lives in Pirana. He is also a Satpanthi, but resents the hijacking of the sect by a few powerful Kutchi Patels. "They are like a gang. It has become very political. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bajrang Dal and the police are with them. Anyone who questions them is taken to the police station. There is no meaning to the Satpanth anymore. It has become very casteist. In the gurukul, they only look after the children of Kutchi Patels, not others. I used to go to the shrine everyday. But since they have destroyed it all, I don't go there. We don't get any respect," says Bharat Patel. In the post-Babri Masjid demolition fervour, the VHP allied with Karsan Kaka and the trustees to arrange a huge Sadhu Sammelan inside the dargah complex in 1993. They pledged to `re-convert' to Hinduism and change the shrine into a temple. The dargah was re-named `Prerna Pith' or `samadhi mandir’. Ironically, Saiyeds in Pirana who filed a case against the disappearance of these treasures were arrested for looting and sent to the Sabarmati Central Jail. What did they loot? Prasad from the temple - jaggery, sugar and coconuts. Every day, offerings from the dargah are supposed to be given to the Saiyeds. It is an old custom. But in 1998, the administration stopped the practice, in a move to further isolate the Saiyeds

Controversy During Moharram

In Imamshsh bava daragah

They blocked the route of the Tazia procession. Hindus and Muslims have not done Tazia for six years. They are doing this to harass us. They want to cut off the Saiyeds totally and gain full control." The Kaka discarded his old title and re-appointed himself `Maharaj' and `Acharya'. The trust cut off water and electricity supply to the masjid, saying that it was not part of the dargah complex. The `Om' symbol was painted all over the shrine. The Dholia was renovated with pictures of Hindu gods. The communal violence of 2002 further emboldened the VHP. Led by Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi, an accused in the Naroda Patiya massacre (the worst mass murder in Gujarat), they stopped the traditional Tazia procession from the masjid to the dargah on the day of Moharram in January 2003. Two copies of the "Kuran" placed near the Pir' Imamshah bava tomb mysteriously disappeared. One of them was handwritten by Imamshah Bawa. Other Islamic books lying near the tomb were also removed. A wooden box with silver used during the Moharram procession also disappeared.

Saiyed in Pirana

Framed copies of a farman, a document from King Aurangzeb donating 45 acres of land and money to the trust, also vanished. The original copy of this document is written on a silver plate, which is in the trust's possession. The 50-year-old tomb of Saiyed Taskdukhusain, a trustee, located near the dargah, was demolished completely. The court ordered that a public trust be set up to manage the property. The trust was to consist of seven Satpanthi and three Saiyed representatives elected every five years. But elections to the trust have not been held for the past 15 years. A conflict between the Satpanthis and the Saiyeds emerged when the last religious leader Karsan Das Kaka tried to Hinduise the belief. The dispute has resulted in a spate of legal battles. IN the late 1980s, the Kaka made several changes to the literature, rituals and prayers, removing any hint of Islamic influence. When this writer visited the shrine, the guide appointed by the trust made it a point to keep telling her, "This is a Hindu samadhi mandir. It has no connection with Islam." "Our prayers had words like Om as well as Rehman and Rahim." "The shrine administration has taken out the Islamic words. They are destroying the meaning of the philosophy," said Bharat Patel, a carpenter who lives in Pirana. He is also a Satpanthi, but resents the hijacking of the sect by a few powerful Kutchi Patels. "They are like a gang. It has become very political. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bajrang Dal and the police are with them. Anyone who questions them is taken to the police station. There is no meaning to the Satpanth anymore. It has become very casteist. In the gurukul, they only look after the children of Kutchi Patels, not others. I used to go to the shrine everyday. But since they have destroyed it all, I don't go there. We don't get any respect," says Bharat Patel. In the post-Babri Masjid demolition fervour, the VHP allied with Karsan Kaka and the trustees to arrange a huge Sadhu Sammelan inside the dargah complex in 1993. They pledged to `re-convert' to Hinduism and change the shrine into a temple. The Dargah was re-named `Prerna Pith' or `samadhi mandir’. Ironically, Saiyeds in Pirana who filed a case against the disappearance of these treasures were arrested for looting and sent to the Sabarmati Central Jail. What did they loot? Prasad from the temple - jaggery, sugar and coconuts. Every day, offerings from the dargah are supposed to be given to the Saiyeds. It is an old custom. But in 1998, the administration stopped the practice, in a move to further isolate the Saiyeds.