Author: Bisheshwar Mishra
Publication: The Times
of India
Date: December 4, 2000
Ajmer - Politics never
ceases to amaze. Home Minister L K Advani on Sunday prayed at Hazrat
Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti's dargah here. The local Muslims were ecstatic
and thronged the dargah in huge numbers to watch the spectacle.
There was a popular request
from the crowd: Give a little speech. Advani readily obliged.
He said: ''India is a multi-community country and all of them strive to
be good people. That is why every community comes to this dargah.''
He said though the 20th century was identified with the Western world,
''if all communities here worked hard unitedly, then the 21st century will
certainly belong to Bharat (India).'' To this the crowds responded with
''Aameen'' (So be it).
Welcoming Advani, Syed
Sarvar Chisti on behalf of the 'Khadims' - the traditional caretakers and
descendants of the Khwaja - said: ''Advani's homage to the shrine has set
a new tone. We hope this step would be an earnest and sincere effort
in promoting communal harmony in the interest of national integrity....
We pray for our beloved nation and its people. May this sincere gesture
of Advani bring the two major communities of Bharat closer. Aameen.''
The visit to the dargah
during the current Ramzan is significant in view of Advani's hardline Hindutva
image and is obviously meant to send a message to Indian Muslims as also
to Pakistan. Coming as it does during the ceasefire in Kashmir, the
visit assumes added importance. The Ajmer dargah, like most dargahs,
is visited by both Muslims and Hindus. Ajmer, in particular, has
been historically a setting for communal confluence. This probably
explains the visit.
Later, asked by reporters
if the visit indicated a shift in the party line, Advani said: ''As far
as the BJP is concerned, all religions are equal. It is only the
Marxists who have distorted the definition of secularism. According
to them (Marxists), any one going to the temple or mosque or being religious
is anti-secular. We don't subscribe to this view.''
