A delegation of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) reached Pirana village on February 1. The objective of the visit was to provide legal aid by investigating the land dispute case of an ancient dargah alongside a graveyard.
The dispute came to view after videos from the village surfaced on Twitter where a large number of villagers, including women, can be seen pacing in one direction. A man in the video claimed that the members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh were driving them away from their village. However, residents refute such false claims.
The dispute was regarding a wall built in the graveyard of Pirana village of the city. Villagers protested the construction of a wall on the premises of Imamshah Bawa Sanstha Trust.
Situated in Pirana village on the outskirts of Ahmedabad city, the trust is the custodian of a dargah of Pir Imamshah Bawa, a mosque, a tomb of the Pir, and a graveyard. The followers of Pir Imamshah are Satpanthis.
The protest was carried out by residents of the village, mostly Saiyed Muslims, alleging that the construction of the wall cuts access to the dargah from the mosque and graveyard, on the premises. They also allege that it will “change the nature of the shrine”.
The Delegation of SDPI reached Pirana village to meet Naqib Sayyed, who is the responsible authority over the disputed land. The matter was discussed and all necessary information was retrieved which revealed that there was no communal dispute in Pirana village and the Muslims of the village were not forced out of their homes. False rumors of expulsion were doing the rounds on social media but in reality, there is no such thing.
Giving the actual details of the matter, Naqib Syed said that a wall has been built on the land of the graveyard which is registered with the Waqf Board. For this reason, the construction of the wall was being opposed by concerned local Muslim residents.
The trust’s management had complained to the government officials there, but due to lack of action from the administration, the dejected Muslims decided to leave their houses together and march to the collector’s office but were stopped mid-way by the local police.
Delegation of SDPI has thoroughly investigated the whole incident and after consultation with the authorities concluded that if the administration does not take necessary action in this matter and the Muslims of Pirana village do not get justice, the legal team of the SDPI will provide legal aid to the graveyard trust to agitate for justice for the residents of Pirana village.
