The Dhaka Times Desk The Delhi High Court has sought an apology from the Dargah authorities and the government as to why women are not allowed to enter the shrine inside the Hazrat Nizamuddin (RA) Dargah in the capital of India, New Delhi.
According to media reports, a group of law students from Pune, India, visited Delhi last week and complained that they were not allowed to enter the shrine when they visited Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah.
The women have filed a petition against the 'discrimination' of the darga authorities in the light of the recent verdict of the Supreme Court of India allowing women of menstruating age to enter the Sabarimala temple in Kerala.
During the hearing of the case, the High Court has asked the central government of India, the Aam Aadmi Party government of Delhi, the Delhi Police and the Hazrat Nizamuddin Darga for their clear statements on the matter.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice VK Rao of the Delhi High Court ordered all parties concerned to file their replies by April 11 next year, Indian news agency PTI said.
On the other hand, the judges said that the Delhi High Court will keep an eye on what happens in the hearing of the petition filed in the Supreme Court in appeal against the Supreme Court's Sabarimala verdict.
Notably, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya was a famous Sufi saint of the 13th century, the famous Nizamuddin Dargah in Delhi is built around his tomb.
Not only Muslims but also many people of other religions consider it as a holy place of pilgrimage. Millions of devotees from home and abroad visit this dargah every year.
The students of Pune say that even though they were able to enter the Dargah square, they were surprised when they saw that inside the building surrounding Nizamuddin Auliya's grave, girls were not even allowed to set foot there.
The students told 'Live Law' magazine, "There is also a notice hanging outside to prevent girls from entering. They said, girls cannot enter the shrine, they can only peep what the men are doing inside the shrine."
They alleged that they did not even seek the help of the Delhi Police against such 'discriminatory' practices.
Due to which the students have resorted to the Delhi High Court because of the compulsion, their lawyer Kamlesh Kumar Mishra told the media.
Incidentally, the Supreme Court of the country had allowed girls between the ages of 10 and 50 to enter the Sabarimala temple about two and a half months ago. However, no woman of that age has been able to enter the temple in Kerala due to the huge obstacles of the temple devotees and the BJP.
With the support of the Kerala state government and police security, several women tried to enter Sabarimala - but they too had to return from a long way from the temple's sanctum sanctorum.
It remains to be seen whether there will be any debate or movement again like Sabarimala regarding the right of women to enter the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargar.
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