Tripura: 400 years old Muslim shrine emerges as symbol of communal harmony

Agartala: Established in the Bengali year of 1018, a Muslim shrine located a few kilometres away from Tripura's capital city Agartala has emerged as a symbol of communal harmony and brotherhood for the area.

The Hindus and Muslims of the Jaypur village in Ramnagar consider this holy shrine as an epitome of divine presence and guidance.

Irrespective of their personal faith, people in large numbers gather here to seek the blessings of the Almighty. “The god has different names and visual descriptions in different religions, but what makes us one is the religion of humanity. This Dargah, which is widely known as Gaji Babar Maza,r is a place where the religious and social divides get blurred, and people from both Hindu and Muslim communities pray for their well-being,” said Subal Das, a practicing Hindu and the president of the Dargah’s managing committee.

The annual fair and festival of the shrine is set to begin on December 16. It will continue till December 19 next. “Thousands of people from different parts of the state come here and participate in the prayers. This year, we are organising a series of cultural events as well. Local MLA of our constituency and Mayor of Agartala Municipal Corporation Dipak Majumder has given his consent to inaugurate the festival,” Das added.

According to Das, Khichudi will be served on the day of the festival to the devotees. “Separate arrangements had been made to prepare Khichdi for the Muslims and Hindus. We hope this year’s festival will reach greater public appreciation,” he said.

Even as the Dargah had been there for centuries, the previous government did not support the organiser in making the festival bigger. “For the last ten years, we have been organising the festival, and we received enormous support from the public,” Das explained.

On being asked about the history of the holy shrine, Secretary of the management committee Kamal Hossain said, “This Dargah has a long history. Our elders informed us that this Dargah was established by Saroj Fakir. There was a small room in the premises where the Dargah was rebuilt with new infrastructure. Saroj Fakir used to survive on the alms he used to receive from the locals and managed the Dargah. After he left for the heavenly abode, the locals took over the responsibility of managing and protecting it. Both Hindus and Muslims contribute equally to this place.”

Recalling a divine encounter, Hossain said, “Several years ago, local BSF troopers who were posted on the border duty saw a posse of people clad in white attire settling in the Dargah. They came running close, suspecting something was wrong, but by the time they reached the spot, there was nothing. After this incident, the popularity of the holy shrine increased. We have come across several people who shared that after participating in prayers held here, their lives changed.”

According to Hossain, in the last ten years, they have never faced any financial difficulty in organising the annual function. “We don’t know who donates what for this Dargah. Almost every day we receive flowers, sacks full of rice, and other lentils from people whom we don’t even know. People from faraway places like Kolkata send donations for the shrine,” he added.