Angered by the construction of the wall around the dargah, hundreds of Saiyed Muslims of Pirana left their homes and began a protest march towards the collector's office.
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On 30 January 2022, a viral video, showing hundreds of people walking, claimed that Muslim residents of a Gujarat village are migrating out of the village owing to the harassment by Hindu right-wing goons. These claims were, however, immediately refuted by the residents.
The Quint reached Pirana village, 20 km from Ahmedabad, where the incident happened, to understand what the actual issue is.
Pir Imamshah Bawa was a Satpanth preacher in the 14th-15th century, who is buried in Pirana, a village whose entire population is Satpanthi -- both Muslims and Hindus.
The Trust passed a resolution to erect a wall around the dargah. The resolution was supported by the majority of seven Satpanthi trustees, while the Saiyed trustees opposed the construction.
The Satpanthi trustees, however, maintained that the Trust had always been functioning through the majority vote.
The current construction of the wall isn't the sole cause of this unrest. The Saiyeds allege that there have been gradual attempts to change the identity of the shrine.
Residents credit this transition to the rising value of the property of the Trust.
"The Trust was run smoothly by the older generation. As the income and the funds of the trust grew over the years, the newer generation got concerned that all the activities of the prosperous Trust is labelled under a Muslim name. They want to convert it," claimed resident Saiyed Parveen.
Angered by the construction of the wall around the dargah, hundreds of Saiyed Muslims of Pirana left their homes and began a protest march towards the collector's office.
133 protesters, including 64 women, were detained by the police and taken to different police stations. The protesters were released within a few hours, and later, police force was deployed in Pirana.
Villagers hope that the dargah remains in its older form and communal tensions are avoided.
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