ABSTRACT
As one of the most popular and widely patronized Sufi shrines in India,1 the burial shrine, or dargah, of the Chishti saint Khwaja Mu‘in ud-din Chishti, located in Ajmer Sharif (a city found in the Northwest state of Rajasthan), evokes a number of associations that suggest that a desire for harmonious communal relationships lies at the heart of ritual exchanges between the Muslim servants of the shrine and their clients. The shrine is regularly touted in the mainstream English-language press as a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity. Until the bomb blasts of October 2007 that took place within the shrine complex, it was widely perceived to be a place untouched by both communal strife and the threat of terrorism. It is frequently described as an example of cultural fusion and “national integrity,” shorthand for the Government of India’s purported efforts to bring about the national integration of India’s various communities.2 It is a sacred realm where pilgrims seek to tap into the spiritual power that resides within the shrine and its saint, regardless of caste, class, creed, national origin, political affi liation, or secular or religious mindset; all who come are believed to have been “called” by Khwaja Mu‘in ud-din, or Gharib Nawaz (Reliever of the Poor), as he is affectionately known.3
