Exclusive: Sheikh Hasina to begin India visit from Delhi's Nizamuddin Dargah
Handwritten message by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman & a reply from Sheikh Rehana, sister of PM Hasina
Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina will be beginning her India visit next week from the much-revered Nizamuddin Dargah in Delhi on Monday. The holy Sufi shrine has been an important pilgrimage site for both PM Hasina and her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for more than half a century. During the visit, PM Hasina is expected to meet Syed Basit Nizami, who is the Sajjada nashin or successor of a Sufi master who is custodian or trustee at a shrine. 'Bangabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman used to come to meet his grandfather — Syed Mohamad Miya Nizami, and his father, Kabir Uddin Nizami.
In a conversation with WION, Syed Basit said, "PM Hasina's father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman used to come to my grandfather, then after his death, Sheikh Hasina used to come to meet my father. She met my father, both in Dhaka and Delhi and even today, she remembers my father by face. I will be meeting her for the first time. I am hopeful the meeting will be good."
The almost 700-year-old Dargah is the nerve centre of Sufi culture in India and PM Hasina was a regular visitor to the famous Nizamuddin Dargah during her stay in Delhi from 1975 to 1981 after the assassination of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
After the assassination of Bangabandhu, the then Indian PM Indira Gandhi had given asylum to Sheikh Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana.
Interestingly, it was on 9th April 1981 when Sheikh Hasina happened to visit the holy place that gave her the strength to go back to her country and find those responsible for killing her father. During that visit, she was given a document, written by her father during his visit to the shrine on 9th April 1946, a moment that she still cherishes.
Syed Basit Nizami pointed out, "If she is coming, she is coming with a wish. I will do dua for her as my father and grandfather did. I hope, she goes from here happy."
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Sheikh Hasina had been to the Nizamuddin Dargah in 1997 but the upcoming visit will be her first in her capacity as prime minister. The Bangladesh PM will be on India visit from 5th to 8th September, during which he will hold talks with Indian PM Modi, with a key focus on connectivity, and water sharing. This time during her Indian stay, she will not only visit the Dargah in Delhi but also the Ajmer Sharif Dargah in Rajasthan. The Bangladeshi PM had visited Ajmer Sharif in 2017 and before that in 2010 when she became the prime minister for the second time.
Farid Ahmed Nizami, custodian of Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia, said, "Sheikh Hasina will be coming to the Dargah on 5th September. She has an old connection with the Dargah through her father. Her father used to visit the place. She has been here in the past."
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The holy sufi shrine Nizamuddin Dargah has seen visited by many foreign dignitaries. These include Saudi Arabia's King Faisal, leaders from Iran, Iraq and Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf and Hina Rabbani Khar. Clearly, the dargah has spiritual and diplomatic significance in the region and beyond.