NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent a ceremonial chador to be offered at the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, Rajashthan, on the occasion of the 805 Urs of the great Sufi saint of the subcontinent.

A Times of India report said the chador will be laid on behalf of the prime minister by his representatives at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah during the Urs, which begins on March 30.

On Friday, Mr Modi handed over the chador to the minister of state for minority affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, and the minister of state in the PMO, Jitendra Singh.

The report said that the PM conveyed greetings and best wishes to the Sufi saint’s followers across the world.

The great 6th century Sufi saint is also known as ‘Gharib Nawaz', or the patron of the poor.

In his message, Mr Modi said “Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti is a symbol of the great spiritual traditions of India. Gharib Nawaz’s service of humanity would remain an inspiration for future generations.”

He offered his best wishes for the successful conduct of the Urs.

Only on Wednesday, a court in Jaipur had sentenced two Hindu hardliners to life imprisonment for their involvement in a 2007 blast at the Ajmer shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti that killed three people and injured more than a dozen.

News reports said the convicts were former preachers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), whose political wing is India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2017