JAISALMER — How does a community produce paperwork for a shrine that has existed for nearly 250 years? That question lies at the heart of a growing controversy in Rajasthan’s border district of Jaisalmer, where an administrative notice seeking land ownership documents for the historic Mehmood Shah Peer Jilani mazar has sparked protests and a wider debate over faith, heritage and governance.
The notice, issued under the administration’s ongoing “Operation Clean” drive against alleged illegal constructions within a 50-km radius of the India-Pakistan border, directs the shrine management to submit land-related documents by June 22, failing which action could begin after June 23 under the Rajasthan Colonisation Act.
For officials, the move is part of a routine verification exercise in a sensitive border zone.
For local residents, however, it raises a larger question: should centuries-old religious sites be judged solely by modern documentation standards?
Villagers argue that expecting documentary proof for structures established hundreds of years ago ignores the historical realities of western Rajasthan, where many shrines, temples and community spaces predate formal land-record systems.
Congress District President Amardin Fakir said the issue extends beyond a single shrine.
“Earlier, restrictions were limited to a 10-kilometre belt along the border. Later, they were extended to 15 kilometres and now effectively impact areas up to nearly 50 kilometres. A large portion of Jaisalmer’s population falls within this zone,” he said.
Fakir added that residents fear future action could extend beyond religious sites.
“Many religious places here are centuries old. At the time they were established, maintaining formal records was not a priority. It is unfair to interfere with matters of faith merely because documents are unavailable today,” he said.
Former Ramgarh Sarpanch Govind Bhargava recalled that when the Army was constructing infrastructure in the border region around 1980, villagers informed officials about the shrine’s significance.
This story was originally published in clarionindia.net. Read the full story here.
