It is the syncretic culture that the Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti dargah in Ajmer represented that terrorists were seeking to undermine with their attack on Thursday. The dargah houses the tomb of the 13th-century Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti.

The saint preached a gentle form of Islam, one that emphasised the unity of all religions, which has followers not only among Shia and Sunni Muslims but among millions of Hindus as well. Thousands of devotees flock to this shrine every year from all over the world.

The shrine therefore bridged not only the sectarian divide among Muslims but also reached out equally to Muslims and Hindus. Places of worship have been the site of terror attacks in recent years. A few years ago temples were targeted by terrorist outfits.

More recently, mosques have been targeted especially on Fridays or at a time when worshippers would congregate to offer prayers. The targeting of a Sufi shrine was as much about striking at a place of worship on the eve of Eid even as thousands of worshippers were breaking their day-long fast, as it was about hitting out at a strain of the religion that promotes unity of Godhead and universal human brotherhood.

This is not the first time that a Sufi shrine has come in for attack from terrorists. Followers of Sufism and their shrines came under fire from puritanical Islamists in Jammu and Kashmir right from the early years of the insurgency there.

This pushed the practice of Sufi traditions and rituals indoors and brought in its place a more conservative and rigid interpretation of Islamic teachings. The assault on the Ajmer shrine is part of the larger project to rid Islam of moderate influences. It is an attempt to prevent the people in this country from sharing religious principles and cultural practices.

It is not only Islamic fundamentalists who have frowned upon the practice of Sufism. As bitterly opposed to its syncretic beliefs are fundamentalists among Hindus, who have sought to rid Hinduism of “outside influences”.

Those who carried out the attack on the dargah at Ajmer were fundamentalists and they could be either Hindu or Muslim. Investigations into the attack should therefore examine it from every possible angle.

Police and intelligence agencies will have to be on greater alert in the coming month as several religious festivals are being celebrated across the country. Places of worship and markets will be crowded and are tempting targets of attack for terrorists. Security in such places should be stepped up.