Page 29 - English Tehelka Issue 3&4

Ancient Sufi shrine at centre

of another Mandir-Masjid row

Considered an oasis of peace and communal harmony, the Haji Malang dargah near
Mumbai has become a contentious issue with members of Hindu right-wing groups claiming
that it is an ancient temple and demanding control over it, manmohan singh noula reports

n the prevailing atmosphere ing Christians. A Sindhi family, for t parts of the country, some even
of hate and communal mis- the past two generations, has been from other countries, throng the
trust in the country, the Haji running a langar service or commu- dargah of Haji Malang to pay their
Malang dargah in Maharash- nity kitchen to provide food free of obeisance to the Sufi saint of the
I tra is one of the few places cost to the devotees. medieval era. They reach Kalyan
where people from every faith During the time of the legendary station by train and board either
come and bow their heads with Maratha warrior king Shivaji Maha- busses or auto-rickshaws to reach
reverence. The iconic mausoleum of raja, the mausoleum was gifted with Bammanwadi. To reach the dar-
Sufi saint Haji Malang, perched atop two cannons that are still kept out- gah, one has to negotiate 3,000 odd • All for peace Haji Malang dargah is one among the few shrines in the country that are considered symbols of communal amity
the Sahyadri range of mountains side the dargah. steps — a tedious task indeed, which
— 415 metres above sea level — is Many years ago, a lawyer named is done by devotees brimming with
situated a few kilometres from Amardas Gupta visited the shrine their spiritual desire to supplicate an aarti or pooja at dargahs. Accord- The Shiv Sena had first kicked har Joshi along with Shiv Sena leader
Kalyan railway station on the before the iconic saint. ing to some caretakers of the shrine up a controversy in 1986 over the Uddhav Thackeray had also attended
Central Railway route near Mumbai. During Urs, a Palki (Palanquin) whose names are being withheld to dargah claiming that it was actually the pooja that year and declared that
The dargah serves as a significant Saffron groups decked with flowers and fragrant protect their identities, the saffron the site of a 700-year-old Machin- the Malang Hills would be developed
example of communal harmony sandalwood is used to take out a groups do not limit their propagan- dranath Panth, heir of saint Adinath. into an all-religious shrine along the
since time immemorial. perform aarti at procession from here. According da to performing Hindu religious Late Anand Dighe, a mercurial Sena lines of Shirdi.
According to legend, when the the dargah and to custom, a group of people from rituals alone but insult the Muslims leader, in particular, espoused the The Shiv Sena, whose entire poli-
sufi baba reached the place hun- Mumbai Dockyard come here present at the shrine, asking them to cause in early 1996 and declared tics revolves around Maratha glory,
dreds of years ago, it was reeling shout communal on the occasion to take it on their remove their skull caps and verbally that they had been trying to “secure has also claimed that the shrine
under fear due to atrocities com- slogans, often shoulders for a mountain ride. abuse them. In fact, saffron flags justice” for several years but the erst- actually shot to prominence due to
mitted by the evil mortals, ‘Ayyars’ were put up in the vicinity of the dar- while Congress-led government had the Peshwas. The first Peshwa came
(devils in Urdu). In order to salvage insulting those Controversy mars bonhomie gah before the Urs festival that was paid no heed. to the dargah with offerings when he
the fear-stricken people, the saint A few ultra-right organisations held from January 15 to 31 this year. “Now that Shiv Shahi has been won his throne, as he attributed his
reached the Brahmin village of from other have sparked controversy by rak- “They come with lathis, wearing saf- established in Maharashtra, it is but victory to the dargah. The Urs palan-
Bammanwadi along with his Peer communities ing up unsubstantiated ‘history’ to fron scarves and shout slogans of ‘Jai appropriate that the original temple quin procession taken out every year
(spiritually acclaimed disciples), claim that the dargah was origi - Sri Ram’ and ‘Mandir wahin banaenge’ be restored and regular pooja be re- harks back to that historic event.
Wazirs (chief disciples) and his horse nally a temple. While the rumours to intimidate the Muslim devotees,” sumed at the site,” he had declared in Haji Malang dargah is one among
Duldul and fought valiantly against all the way from Kolkata (then Cal- first started doing the rounds in said a person who has witnessed the February 1996. Though the renaming the few shrines in the country that
the evil forces. In the village, a Brah- cutta) and he was so entranced by the 1980s, the campaign seeking aarti being performed several times. of the shrine was “one of the fore- are considered symbols of com -
min family looked after them well. baba Haji Malang’s spiritual charis- that the dargah be renamed Sri Dargah Trust Chairman Madhav most objectives” of the Sena, accord- munal amity as people from di -
Even today the dargah is looked ma that he gave up everything and Malangarh temple has been aggres- Gopal Ketkar has also filed a police ing to Dighe, he declared that they verse faiths visit them and pay
after by the same Hindu Brah - became his ardent disciple. Gupta sively accelerated by some saffron complaint against those who resort would not do it that year, in spite their obeisance. But the current
min family whose forefathers are set up an ashram near the dargah, political outfits in the past two years. to aggression against the devotees. of having used the renaming of the fissiparous tendency that has
believed to have guarded the shrine taking the name of Bengali Baba. According to caretakers of the Ketkar is also a member of the Hindu dargah as an effective campaigning gripped our nation with octopus-
at that time. The Dargah Trust com- Even after his death in the 1970s, his shrine, members of the Bajrang family that has been caretaker of the tool for the elections. On February 3, like tentacles has started showing its
prises of members of both the Mus- ashram is visited by devotees of the Dal and Shiv Sena hold an aarti at shrine for many generations. A case 1996, the day the annual Urs was to presence here too. And the irony is
lim and the Hindu communities. Sufi saint. the dargah premises on the day of was also filed by the Dargah Trust in commence (traditionally on Magh that the present dispensation is not
The place is revered not only On the occasion of the annual poornima or full-moon every month, the district court against organisa- Purnima), Dighe insisted on leading responding to it.
by Muslims and Hindus but other Urs (death anniversary of the saint), despite the fact that there has never tions claiming that the dargah was a 20,000 Shiv Sainiks to the shrine to
religious communities too, includ- lakhs of devotees from different been any concept of performing Hindu temple. perform pooja. Chief Minister Mano- letters@tehelka.com

tehelka / 28 february 2018 28 www.tehelka.com tehelka / 28 february 2018 29 www.tehelka.com

28-29 Manmohan Narula.indd 2-3 12/02/18 3:02 PM