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Journalism of Courage
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday raked up the Haji Malang Dargah issue, which right wing groups claim is a temple, saying he was committed to the “liberation” of the centuries-old structure.
“I know your feelings about Malanggad. Anand Dighe started the liberation movement of Malanggad after which we have started saying ‘Jay Malang Shri Malang’. I want to let you know that there are certain things that can’t be said in public. I know that there are certain beliefs that you have in your hearts about the liberation of Malanggad. Let me say this that Eknath Shinde will not stay quiet till he fulfills your wishes,” Shinde said while addressing the “Malanggad Harinam Mahotsav”, a religious gathering in Thane district.
The Haji Malang Dargah, which is located on a hill south of Kalyan, is named after sufi saint Haji Abd-ul-Rahman, popularly known as Haji Malang Baba.
However, in the mid-eighties, the local unit of the Shiv Sena led by Dighe started an agitation stating that the structure was in fact the location of an old Hindu shrine belonging to Nath Panth, on order of yogis. The Shiv Sena was the first to start a campaign to reclaim the said structure which they refer to as Malanggad.
The Gazetteers of Bombay Presidency that was published in 1882 makes a reference to the structure stating that the shrine built in the honour of an Arab missionary, Haji Abd-ul-Rahman, who came with a number of followers and settled on the lower plateau of the hill, was in existence since the 12th century.
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