Breathing fire, breathing easy

The Satara administration deserves all the credit for this bloodless coup. Collector Subbarao Patil, recently transferred here, has punctured the agitation by simply accepting all the demands of the saffron brigade, except for the pivotal one of demolishing the tomb.

And the VHP has jeopardised its case by pushing for the demolition. Most local Hindu groups here regard the tomb, built in 1659, as an emblem of Shivaji’s courage. When Praveen Togadia pronounced the decision to demolish the tomb, he perhaps had overlooked this bit of history that the tomb had been reportedly built by Shivaji himself.

Local VHP leader Babuji Natekar says, ‘‘We will go ahead with our agitation but we have no intention of demolishing the tomb. We have always said the government should do that.’’

In July, the VHP had shot off a letter to the Chief Minister’s office and the Satara headquarters. It stated a list of proposals for the tomb complex — destruction of the ‘‘illegal buildings’’ around the tomb, de-registration of the trust that looked after the tomb, steps to deglorify the site, celebration of Shiv Rajya Day (when Shivaji killed Afzal Khan) and also razing of the structure.

This charter of demands was a poor lift from the papers of local fundamentalist groups like Pratapgad Utsav Samiti, that have been involved with the issue for five years now.

The government had even restricted entry to the site following their agitation: No one has been allowed within 200 metre of the compound in the last three years.

Considering that the VHP’s presence here is almost negligible, it only means that some common member from Pratapgad Utsav Samiti had exported the issue just before the Maharashtra polls.

Explains Patil, ‘‘They said don’t glorify the tomb, we have removed all decorations and chandeliers from the site. The annual fair near the tomb every December has also been banned. Even the board of the tomb from a respectful ‘Hazrat Mohammed Afzal Khan has become Afzal Khan tomb, Maharashtra government’.’’

The collectorate in the last two months has bowed to all the Parivar’s wishes, except demolition. ‘‘Where is the issue, now,’’ the Collector asks.

He expresses surprise at the VHP’s wavering stance. On Thursday, all saffron parties and organisations had sat with the administration for five hours. By the end of the meeting, all representatives, including the VHP, had signed a letter stating their decision to take back the agitation. But a day later, VHP regional secretary Vyankatesh Abdev told reporters that the issue won’t be abandoned.

Shiv Sena chief in Satara, Narendra Patil says, ‘‘Frankly, there is nothing we can ask more. We were never keen on destroying the tomb, it stands for Chhatrapati’s valour.’’