Shadow over Haji Malang renovation

The Hindu Manch, an organisation affiliated to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and backed by the Shiv Sena, claims the structure is a Naath Panthi (Sufi) shrine. Now, it also claims the Hajimalang Baba Dargah Trust (HBDT) committee has ever-so-subtly altered the shrine’s character via certain etchings, inscriptions and modifications during the renovation undertaken between October and December 1998. The committee, which comprises seven trustees (six Hindus and one Muslim) who oversee the shrine, of course, say this isuntrue.

In a complaint to the Thane Charity Commissioner (Religion) on January 23, Thane Sena President Anand Dighe, who is also executive-secretary of the manch, cites specific instances “of attempts to Islamise the shrine”.

According to manch Secretary Dinesh Deshmukh, replacing the old wooden chabutra covering the saint’s tomb with a marble one “gives it an Islamic look”. Maruti Hari Patil, chairperson of the HBDT, counters: “We went in for this renovation in marble on the walls, flooring and the chabutra because the shrine’s upkeep was getting maintenance- and cost-intensive. Do you think we would sit quietly if this secular shrine is Islamised when six of the seven trustees are Hindus?”

The lone Muslim trustee, Naseer Khan, who says the funds for the marble work were provided by an American devotee, adds: “We have simply tried to duplicate the woodwork in marble, as far as possible.”

But that is not all. The manch also alleges that Koranic inscriptionswere added during the renovation. Khan admits that the inscription on the inner walls are recent additions but, he says, the ones on the dome and outer walls have been there for two centuries. However, he could not explain why the traditional gopurs on the four corners of the wooden chabutra were replaced with minarets and why chand-sitara emblems have suddenly materialised on the marble chabutra. “We just wanted it to look ornamental,” he offers.

The manch also says an Arabic inscription in gold has been added to the chabutra. Khan justifies this saying it is merely the Sufi saint’s name — Sayyed Haji Malang Shah Baba. But the manch is far from convinced. It says Hindu icons like the shankha and the lotus inscribed on the shrine’s walls have been deliberately covered with plain marble. Also, it says, the peacocks painted on the back door have been painted over with the words: `Ya Allah’ and `Ya Moula’. The same inscriptions appear on thebrasswork on the inside of the door, which the manch claims, are last-minute additions.

The shrine has been mired in controversy for over five decades. Differences first surfaced when Muslims were hired to work for what is claimed to have been a Sufi shrine in the early 1920s. It was claimed that the workers, hired by Attyabai Ketkar, a descendent of the family which has been looking after the shrine since the 17th century, usurped her rights.

The dispute reached flashpoint in 1946 but the warring parties called a truce when the HBDT committee was set up in 1959. But a few years later, the fragile peace was shattered and the case was referred to the Supreme Court, which ruled in Ketkar’s favour in 1966, restoring the family’s rights.

Trouble resurfaced when the committee tried to get the shrine registered as a Muslim place of worship with the Charity Commissioner in 1982. The same year, the Thane District Court ruled that the status quo be maintained till a mutually acceptable solution is found.“Thus the HBDT’s violate the court order,” manch Secretary Dinesh Deshmukh, points out. HBDT members claim they had kept Dighe apprised of the renovation last year. “We even sent him an invitation to the function to inaugurate the renovated premises,” says Maruti Patil. “The fact that I declined the invitation speaks volumes, doesn’t it,” Dighe replies.