Mumbai: A 102 years after Sai Baba, considered by the devout to be the Saint of Shirdi, passed away, a heated debate has begun in Maharashtra on the 19th century spiritual figure’s birthplace — Pathri in Parbhani district or Shirdi in Ahmednagar district.
At the heart of the controversy is Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s decision to earmark Rs 100 crore for the development of facilities at Pathri — which the state government has recognised as the “Sai Janmasthan (his birthplace)”.
The decision comes two years after the Pathri Temple Trust had submitted its plans to the then Devendra Fadnavis-led government to develop the village as the Sai Baba’s birthplace. The BJP-led government had put the proposal on the backburner, and the Shiv Sena, which was a partner in that government, had also kept silent.
Announcing the Rs 100-crore allocation, however, Sena CM Thackeray called Pathri the “birthplace” of Sai Baba. And that has led to a frantic search for evidence at both Shirdi and Pathri, fuelled by political fire, to refute each others’ claims.
Shirdi observed a one-day bandh Sunday, with shops and businesses in a majority of the villages remaining shut. Those in Shirdi had also called for an indefinite bandh in the temple town from Sunday midnight but it was called off by evening on the assurance of a meeting with Thackeray.
The Shirdi Temple Trust is now gearing up to take on the state government if the talks with the chief minister don’t yield a favourable result. Local residents have even threatened to indefinitely shut down the entire town, including the Sai Baba temple.
In response, those in Pathri took to the streets singing bhajans praising the life and miracles of the Sai Baba. They will be singing bhajans until an amicable solution is found by the chief minister.
The Pathri Temple Trust, meanwhile, furnished at least 29 documents as evidence to support its claim that Sai Baba — whose place of birth and antecedents remain a mystery — was born in the town. The trust referred to scriptures written by Dasganu Maharaj and Swami Sai Sharananand (both from Ahmednagar) both of which state that Sai Baba was born in Pathri.
Sanjay Bhusari, a trustee of the Pathri Temple Trust, has been providing the media with the “evidence”, which is a book penned in English by B.V. Narasimha Swami, a Sai devotee from Chennai. The book refers to Pathri as the saint’s birthplace, he said.
According to Bhusari, several scriptures from the past refer to Pathri as the saint’s birthplace. He pointed out that the eighth edition of Sai Charitra, published by the Shirdi Temple Trust in the 1970s, mentions Pathri as the birthplace of the saint.
According to those in the know of the temple politics, the fight is also about not losing the devout who throng Shirdi in large numbers. “If it is conceded that Pathri is the place of birth, there will be a huge rush of devotees there too,” said a source. “Both places can be developed and connected for the devotees. The Shirdi Temple Trust would not like to lose the large-scale donations to Pathri.”
Also read: Modi the new Shivaji? BJP member’s PM tribute angers Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP
The politics in the pious
The controversy has also dragged in local politicians of Ahmednagar and Parbhani, with the elected representatives of the districts, cutting across party lines, sticking together to defend the saint’s “karmabhoomi” and the “janmabhoomi”.
For instance, Shiv Sena MP Sadashiv Lokhande, who is from Shirdi, has been staunchly defending Sai Baba’s Shirdi “roots”, while another Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Jadhav is defending the Pathri “roots” of the saint who propagated the belief Sabka Malik Ek (There is only one God).
Lokhande is not happy with the budget allocated by Thackeray, also his party chief, to Pathri. “Sai Baba belongs to Shirdi. I am a Sai bhakt first and a Shiv Sainik later,” Lokhande told the media. Meanwhile, Jadhav, who sat singing Sai bhajans through the day Sunday, feels it is time the people of Shirdi gave Pathri its due.
The protest in Shirdi is reportedly being fuelled by BJP MLA Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, who was once a Shiv Sena MLA.
The Vikhe-Patils who have moved from the Congress to the Shiv Sena, and back to the Congress, and now to the BJP have a stranglehold over the temple and its precincts. The temple committee is usually made up of members of the party of the day that the Vikhe-Patils belong to. At present, there is an ongoing tussle between the Shiv Sena and the BJP over the control of the Sai Baba Temple.
“The chief minister should withdraw his statement that Sai Baba was born in Pathri,” Vikhe-Patil told the media. “Pathri is one among the many temples of Sai Baba, while Shirdi has the single biggest temple that attracts lakhs of devotees every day. The Sai devotees are deeply hurt. The chief minister should rein in the controversy.”
Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, however, urged the people of Shirdi and Pathri to maintain calm. “What is the opposition to developing both places? Sai Baba was not confined to one place. He is omnipresent and his fame has spread across the world,” he said.
Bhujbal is a legislator from Yeola, which is close to Shirdi. “There are temples in every place dedicated to Sai Baba. That shows the expansion of his ideals and its acceptance,” he said. “There is no need for this controversy. It should not be politicised.”
Bhujbal’s sentiments have been echoed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. “No one should say anything to add to the controversy. It needs to be quietened,” Pawar said. “The chief minister will find a middle path.”
The chief minister has called both parties to Mantralaya, the administrative headquarters, for discussions Monday.
Also read: Mantralaya’s room 602 — an office so ‘unlucky’ that Ajit Pawar has refused to occupy it
A wealthy temple
The Sai Baba Temple in Shirdi is among the richest in the country. According to temple sources, the throne on which Sai Baba is seated is made up of 94 kg of gold. The daily footfall at the temple is pegged at anywhere between 50,000 and 60,000. On festive days, the estimated daily visitor number is 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh.
The temple receives donations in cash, cheques, online payments, gold and silver. The income has been steadily growing over the years, despite recession, the sources said.
In the 11-day period from 22 December 2018 to 1 January 2019, the temple earned Rs 14.54 crore, said Chandrashekhar Kadam, vice-chairman of the Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust. Last year, the temple received Rs 287 crore in donations, Kadam said.
As for the temple in Pathri, if the chief minister’s plans do go through, roads leading to the temple will be widened while the main building will get a spacious meditation centre and prasadalaya (where devotees partake free food served by the temple). The plan also includes dharamshalas, toilets and bathrooms for the visiting devotees.
Also read: Uddhav Thackeray, once a critic of dynastic politics, now has 22 dynasts in his cabinet
Is this the CAA of the Thackeray government. Instead of immediate attention being paid to burning issues like farmers distress and suicides, high rates of unemployment and other important issues that concern the poor and common people a unnecessary issue has been raised with the promise of spending 100 crores of tax payers money without any rhyme or reason, except on the dispute claims that a godman was born there. Would not the same amount of money be better used to alleviate the distress of the marginalized farmers and the unemployed?
Such a shame… Fighting over a person who is not personally related to one just for the sack of money… People are minting money in the name of Shirdi Sai Baba…and don’t want their earning to be divided…Still can’t understand who anyone can claim right over him…
What difference does it make if two places are built n 2 tmples are made after all sai baba ji is omni present he is everywhere this is all politically motivated
It is all economics stupid! If pathri is developed as Sai Baba’s birth place, Shirdi will lose all the business opportunities coming to it on account of visits of tens of thousands of devotees. Incidentally, only gullible Hindus can become devotees of a Muslim saint Have we ever seen Muslim devotees of any Hindu deity or saint, say Raghavendra Swamy of Mantralaya?
Yes some muslims follow gajanan Maharaj of shegaon and Lord vithhala of pandharpur there are other example tooo.
At a time people are being made to dig up papers to answer where we and our forefathers were born, it is another controversy over Babaji place of birth to create two Sai Baba, BJP and Shiv Sena Sai Baba and that too the ruling establishment managed to legally claim the exact spot of Lord Rama’s birth place where Masjid stood and demolished by hooligans.