Mumbai: Members of the local Muslim community say they have decided to discontinue a decades-old ‘tradition’ which they observed at the Trimbakeshwar temple during an annual gathering at a nearby dargah.
The decision, they said, was made in light of tensions that erupted after it was alleged that a group forcibly tried to enter the temple in Nashik district.
On Wednesday, a meeting of community leaders and representatives of various political parties was held during which a consensus was reached to restore peace for the common good. “We came together and decided to maintain peace in the village and to ensure that communal tensions don’t flare up anywhere across Maharashtra because of our village,” Purushottam Lohagaonkar, local municipal council president, told ThePrint.
The pilgrimage town of Trimbakeshwar made headlines Saturday after it was alleged that a group of Muslims forcibly tried to enter the temple through its main entrance.
The police subsequently registered an FIR against four men — Akil Yusuf Sayyad, Salman Akil Sayyad, Matin Sayyad and Salim Sayyad. According to the FIR, a copy of which is with ThePrint, they were booked under Sections 295 (injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult religion of any class) and 511 (attempt to commit an offence punishable with life or other imprisonments) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Asked about the status of their complaint, Prashant Gaidhani, a member of the nine-member Trimbakeshwar Temple Trust, had told reporters, “The investigation is ongoing and the police have assured us further action and we welcome it.”
Matin Sayyad, who was part of the procession and has been named as an accused, had told the media Tuesday that the idea behind the age-old tradition is to pay respects to the deity housed at Trimbakeshwar.
“Our tradition is that, out of respect, we go to the steps of the entrance of the temple, show the fragranced smoke to the deity and pass. We have no other intention. We do this as per the tradition laid down by our ancestors,” he had said. “We did not enter the temple. But now, if these things are not accepted by the village, we will not do this henceforth.”
ThePrint reached Matin Sayyad via calls but had not received a response by the time of publication. This report will be updated when a response is received.
Local residents, too, told ThePrint that the ritual is an annual practice and that they suspect the role of outsiders who, they said, are trying to disturb the peace.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered the formation of a special investigating team (SIT) into the matter. Fadnavis — who is also home minister — said the SIT will “not only probe this year’s incident, but also last year’s incident when a certain mob had allegedly entered inside the Trimbakeshwar temple premises”.
He told the media later Tuesday that the government will “not spare anyone who tries to disturb the law and order situation in Maharashtra”.
As I said yesterday, anyone who tries to disturb the law and order situation in Maharashtra will not be spared !
These are deliberate attempts and it will not be tolerated at all.
Our Police were and are on alert mode 24×7 !#Maharashtra #Trimbakeshwar https://t.co/r6ZezVyfKh pic.twitter.com/TW3GmEMHxV
— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) May 16, 2023
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has alleged that this was a planned conspiracy to disturb peace and harmony in the state. “As per my information, the temple administration was pressured to give a complaint letter to the police. The government grabbed power in an immoral way and it does not have the support of the people. I see a conspiracy to create gangs under the pretext of Hindutva and disturb communal harmony in Maharashtra,” he told the media Wednesday.
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‘Only Hindus can take darshan’
Located about 30 km from Nashik, Trimbakeshwar is home to one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. The town also has a dargah of Hazrat Gulab Shah Wali where a gathering is held each year during which local Muslims take out a procession that passes through the temple complex. It is during this procession that local Muslims send loban smoke down the entrance stairs of the temple as a mark of respect to the Trimbakeshwar deity.
On Saturday, members of the Sayyad family went to the north entrance of the temple around 9:30 pm and requested security personnel to let them offer their respects to the deity, but their request was turned down, according to the temple trust’s complaint letter.
The letter, a copy of which is with ThePrint, said “only Hindus can take darshan inside the temple” and those from other religions are not allowed.
Briefing the local media Monday, Gaidhani had said that the temple trust records each local procession in its books. “But nothing of this said procession is mentioned anywhere in our diary. Nobody, other than Hindu, has any right to enter the temple complex. This needs to be investigated. Our demand is that the motive needs to be ascertained,” a member of the Trimbakeshwar Temple Trust said.
Gaidhani also said that those part of the procession should have informed the temple trust beforehand and sought prior permission from the trust.
However, Lalita Shinde, an activist and former member of the Trimbakeshwar Temple Trust (2012-17), told ThePrint that this ritual has been performed every year “for the last 100 years”.
“This ritual was performed even earlier. I never found it objectionable but this year, the trust raised objections. The Muslims are in very less numbers in the village. We have lived peacefully until now,” she added.
Asked about the claim that the group tried to offer a chadar at the temple Saturday, Shinde dismissed it, adding that although it is still subject to investigation. “I appeal to people to maintain peace as no untoward incident has happened. They did not try to offer chadar and one should not misunderstand. It is peaceful everywhere in the village,” she said.
Muslims account for a mere 200-250 of Trimbakeshwar’s roughly 15,000 residents.
Villagers further told ThePrint that the local Sayyad family owns shops around the temple complex, selling material required for puja.
Following the incident Saturday, many villagers were of the opinion that peace needs to be restored. Nabi Shaikh, 64, told ThePrint, “I was born in Trimbakeshwar and I can say we have all been living peacefully till now.”
“The atmosphere was never tense. We (Muslims) are just 10-15 families. What fight will we give? We all live humbly here. People from outside come and disturb the peace,” he added.
A meeting of locals and village elders was called Wednesday where local Muslims were asked to discontinue the tradition since it was leading to tensions, said Suresh Gangaputra, who attended the meeting. “We decided that we should come together and work peacefully. Their intention was not bad. The incident got bigger because of Hindutva outfits,” he added.
“They (local Muslims) apologised to us. Since there was no communal tension before and we all have been living peacefully and since our village’s economy is dependent on pilgrimage, a general consensus was arrived at in the meeting that we should come together and peace should be restored in the village,” Lohagaonkar told ThePrint.
Earlier that morning, members of Sakal Hindu Samaj had performed an aarti and sprinkled gau mutra (cow urine) to ‘purify the temple’.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)