• By providing a variety of views an attempt is made to decipher what happened. Five reasons why Hindus are protesting?

Recently I heard about some incident involving Muslims at Trimbakeshwar Jyotirling near Nasik, Maharashtra. The state government said will form a SIT (Special Investigation Team) to probe that happened. MNS leader Thackeray said it is a decade long (perhaps century) tradition.

I decided to speak to friends to know what happened.

Friend 1 said Muslims walked into the temple courtyard with tokri (basket) above their head. They were prevented from moving ahead by an alert security force person.

Friend 2 (local) said temple entry is on road and for showing dhoop towards mandir no permission is required. This time they entered from main door and tried to show dhoop. Some people say they tried to lay chadhar there but Muslims are denying it. Meantime police came.

Friend 3 said त्यांनी आत जाण्याचा प्रयत्न केला होता. पायऱ्यांवर धूप दाखवण्याची कोणतीही परंपरा नाही meaning They tried to enter. There is no tradition of showing incense (dhoop) on the steps.

Timesnow report, “A group of Muslim men tried to enter the temple and offer chaddar (scarf). According to temple management only Hindus are only allowed to enter temple.” To see video of TimesNow and TV9

What is clear esp. after viewing video that Muslim tried to enter temple with ritual following their tradition.  

Question – Did Muslims seek prior approval of the Temple Management Committee before offering incense or trying to enter the temple? It does not matter even if there is a decade long tradition. We know the sensitivities today.

What you see is Kushavarta. Before going to the temple you are supposed to take a dip in this kund in order to purify yourself.

Why do Hindus react the way they do?

One, the temple was demolished during Aurangzeb’s time and rebuilt during Peshwa rule. 

Author Saurabh Lohogaonkar wrote, “It is one of the twelve jyotirlingas (sacred sites related to Shri Mahadev), the place where due to tapobala (tapasya-penance) of Gautama Rishi, Ganga herself had to come on earth according to temple tradition. Chhatrapati Shivaji before proceeding towards Surat (end 1663), came here for darshan. When the Mughals captured Nashik, the Mughal governor Bahadur Khan (foster brother of Aurangzeb) was the one who demolished the beautiful temples in the area.”

“When Marathas liberated Nashik (early 18th Century), all the prominent temples like Sundar Narayan and some new temples were rebuilt by various Maratha Noble families like Chandrachud, Rajebahadur and Vinchurkar. The Trimbakeshwar temple was rebuilt in the same era by Peshwa Balaji Bajirao alias Nanasaheb (Mate 143), while Kushavarta (also known as Tirtharaj, where the Kumbh Mela happens) where Ganga (Godavari) emerges in a kund (pond) was also rebuilt.”

Two, Muslims have built dargahs/mosques at various places including railway stations, roads etc. Hindus see such moves as the first step toward creating a dispute and the matter going to court.

When I visited Trimbakeshwar in 2008 there was no Dargah close to the temple. However, saw it when I visited around 2015. From the TimesNow video the Dargah looks bigger than what I saw in 2015. In fact, saw very few Muslims in 2008.

Three, a dispute at Kalyan involving Haji Abdur Rehman Shah Malang already exists. “The shrine which is believed to be the tomb of a revered Sufi, Baba Abdur Rehman Malang Shahm, has also been claimed by local Hindus as the resting place of Baba Machindranath Malang, a saint revered by the Nath Sampraday sect.” Source

Four, try to understand why Hindus are protesting against namaz on public land. The protests are actually against what follows, a mosque and being disturbed by loudspeakers five times a day and two, the increasing number of mosques. Article has real life examples with pictures.

Recently, Maharashtrian groups protested against encroachments of forts by the Muslim community. Read Indian Express report Ordinary people take an integrated view based on which we see their response. I hope better sense prevails. Let us not create fresh disputes.

Five, there is a fear of any property being declared a Waqf property. According to Section 40 of the Waqf Act 1995, when the board has reason to believe that certain property is waqf property it may, after making such inquiry as it may deem fit declare it to be a waqf property. Its decision is final unless revoked or modified by the Waqf Tribunal.

Hindus wish to nip any such possibility in the bud!

This BJP government at the Centre has failed to repeal the 1995 Waqf Act in nine years.

Also read

1. Understanding the Muslim mind through reading of Dr Ambedkar

2. How Azaan is increasing the Hindu Muslim divide

3. All you wanted to know about Waqf - FAQ    

4. Album Trimbakeshwar Mandir