Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday (3rd January) while addressing a religious event in Thane district raked up the issue of Malanggad, or more popularly known as the Haji Malang Dargah.

Reiterating Shiv Sena’s commitment to liberate the structure, Shinde said that Anand Dighe had initiated the liberation movement of Malanggad which led to the chant “Jai Malang Shri Malang”.

 

He said, “Your sentiments towards Malanggad are well known to me. It was Anand Dighe who initiated the liberation movement of Malanggad, leading us to chant ‘Jay Malang Shri Malang’. However, I must tell you that certain matters aren’t meant for public discussion. I’m aware of the deep-rooted beliefs you hold about Malanggad’s liberation. Let me say this Eknath Shinde will not stay quiet till he fulfills your wishes.”

The Maharashtra CM also referred to his political mentor Anand Dighe’s role in the “liberation movement” of Malang Gad after which, he said, “we started saying Jay Malang, Shri Malang”.

Dighe began an agitation claiming that the shrine belonged to Hindus and that it was a site of a 700-year-old Machindranath temple. In 1996, he insisted on leading 20,000 Shiv Sainiks to the shrine to perform pooja.

It is since then that the structure has been called Shri Malanggad.

 

 

The dargah is situated 3000 feet above sea-level to the south of Kalyan in the Matheran hill ranges. On 20th February, devotees will mark the death anniversary of Haji Abd-ul-Rahman, a so-called Sufi saint of the 12th century.

Historically, Malanggad was constructed by King Naladev of the Maurya Dynasty in the seventh century. It has been claimed by some historians that King Naladev married off his daughter to a Sufi saint.

It later fell into the hands of the Marathas in the 17th century before being conquered by the British. The fort is built on three small parts of the hill and is located in Kalyan.

The controversy primarily revolves around the identity of the sacred site situated atop Malanggad. While the Muslim community asserts it as the final resting place of Baba Abdur Rehman Malang, a section of the Hindu community claims it as the Machindranath Samadhi, a temple dedicated to a revered figure in the Nath Sampraday tradition. This claim suggests that the tomb is actually that of Sree Macchindranath, an incarnation of Navanath.