Appointment of only Hindu priests another step to end syncretic nature of Bababudangiri shrine

Right-wing outfits are now looking at this as an opportunity to end the syncretic nature of the shrine and push for Datta Peetha and Bababudan Dargha to be demarcated as separate entities.

‘A long-time dream’

“The long-time dream of many Hindus of the state, including me, has come true. An order has been issued appointing priests to Sri Datta Peetha at Bababudangiri. This shows that our government respects people’s sentiments along with public welfare,” tweeted Minister for Energy, and Kannada and Culture Sunil Kumar.

ಚಿಕ್ಕಮಗಳೂರಿನ ದತ್ತ ಪೀಠಕ್ಕೆ ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡಿ ಗುರು ದತ್ತಾತ್ರೇಯನ ದತ್ತ ಪಾದುಕೆ ದರ್ಶನ ಪಡೆದ ಕ್ಷಣ. pic.twitter.com/tJP3CaARmc

— Sunil Kumar Karkala (@karkalasunil) December 7, 2022

Just a week ago, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had said, “The long-pending demand to perform prayers at the Datta Peetha would soon be a reality.” Hindus offering prayers at the peetha, however, has been a centuries-old tradition.

“The people of the region, under the headship of BJP National General Secretary and Chikkamagaluru MLA CT Ravi have waged a legal fight for the cause. As a result, good days are here and the issue pertaining to Datta Peetha will be resolved at the earliest,” Bommai promised while addressing party workers during the Jana Sankalpa Yatra at Koppa on 27 November.

It may be noted that the BJP had promised in its 2018 Assembly election manifesto that it would appoint Hindu priests to Datta Peetha at Bababudangiri. These appointments have come with hardly six months to go for the next Assembly polls.

“It is because of the legal hurdles — the appointment of priests to Datta Peetha was delayed,” BJP state general secretary and MLC N Ravi Kumar told South First.

History of the syncretic shrine

Guru Dattatreya, a Hindu deity who is said to be an incarnation of the Trimurti — Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma as one being — is revered at the shrine. As are Baba Budan, a 16th-century Sufi saint who is said to have brought coffee to India from Arabia, and Dada Hayat, an 11th-century Sufi saint.

The shrine has thus seen an amalgamation of both Hindu and Muslim rituals. It is not just Hindus but also Muslim devotees who have genuflected at this holy shrine for many centuries, claim writers and academics.

As per the Mysore Gazette published in 1930, a Muslim Sajjad Nasheen (hereditary administrator) has been the head of the shrine of “Dada Hayat Khalender Dattatreya Swamy”. Dada Hayat is said to have made the cave his abode and also appointed the first sajjada.

The sajjada, in turn, named a mujawar (priest) to perform daily rituals. These included taking ascetics from Hindu mathas inside the cave to light a nanda deepa, and make offerings a to paduka believed to be those of Dattatreya.

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Official records describe the shrine as a “major Muzrai temple” under the (Hindu) Religious and Charitable Endowments Department and the Mysore Religious and Charitable Institutions Act, 1927. However, it was taken over by the Waqf Board in 1973.

It may also be noted that the Maharaja of Mysore had granted around 1,816 acres of land to “Shri Dattatreya Devaru” and 111.25 acres to “Sri BabaBudan Giri Dargah” in the early 20th century, as per a 1989 report of the endowment commissioner.

From syncretic to saffron

“Revenue and Muzrai records show that Dattatreya Peeta and Bababudan Darga are in different places. Bababudan Dargah is in Nagenahalli village survey number 57 while Datta Peetha is in Inam Dattreya village at Survey number 195. Our next step is to ensure that rights to the land are clearly demarcated,” Chikkamagaluru MLA CT Ravi told South First.

“Over 1,800 acres was given to Dattatreya Devaru, but over the years pieces and parcels of the land have been encroached upon by other people. There should be a fact-finding committee to survey the land and decide on what belongs to the Datta Peetha and what belongs to Dargah,” he added.

Bababudangiri shrine. (Creative Commons)

The efforts to communalise the shrine was first reported in 2002 as the late former Union minister Ananth Kumar declared it the “Ayodhya of the South”. Thereafter, the right-wing and various Hindu outfits have been agitating to claim their rights over the syncretic place of worship.

For the BJP, the Datta Peetha movement is significant and has even helped the careers of several leaders such as MLA CT Ravi, Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje and others from the coastal and Malnad regions.

Every year, outfits such as the Bajrang Dal hold a shobha yatra and Datta mala pilgrimages. There have been reports, in the past, of Hindu activists breaking barricades and damaging tombstones and removing green shawls in the dargah and replacing them with saffron ones during annual events.

“Many of them are fake tombs,” alleged CT Ravi. Removal of the graves and tombstones around the Dargah has also been a longstanding demand of Sangh Parivar outfits.

Fightback to protect syncretic shrine

The Hindu right-wing claims that Sri Guru Dattatreya Swamy Baba Budan Dargah — as the site is officially called — is a pilgrimage was for just Hindus but was “Islamised’ during the 18th-century rule of Tipu Sultan.

Academics disagree. “Political leaders, mainly of the BJP, are making huge benefits out of the disputed Datta Peetha–Bababudangiri shrine. The temple belongs to both religions. The Congress hardly reacts on the matter as it is afraid of losing Hindu votes,” Kannada writer K Marulasiddappa told South First.

Marulasiddappa was among a group of writer-activists including Late Girish Karnad and Gauri Lankesh – who visited the shrine in 2003 after the first communal riot broke out between Hindus and Muslims.

SDPI members stage protest against state government for allowing Datta Jayanti celebrations. (Screengrab)

“Around 50 years ago, when I was in high-school, this unique holy shrine used to be worshiped by Hindus and Muslims together. It was only in the past two decades that the shrine was completely communalised and also turned into a place to further the agendas of political parties,” he said.

“The communal agenda is a serious threat to the peace in the region. It is also important to note that the hardcore Muslims don’t worship at this place,” he added.

“The appointment of only Hindu priests will have a bad impact. All this is aimed at spreading communal hatred for political gains,” fumed writer KS Bhagwan.

Bhagwan was on the “hit-list” recovered from the accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder case as their “next target”. The accused in the Gauri Lankesh case was suspected to be closely linked with far-right Hindutva outfit Sanatana Sanstha.

What about the Mujawar?

In September 2021, the Karnataka High Court quashed a state government order dated 19 March 2018, in which it allowed only a Mujawar (Muslim priest) appointed by Shah Khadri to enter the shrine and offer prayers. The appointment was made when the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government was at the helm in the state.

The recent appoint of the temporary priests was the logical next step. Since September 2021, there has been no Mujawar in the shrine.

MLC Ravi Kumar said, “It is a happy and proud moment for not only the people of Chikkamagaluru but for entire Karnataka. It was also the long-pending demand of the lakhs of devotees of Datta Peetha. The emotions of the devotees are running high as the government fulfilled their demand.”

Asked whether the government will consider appointing a Mujawar or Maulvi to Bababudangiri Dargha, Ravi Kumar said, “We will look into the appointment at the Dargha in the coming days.”