Kalyan: It’s worship unusual at Durgadi Fort

Durgadi fort houses Durgadevi temple and the city’s only Eidgah ground. File pic

This is one mandir-masjid dispute where the fight seems to be restricted to the courtroom. Outside it, everyone wishes the status quo continues. Atop Kalyan's historic Durgadi Fort, for the last 50 years, Hindus have been celebrating Navratri at the Durgadevi temple, and just behind it, Muslims have been offering Eid prayers on the city's only Eidgah ground. Both approach the administration for permission every time.

On December 10, a civil judge (senior division, Kalyan) rejected the claim of the Majlis-e-Mushawarat Trust over the fort, bringing an abrupt end to a 48-year-old case. The judge ruled that the entire site belonged to the state government. This sudden order saw the communal temperature shoot up: Some Hindu litigants celebrated on the streets, while on social media, young Muslims pledged to "recover" the site.

The police, however, managed to control the celebrations before they got out of hand. On their part, Trust members took to local TV channels to reassure the community that nothing had changed, and they would once again approach the administration on Eid for permission to hold prayers.

Life returns to normal

Eight days after the order, life seemed to have returned to normal. Indeed, some Muslims living in the vicinity of Durgadi Fort said they were hearing of the court order for the first time from this reporter. In a temple located deep inside the bylanes dotted with mosques and graveyards near the fort, Ram Singh Payaasi has just wrapped up the special annual Ram puja that spans an entire week. "You should have come an hour back to see the rush of devotees,'' says the 69-year-old.

Dr Girish Latke (left) and Saad Kazi hope Kalyan's tradition of harmonious co-existence continues

For the 30 years he has been a pujari in the Juna Thakurdwar Shri Ram Mandir, succeeding his father, Payaasi has never faced any friction with his Muslim neighbours. "All credit goes to the elders among them," he says. Litigation over ownership of the Fort can be traced back to 1976, when the Trust challenged the state government's 1974 decision to hand it over to the Kalyan municipal council. Later, Hindu residents, in their individual capacity, became defendants too, claiming ownership over the land on behalf of their community.

An unusually effective police response; the order's silence on the right to worship by either community; and the fact that Eid is a good three months away, are not the only reasons behind Kalyan's tension-free atmosphere. Perhaps the most important reason is the long-standing mutual respect between the two faiths here.

Muslims make up 25 per cent of the population here, with Konkani Muslims among Kalyan's original residents. Just five days after the Durgadi Fort order was flashed in the media, eminent citizens of all faiths gathered to honour businessman and educationist Saad Kazi, who can trace nine generations of his family in Kalyan. Fluent in Marathi and Urdu, the 75-year-old has childhood memories of roaming around a dilapidated masjid atop the fort. Another Kalyankar, Professor Moin Don, recalls studying in those ruins. That masjid and a well near it are mentioned in the Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency: Thana (1872) which also records that after the Marathas conquered the Fort in 1760, a small temple was built there. While the masjid no longer exists, that small temple is now the Durgadevi temple.

Dinesh Shetye

"The Kalyan Municipal Council played a pivotal role in transforming the masjid into a temple," alleges Faisal Kazi, lawyer for the Majlis-e-Mushawarat Trust that went to court in 1976. Pointing out that the merits of their claim were not looked at, advocate Kazi rued that "a 48-year-old matter has been given short shrift and rejected on a technicality." As Kazi prepares to appeal, some among the Hindu side feel the matter should not be pursued further.

"The court's decision has not changed anything on the ground. That Shivaji Maharaj's fort had an Eidgah ground is a reality that nobody can deny," points out litigant Dinesh Shetye, a Sena (UBT) member whose family has been living in Kalyan for 100 years and whose closest aides have been Muslims.

What lies ahead?

Does this tradition of harmonious co-existence hold among the youth? That question worries Dr Girish Latke, chairman, Shahu Shikshan Sanstha, that runs many colleges. The NCC, he feels, may not be enough to keep students busy, specially those hailing from farmers' families, facing issues of survival. However, of the five Hindu collegians this reporter met at a local NGO's office, only one spoke of how her siblings had been influenced by the BJP's DJ-led yatras and campaign against meat consumption in her basti. All five have Muslim friends who were welcome in their homes, and with whom they visited temples, mosques and churches.
Significantly, their parents all hail from Bihar. The question that worries many Kalyankars now is: Will the new Maharashtra government, which has been declared the owner of the fort, adhere to this spirit?

While Vishwanath Bhoir, the Shinde Sena MLA who was re-elected, may have spent part of his MLA fund on the maintenance of the Eidgah ground on the Fort, will this generosity of spirit be shown by the Devendra Fadnavis-led government? That concern makes a challenge to the court order necessary, say Muslims. Once the matter is sub judice, status quo will prevail.