Maha Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday raked up the issue,

Maha Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday raked up the issue,

In the backdrop of right wing groups claiming Haji Malang as a temple, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday raked up the issue, saying that he was committed to the “liberation” of the centuries-old structure.

While addressing the “Malanggad Harinam Mahotsav”, a religious gathering in Thane district, the Chief Minister said that he is aware of their feelings about Malanggad.

Reportedly, Anand Dighe kicked-off the liberation movement of Malanggad after which they have started saying ‘Jay Malang Shri Malang’.

He added that he wants to let them know that there are certain things that can’t be said in public. He is that there are certain beliefs that they have in their hearts over the liberation of Malanggad.

A religious gathering in Thane district claimed that Eknath Shinde will not stay quiet till he fulfills their wishes.

The Haji Malang Dargah, which is located on a hill south of Kalyan, is named after sufi saint Haji Abd-ul-Rahman, popularly known as Haji Malang Baba.

However, in the mid-eighties, the local unit of the Shiv Sena led by Dighe started an agitation stating that the structure was in fact the location of an old Hindu shrine belonging to Nath Panth, on order of yogis.

The Shiv Sena was the first to start a campaign to reclaim the said structure which they refer to as Malanggad.

The Gazetteers of Bombay Presidency that was published in 1882 makes a reference to the structure stating that the shrine built in the honour of an Arab missionary, Haji Abd-ul-Rahman, who came with a number of followers and settled on the lower plateau of the hill, was in existence since the 12th century.

News Edit K.V.Raman