Dargah–Temple row flares up in Madurai

CHENNAI: Hindu-Muslims tension flared up at Thiruparankundram a hillock close to Madauri city where a Sikandar Badushah Dargah and Subramaniya Swamy Temple (Muragan i.e Shiva temple) exist side by side.

Authorities have imposed Section 144 CrPC in Madurai town including Thiruparankundram hilltop after a protest call given by Hindu Munnani over alleged animal sacrifice at the Dargah by the Muslims triggered communal tension.   

Tensions escalated after the local police reportedly denied some devotees from carrying out animal sacrifices at ‘Dargah’ leading to a strong protest by the Muslim shrine keepers against this customary practice happening since time immemorial.

The Tamil Nadu police in the Madurai district issued orders barring the Muslim community members from transporting livestock for sacrifice to the Dargah. Still, they allowed devotees to transport meat to consume and pray on the hilltop.

Sacrificial animals disallowed

This prompted Indian Union Muslim League MP, Nawaz Kani to talk to the police but he was unsuccessful in convincing the authorities.

Talking to the media, Ramanathapuram MP, Nawaz Kani, said that the Dargah is 400 years old where devotees take goats and hens atop the hill and sacrifice them in the name of the Sufi saint after their wishes are fulfilled. They cook the food and consume it within the Dargah premises and this practice is centuries old.

“Now there is a ban on taking the livestock to the Dargah but devotees can take meat raw meat there, that is unprecedented, and legal options need to be explored to restore the status quo."

Amid the objections by the Muslim groups, the Hindu Munnani had called for a protest against the animal sacrifices atop the hill. The Hindu outfit moved the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court seeking permission for the protest “to attract the attention of the government to protect the hillock from encroachment”.

Court permits 'peaceful protest'

The Court while permitting the Hindu Munnani to conduct a “peaceful protest” observed that ‘the right to freedom of speech and expression should always be subject to public order and peace and other restrictions imposed by the Constitution, allowed the Hindu group to peacefully protest in Palanganatham junction in Madurai (not at the Thiruparankundram hilltop).

But a handful of members of the Hindu group were able to breach the security cordon and protested in the temple premises to be rounded off by the police, media reported.   

M.H. Jawahirulla MLA and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) leader commenting on the issue said, “Dargah and the temple have co-existed for centuries such issues have been settled in the courts several times. There are several judgments for the status quo. These fissures are not tenable in a court of law and the ban will be lifted soon,” he added.  

Jawaharullah smelling communal politics in this row said, that since elections are around the corner in the state, the Hindu Mannani wants to polarize the society. Still, such attempts to divide the society won’t succeed. They will be exposed in the coming election, the MLA from Papanasam Constituency said.  

Century-old land dispute

The communal and political tensions in Madurai have brought into focus an old dispute over the ownership of land of the dargah, which dates back to the 1920s.

Several organisations, including political parties, advocating for communal harmony, have accused the BJP and pro-Hindutva outfits of disrupting public peace by raking up the issue.

Multiple sources in Thiruparankundram told journalists that back in 1920, some individuals managing the Lord Murugan temple had claimed that the entire stretch of the hills belonged to the temple.

However, in August 1923, a trial court (subordinate judge) ruled that the hill primarily belonged to the temple management, except the cultivated land and the dargah site. This site and the steps leading to it were declared the property of the Muslim community.

Even though the then administration and temple management accepted this verdict, representatives of the Muslim community appealed to the high court, which acknowledged that both Hindus and Muslims had rights to certain extent at the hills and ruled that the hill’s ownership would be with the government.

Upset with the decision, the temple management appealed to the British Privy Council. According to Vanchinathan, a coordinator for organisations advocating religious harmony, the council upheld the trial court’s judgment, confirming that the dargah site belonged to the Muslim community.

“The court examined over 300 documents and 21 witnesses before delineating the boundaries of the Sikkandar dargah and the Subramaniya Swamy temple (Murugan temple) on the hills. This decision was also upheld by the Privy Council in 1931,” he said.

According to state government sources, two cases regarding the ownership of the dargah land are still pending before the high court. Asked about the ongoing issue, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister P.K. Sekar Babu told journalists that the state government would implement the court’s decision once it is finalised.

“This is Periyar’s land. We will not allow fringe groups to disturb the peace in the area. Once the court order is issued, we will enforce it in accordance with the rule of law.”