Guha, is a small village near Ahmednagar in Maharashtra. It’s now caught in the grip of Hindutva mobilization, where another Dargah has now been a target of attack over the last 2 years.
A SHORT HISTORY
Unknown to most in Maharashtra and the rest of the country, the Hazrat Ramzan Shah Baba or the Kanobha Ramzan Shah Baba Dargah, a centre of unity, a symbol of the best traditions of the Sufi and Nath traditions, a syncretic culture developed over centuries of coexistence, is now facing a major communal fascist onslaught led by various Hindutva organisations.
Figure 1 The idol of Kanifnath Baba placed right within the sanctum sanctorum of the dargah. Behind the idol is the Mazhar of Kanobha Ramzan Shah Baba.
The controversy surrounds a mystic called Kanobha, who was from the Nath sect in the 13th century. Under the influence of the Sufis, he later converted to Islam. His followers then erected a dargah in his memory, and both his Muslim & Hindu followers came to the dargah to offer their devotion. The Nath Panth actually comes from a rich syncretic tradition of both Hinduism & Islam, and thus it is ironic that today the memory of Kanobha is being used to divide the two communities.
It was our friend Alauddin Sheikh who comes from this very village, a social activist, a progressive Muslim reformist, with roots in the Rashtriya Seva Dal, who spoke to us about the dire need for a secular intervention as the situation was grim and deteriorating. Then a team led by Tushar Gandhi & other members and associates of our organisation – Hum Bharat Ke Log (HBKL), went to Guha village to study the situation and decide upon a strategy of intervention. The delegation comprising of journalists and social activists included, Medha Kulkarni, Irfan Engineer, Sharad Kadam, Narendra Dumbre, Maqbool Sheikh, Razia Sheikh, Sadhna Vairale, Ajay Gaikwad, and this writer.
Thus, it was on the 22 April 2025, that we visited this village and we were shocked at the intensity of the multipronged attack on the Muslim community who constitute a minority in this village, with around 400, in a population of approximately 4000.
Figure 2 Kanobha Ramzaan Shah Baba Dargah, Guha
On speaking to the members and families that live on the land adjoining the dargah, this is what we learnt. The ‘Sanad’ or the chain of transmission or authority to the dargah goes all the way back to 1260 CE, that’s over 800 years, and they produced the documents for the same. The dargah has been at this same spot for over 500 years at the minimum, or more. Thus, the Sanad clearly establishes the lineage of the Muslim Mujawar families who are the caretakers of the dargah and its land. The legal status was again reestablished in the British Gazette records of 1854.
THE HINDUTVA COMMUNAL MOBILISATION
In this case, the land attached to the dargah is 10 acres, which clearly is part of the problem at hand. The plot includes 10-12 houses where the families live, a kabrastan where they bury their dead, and a field of 6 acres where they grow their crops. They also grow the tamarind trees around their houses. Today, nor can they work in their fields, nor pick the tamarind from the trees.
Attached to the main dargah were also two other dargahs, though far more smaller in size, one located at the periphery and the other in the very centre of the village. It was 15 years ago that when certain Hindutva organisations laid claim to Kanobha as a Hindu deity and placed an idol in the dargah at the periphery. The Muslim community decided to ignore the provocation and in a way surrendered that dargah to avoid friction. Then it was around another 5 years ago, that the other small dargah too was taken over, this time at the very centre of the villager, located behind the Prerna Credit Cooperative Society. This shocked the Muslim community and they rightly realised that the Hindutva storm troopers would now come for the main dargah. They then decided to register their dargah with the Aurangabad Waqf Board (Maharashtra) so as to strengthen their legal case.
In was in December 2023 that the Hindu Jan Akhrosh Morcha (HJAM) began to perform bhajan’s at the dargah currently under siege. This led to an altercation, leading to a riot & the police intervened and filed FIR’s under various sections of the IPC against members of both the communities, though only those from the Muslim community were arrested. This lead to a perceptible rise in the communal temperature.
Then the HJAM called for a rally on December 28, 2023. The police asked the Muslims to stay indoors. It was during this period that members of the HJAM placed an idol of Kanifnath (who was a much later figure) within the Dargah, right in front of the burial place of Kanobha Ramzan Shah Baba. They later said that the idol “appeared” miraculously. More worryingly, these events all occurred in the very presence of the police. The police also destroyed the CCTV footage that would prove their culpability in the entire sordid episode. The members of the HJAM also placed saffron flags all over the dargah, a donation box and put up loudspeakers and hold aartis twice a day, with the sound system blaring way beyond the decibels permitted. This is being done to harass and spread panic and fear amongst the ordinary folk who inhabit the vicinity, with the women and children the most affected and they were clearly traumatised.
THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC BOYCOTT OF THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY & IT’S IMAPCT
Then the Hindutva organisations called for an economic & social boycott of the Muslim population of Guha village. The agenda is to make life a living hell for the families and force them to leave the village, forced to abandon their homes, their shops, their fields and other properties. Today, we were told that no Hindu customer purchases from a Muslim shop. A Hindu cannot invite a Muslim friend for a family function, as there is a fine of Rs. 2000/- that will be imposed on him. A young Muslim said that he was at his wits end as there is no customer that comes to his Xerox shop anymore. An old vocal Muslim lady asked as till when were they to bear this daily inhuman treatment. Another old man complained that the local barber refused to cut his hair and thus he has to travel outside the village for the same. The Muslim families are forbidden from farming on the 6 acres of land attached to the dargah. They can’t even break the Neem leaves or the tamarind. This, they are told by the local authorities is part of the status quo order, but this reading is way off the mark.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC BOYCOTT, VIOLATION OF ACT OF 2016
The social & economic boycott is in total violation of a law passed by CM Narendra Fadvanis during his previous BJP government. A progressive law referred to as that “Maharashtra Protection of People from Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal) Act 2016 was enacted to end the menace of social boycott practiced by extra-judicial institutions like caste and community panchayats, or rather kangaroo courts. The Act considers social boycott as a crime and a person could face three years in prison and a fine of one lakh rupees.
Here, in the case of Guha village, there is no written document calling for the socio-economic boycott of the Muslim community, as the Hindutva leaders have spread it by word of mouth and local pressure. Though there is video evidence of an extremist Hindu leader calling for the same. Therefore we demand that legal action be undertaken against all such perpetrators. We also call for the immediate end to the boycott of the Muslim community and the state should fulfill its constitutional and legal responsibilities.
THE VIOLATION OF THE STATUS QUO AS PER ORDER OF THE WAQF TRIBUNAL
The status quo order by the Waqf Tribunal applies to the shrine and not to the fields and the Neem trees, as that would be in total violation of the Right to Livelihood, as an integral part of the Right to Life as guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. In fact, as far as the dargah is concerned, the Hindutva organisations are totally in violation of the status quo order, as they are not permitted to perform aarti & other religious activities till the court finally decides on the matter that – is this a Muslim Dargah dedicated to Kanobha Ramzan Shah Baba, or a Hindu Mandir dedicated to Kanifnath.
BREAKDOWN OF HARMONY & CIVIL SOCIETY INTERVENTION
Whilst the Dargah or Mandir matter are an issue of serious concern, but what is truly worrying is also the total breakdown of the communal harmony and the social relations in this village. All of the Muslims we interacted with spoke about their age old friendships and family-like ties, participation during each other’s festivals and both in times of sorrow and happiness. Today, a young Muslim said that, even though they go to a common village school, the children of the two communities do not interact – cannot for fear of the social boycott. During our short visit, we were unable to meet the leaders of members of the Hindutva organisations, even though we did try to reach out. We met the Tehsildar of Raore, Namdeo Patil, who assured us of relief within his discretionary powers, one of which was to tone down the daily harassment. Who also said that he would soon organise a meeting with the stake holders from both the communities, where we too would be present.
We are aware that there are members of the Hindu community in Guha village, who do not approve of the current situation, but they are under way too much pressure to come out publicly at this point in time, but it will happen in due course.
As part of the future course of action, we have decided to:
- Establish the, “Guha Village Shanti aur Ekta Samiti” (Guha Village Peace and Unity Committee).
- Reach out to the Hindu community and help bridge the recent divide with their Muslim compatriots. Bringing the two communities closer and back together is of utmost importance. The dialogue from thereon can help heal the wounds and end the socio-economic boycott and bring the village back together.
- As for the Dargah/Mandir matter, in all fairness, the status of the Dargah needs to be restored to its original position. Or then the other option is to leave it for the courts to decide as per the law and constitution of our land. The local Dargah committee has taken to legal recourse and has the requisite documents to prove their case. At the same time, prominent human rights lawyers committed to fighting the case of the oppressed need to be engaged into the struggle.
- Already 8-10 families have left the village due to the boycott.In order to resist the economic boycott, it’s imperative that other forms of skill sets and employment are imparted to the Muslim community, so that they can tide through this stormy period.
- It’s clear that the attack on Guha village is multipronged and part of a national strategy of the Hindutva organisations. In this case it is to take over the dargah, the land and other properties attached to it. The attack compounded with the socio-economic boycott, is meant to harass and compel Muslim families to leave the village for other towns and cities. This thus requires the role of the various civil society organisations that must unite, coordinate and intervene in this matter – intervene before it’s too late. We thus need to build “Guha Village Support Groups” in Ahmednagar, Pune, Aurangabad, Nasik, with Mumbai, already having taken the initiative.
- We will be also presenting a memorandum to be sent to all the secular political parties and will be meeting them as well in this regard.
The Muslim community in Guha village has been valiantly conducting a Satyagraha for the last 510 days – against all odds. It’s time that all those organisations committed to secular democratic values, the constitutional values of justice and equality now enter the fray. We must carry on believing in the inner goodness of the ordinary people of India, and strive to unite the people against hatred and violence and for unity and peace.
The people of Guha village beckon us……..
Feroze Mithiborwala is a social activist
