This December, the Muslims of Budan Nagar felt a chill that had
nothing to do with the seasonal winds. It had much to do with the
Baba Budan Giri shrine of the Sufi saint Dada Hayat Mir Kalandar,
which has been in the eye of a storm for several years.

The dargah is revered by Hindus as Dattatreya Peetha-the abode of
Dattatreya, the fusion of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The interaction
of the two great religions had given birth to a syncretic faith that
comforted and gladdened the people of the town, nestled in the
periphery of the Western Ghats, 30 km from Chikmagalur.

HALLOWED GROUND: Both Hindus and Muslims
worship at the dargah of the Sufi saint

No longer so. Probably emboldened by the Gujarat wave, the Vishwa
Hindu Parishad (VHP)-Bajrang Dal combine, which had been eyeing the
shrine for a decade, firmly declared it Hindu this time. "Datta
Peetha is the Ayodhya of Karnataka," thundered VHP general secretary
Pravin Togadia in a public meeting held on Dattatreya Jayanti on
December 19. The pronouncement sent shivers down the spines of
Muslims.

Said Abdul Sattar, 47, who grows coffee: "We have no one to turn to.
We feel scared." To avoid 'provocation', Sattar closed his herbal
shop for an entire week during the Jayanti celebrations and left
town. Though he does not make much money from the coffee plantation,
Sattar had continued to live in the town because it was the home of
his ancestors and because it was quiet. But now the fabric of peace
was in danger of being torn apart by divisive forces.

"We usually disappear for four days," said Rafiq Muddin, who sells
coconuts and flowers outside the shrine. "Why invite trouble?" The
Muslims returned home after the last VHP volunteer left the hill.
Both Hindu and Muslim residents of the town are perturbed that forces
beyond their control have hijacked the town.

The Sufi saint is said to have come to the area 1,200 years ago and
the dargah is in a deep cave. The Dattatreya legend is part of the
Avadhut tradition that upholds a formless God and condemns caste and
priestly rituals. The two faiths had beautifully coexisted for years
and was often pointed out as an example of how things ought to be in
the rest of the country.

In 1998, the Sangh Parivar started a campaign that the shrine
belonged to Hindus. With the idea of 'liberating' the shrine from the
Sufi saint's descendants, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal sought to
rename it Dattatreya Peetha and started celebrating Dattatreya
Jayanti in December. Over the years, the three-day celebrations
became a major law and order problem as the Sangh workers invariably
pulled down the dargah's green flags and planted saffron flags in
their place.

SECULAR ALLIANCE: Swami Agnivesh speaking at the
Budan Giri harmony convention held to oppose the VHP plans

In 1998, despite the J.H. Patel government's resolve not to allow any
'liberation', the district administration placated the VHP and the
Bajrang Dal by allowing them to conduct a puja near the shrine. The
Datta puja has now become a regular feature. The government no longer
questions the puja and concerns itself with preserving law and order.
This means keeping Muslims away from the shrine during the puja days.
Most of them keep away voluntarily.

A new unwritten rule has come into existence: during Datta puja only
saffron flags can be hoisted in and around the dargah. The dargah's
flag is allowed only on three days in March when the annual urs is
celebrated. The rest of the year, no flags would fly.

The recent Jayanti celebrations showed the Sangh Parivar in all its
passionate intensity. All the restrictions imposed by the Chikmagalur
district administration were thrown to the winds.

Highly provocative speeches were made at a public meeting held at
Baba Budan Giri. Togadia's fiery proclamation forced the S.M. Krishna
government to say that it would consider banning his entry into
Karnataka.

While the administration wrung its hands, a group of intellectuals
came out to oppose the attempt to turn Baba Budan Giri into another
Ayodhya. On December 29-the birthday of Kannada's greatest poet
Kuvempu, who gave the clarion call for universal brotherhood-artists,
writers, academics and activists converged on Chikmagalur for the
Baba Budan Giri harmony convention. Swami Agnivesh, revolutionary
singer Gaddar and Dalit and Muslim intellectuals reassured
crestfallen Muslims of Chikmagalur that they were not entirely
helpless.

But, as Tharakeshwar, a lecturer who attended the convention, said,
the question how to combat the aggressive Hindutva forces remained
undiminished.

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