MP Government Orders Removal from Maa Sharda Temple Committee Two Muslim Employees
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 19: Though the government rules says that no one can be removed from employment only on religious grounds, the Madhya Pradesh government has ordered removal of two Muslim employees from the management committee of the famous Maa Sharda Temple in Maihar.
Maihar is famous for the Maa Sharda Temple, one of the 51 “Shaktipeeths” in the country, and being the home town of the legendry Sarod player Baba Alauddin Khan who founded the Maihar Gharana and made Sarod one of the most popular musical instruments.
Maihar town is believed to have got its name from the Maa Sharda Temple. The name of the temple town comes from the belief that when Lord Shiva performed the Tandava with Sati’s body, her necklace fell on Trikoot hill, giving the temple and the town the name Maihar (meaning mother’s necklace). The temple is believed to have been built in 502 AD and draws pilgrims from across the country being one of the prominent shrines for followers of the Shakti tradition.
The culture of Maihar is also interwoven between the temple and the legendry Sarod player. It is said Ustad Alauddin Khan used to climb the 1,063 stairs leading to the Maa Sharda temple daily and play before the Goddess. Though a Muslim, the Ustad would pray before the Goddess and according to Pandit Ravi Shankar, the internationally famed Sitar maestro and one of the disciples of Ustad Alauddin Khan, walls in his house in Maihar were full with photographs of Goddess Kali, Lord Krishna and Jesus Christ. That house still stands in Maihar, unchanged, but the world outside is changing.
The state government has directed that Muslim employees can no longer work in the management committee of the temple. A letter signed by Pushpa Kulesh, deputy secretary in the state Ministry of Religious Trust and Endowments, last week has asked the temple committee to comply with the directive issued on January 17 and submit a report within three days. The directive the letter referred to was to remove two Muslim employees of the temple management committee who are serving the temple since 1988.
Along with the order to remove the two Muslim employees, another order was also issued to ban meat and liquor sales in Maihar.
Both the orders were issued allegedly after supporters of the rightwing Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal approached the MP Minister for Culture, Religious Trusts and Endowments Usha Singh Thakur in January. District collector Anurag Verma, who also heads the temple management committee, has told the media that action would be taken “according to rules” which, however, did not permit removal of any employee on religious grounds.
Though the order is only for two Muslim employees, its impact is likely to be much deeper. Alauddin Khan’s Maihar Gharana produced some of the biggest names in Indian classical music. Khan’s renowned disciples besides Pandit Ravi Shankar included Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, and his daughter Annapurna Devi and son Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.
A musician in the court of the Maharaja of Maihar, Khan is credited with composing several classical ragas. Khan’s legacy is not limited to his contribution to music. After an epidemic left behind many children orphaned, the legendary musician took them under his wing and a group, named Maihar Band, was formed. Maihar Band continues to this day and is in its fifth generation.
