Storm in a tea cup over Sai Baba

offerings, including gold and silver, running into crores.

Politically, the Sai Baba temple trust is among the two most coveted ones – the other being the Siddhivinayak trust of Mumbai – by all political parties. During past coalition regimes in Maharashtra, the management of the two trusts was equally apportioned between the two leading parties (SENA-BJP, then Congress-ncp) but now the claimants could be many. Shirdi is located in Ahmednagar district, which is under the influence of the Vikhepatils, who recently jumped ship from the Congress to the BJP to be on the right side of the ruling dispensation, as they have always been. However, they found themselves on the wrong side this time, after the coming together of the Sena with the Congress and NCP to form the government in the state. Now, it appears that it is the Vikhepatils who engineered a shutdown in this temple town on Sunday after chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray announced a grant of ₹100 crore for the development of Pathri, believed to be the birthplace of Sai Baba in the Parbhani district. That grant could go to developing the Sri Sai Janmasthan temple which already exists in this municipal town, but is nowhere near to drawing the kind of crowds as the Sai Baba temple in Shirdi does.

It is obvious that most of the people in Shirdi, including its local MLA belonging to the Shiv Sena, objected to the official declaration of Pathri, as Sai Baba’s janmasthan, for that official endorsement could then divert and draw devotees away from Shirdi, one of the richest temples not just in the state but also the entire country. However, the Sai Baba of Shirdi unites not just castes and religions, but also political parties. Although in an era where people are finding it difficult to lay hands on birth certificates from a few decades ago, many in Pathri claim they have documents to prove Sai Baba was born in their town, no one in the government either, including those in the Congress and NCP, wish to start a controversy over the issue. After a meeting with CM on Monday, the agitators claimed they were satisfied there will be no attempt to reduce Shirdi’s importance and they have decided to withdraw the shutdown. Of course. No one can afford to lose money. Or even votes. Pathri will have to wait a little longer for its own prosperity.