There is a religious shrine atop a hill, 30 kms from Chikmagalur in Karnataka. This is under the control of the Religious and Charitable Endowment Department, Government of Karnataka. Both the Hindus and the Muslims regard the shrine as sacred and it is a unique example of Hindu-Muslim harmony.

An attempt was made some time back to have it declared as Waqf property but the Supreme Court iuled in 1991 that the shrine did not belong tot he Waqf Board. The Government of India and the State Government of Karnataka are keen that nothing should be done to disturb the present character of this religious shrine which is a part of our rich secular heritage in the country.

The Muslims visit the shrine dedicated to the Saint Baba Budhan throughout the year. They also celebrate Urs at the s9ite three days every year in the month of Rabi-ul-Awwal, the third month of the Islamic calendar. For the Hindus, this is the shrine of Guru Dattatreya and they accordingly call it Dattatreya Peetha. A large number of Hindus observe Dattatreya Jayanti every year at the site during Kartik Poornima celebrations and also during other festivals.

This year, the Dattatreya Jayanti was scheduled to be observed from December 1 to 3. To maintain peace in the region, the State Government have made elaborate arrangements ...

The observance of Guru Dattatreya Jayanti ... started peacefully on December 1s and passcd off smoothly on December 2nd. Today also, which is the last day of the festival no untoward incident has been reported from Chikmagalur so far and it is expected to remain so throughout the day.

Shahabuddin's Letter to Karnataka C.M. J.H. Patel, 25 November, 1998

May I draw your attention to the VHP plan of launching a Rath Yatra and organising a rally at Baba Budan Giri in Chikmangalur on 3 Dec ember, 1998 to capture the shrine of Baba Budan. This Muslim shrine is revered by both communities.

The VHP claims it to be Datta Peeth and demands exclusive control by the Hindu community, despite a Court order to maintain the status quo.

The VHP's claim is only 12 years old and they hoist a flag once in a year on what they call Dattatreya Jayanti.

I request you to take a firm stand, stop the Rath Yatra because it is likely to incite communal passions, ban the proposed rally and take effective steps to protect the shrine and defend its sanctity.

P.T. Bopanna On Sufi Shrine in Karnataka

For the Hindutva brigade, which had tasted success in Ayodhya, tle Baba Budan Giri shrine near Chikmagalur, Karnataka, was a soft rarget. Little did it realise, however, that the latter was actually a different kettle of fish. It is one thing to effectively whip up communal frenzy against a structure supposedly symbolising humiliation and insult of Hindus by 'fanatic' ... Muslims and quite another to raise an issue around a Sufi shrine that is just one of the many representative symbols of the historically syncretic co-existence of the two communities in this country. And the VHP erred precisely on that.

Their expectation that this issue would drive a wedge between the Hindu and Muslims of the region, however, has fallen flat on its face ... And it could not have been otherwise ... For centuries, both Hindus and Muslims have been worshipping at the shrine, one of the important centres of Sufism in South India. Tucked away in the Baba Budan Giri hill ranges, known for its coffee plantations, the shrine is an unimpressive cave with the tomb of a Muslim saint, Hazrat Dada Hayat Meer Kalandar in one corner and a pair of sandals, believed to be the padukas of Lord Dattatreya, in another. The latter is supposed to be the last incarnation of Vishnu and he meditated there before doing the vanishing act.

The hill range got its name from Baba Budan, a  disciple of Dada Kalandar, who is said to have brought coffee seeds from Yemen and introduced its cultivation in the area which later spread to other parts of the country.

The shrine ... is managed by Mohammed Shah Qadri. Besides, the priest ... is also a Muslim. The VHP had intended to rake up a controversy on this. But the courts have already ruled that status quo should prevail in the manner of worship. Even the endowment commissioner, who has jurisdiction over the shrine, ruled that the mujavar or the Muslim priest would continue to perform the worship. Only during the Dattatreya Jayanti celebrations in the first week of December Hindus have been permitted to worship in their traditional manner.

However, in the past three years, the VHP ... has started hoisting the saffron flag during the Dattareya Jayanti ... But this year the ... BJP Lok Sabha member from Karwar, Ananth Kumar Hegde, stated that suicide squads would be sent to liberate the shrine on December 3 ... Hegde was also closely associated in the Idgah Maidan row in Hubli a few years ago and also in the Bhatkal incidents. Several criminal cases against him have been pending in the courts ... But what suddenly changed the situation was the drubbing the BJP received in the Assembly elections ... In a tactical retreat, the VHP gave an ultimatum to the Karnataka Government to concede their demands within a year. They want the removal of the Muslim administrator, permission for the Hindus to perform puja throughout the year, and the removal of the tombs of the relatives of the shrine administrator which have come up. Though initially it had planned to mobilise 25,000 activists to take part in the Dattatreya celebrations, the VHP scaled down the crowd to a mere 10,000. The rath yatra which started from four corners of the state, converged at Chikmagalur ... Despite demands for banning the rath yatras, the government permitted them ... The mood among the VHP men was one of restlessness and .. could have led to an ugly situation.

Though the event has passed off peacefully this time, the same cannot be said for the next ... Obaidullaha Sharief, editor of Pasban, an Urdu daily ... says, "The shrine is not a Hindu temple, but a Muslim dargah. We are not opposed to the Hindus worshipping there. But you cannot alter the basic character of the place" ... Dada Kalandar is also known as Dattatreya Swami in legend and the shrine is called Sri Sadguru Dattatreya Baba Budan Swami Peeth.

In such circumstances, it would be wrong for either of the communities to claim that it as their exclusive place of worship. Even the Karnataka High Court has observed the same in its recent order ... Chikmagalur has traditionally been a Congress stronghold. Indira Gandhi won the Lok Sabha elections from this constituency in the late Seventies.

For the first time, in the last Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won Chikmagalur and the party now wants to consolidate its new found support base in the area ... Even political rivals like former H.D. Deve Gowda and ... Ramakrishna Hegde have taken similar positions on the issue by condemning the move to 'liberate' the shrine. ... The problem has finally come to stay and it is time for saner elements to find an amicable solution ....          (Source: The Pioneer)