Controversy Erupts After Sacking of 114 Muslim Employees of Shani Shingnapur Temple Trust

Mumbai: The Shani Shingnapur Temple Trust’s move to sack 114 Muslim employees due to alleged pressure from right-wing groups is likely to snowball into a major controversy in Maharashtra. The Muslim leaders have slammed the move, calling it a violation of civil rights by the temple trust.

The trust managing the Shri Shaneshwar Devasthan in Ahilyanagar district has recently laid off 167 staffers on ‘disciplinary grounds.’ Of them, 114 (68%) are Muslims. The trust has attributed the sackings to ‘non-performance and long absenteeism’ but not cited any specific reasons.

Temple CEO Gorakshanath Darandale emphasized that the action was performance-based and not driven by religious identity. “There is no question of discrimination. Over 2,400 employees work with the Devasthan and many were not reporting to duty despite repeated notices,” he said.

However, the move to sack the employees has come on the backdrop of protests planned by Tushar Bhosale, head of the BJP’s Spiritual Coordination Front, demanding the removal of non-Hindu staff from mandir departments. The NCP (Ajit Pawar) MLA Sangram Jagtap too had threatened to launch an agitation against the trust’s hiring of Muslim employees. “This is a historic win for Sanatan Dharma. We have reclaimed our sacred space. Let this be an example for other mandir trusts being run like secular departments,” Bhosale said.

The Shani Shingnapur Temple is a revered shrine dedicated to Lord Shani and attracts devotees from across the country, especially on Saturdays. The deity is worshipped in the form of a 5.5-foot black stone placed on an open platform under the sky. There is no traditional temple structure or roof over the idol.

The Shani Shingnapur shrine is also famously known as a village with no doors or locks, where residents believe that Lord Shani protects them from thieves.

However, Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh has termed the dismissal of employees illegal and violation of civil rights by the Temple Trust. “The termination of employment based on religious identity is a clear violation of civil rights and described the dismissal of 114 Muslim employees by the Temple Trust as an illegal and arbitrary act,” he said.

“Targeting Muslims and Dalits has always been part of the BJP government’s long-standing strategy. Their core agenda is to polarize votes along religious lines and seize power. This discrimination is being practiced in all walks of life and the dismissal of 114 Muslim employees by the Shani Shingnapur Trust is a clear example of the BJP-RSS mindset in action,” Shaikh said