Now, nine years later, Lokhandwala is among several Bohras eagerly waiting for the Bombay High Court to settle the succession dispute.

In 2014, Qutbuddin filed a legal suit challenging his nephew’s claim to the post of dai. As per Bohra tradition, every dai or Syedna typically picks his own successor during his lifetime, and Qutbuddin claimed that Burhanuddin had privately appointed him as the next dai in 1965. Saifuddin, meanwhile, claimed that his father had publicly anointed him as his successor in 2011.

After nine years of hearings before Justice Gautam Patel, the court is finally set to deliver a verdict in June. During this period, Qutbuddin died, and his son Taher Fakhruddin continued the legal battle.

The two sides

“This case is spiritually important to us because it is the fundamental tenet of our faith that only belief in the rightful dai can help us attain salvation in the afterlife,” said Lokhandwala. “Many other Bohras tell us that we are biased, especially because we are a minority, but it is our hope that an authoritative finding of a secular court, in this case, may help the community unite and heal again.”

This is also the outcome that Fakhruddin’s administration claims it is hoping for when the court issues its verdict.

“The biggest challenge has been the fact that the community is, according to us, being defrauded by someone who has unrightfully usurped its leadership,” said Aziz Qutbuddin, the younger brother of Taher Fakhruddin. If the court’s impending verdict favours their side, he said, it would “help people realise that they have been defrauded” and would hopefully keep the community “united under the right leader.”

Mufaddal Saifuddin’s representative declined to give any official statement, “since the judgement of the Hon’ble High Court is awaited."

Aziz Qutbuddin, meanwhile, spoke at length about the difficulties faced by community members who overtly supported his father and then his brother. These difficulties included the breaking up of marriages and families over differences in allegiance, Bohra businesses suffering losses, people being forced out of their homes and being barred from the funerals of their loved ones.

“The vitriol has not abated, it continues to ebb and flow,” said Aziz Qutbuddin. “But those who are following Syedna [Taher Fakhruddin] are doing so with strength. And there are thousands of people who do not follow Syedna openly, but still watch our sermons online.”

Several supporters of Fakhruddin that Hindustan Times spoke to said they were confident and happy about their choice of leader, even if it meant being shunned by family and friends. “I have never had a doubt about who the right dai is, and whatever the court’s verdict may be, it will not change my faith,” said a 44-year-old businesswoman who did not wish to be named.

This conviction was echoed by several Bohras on both sides of the divide, indicating that the court’s verdict is unlikely to bring about a reunification of the community.

All the Bohras that Hindustan Times spoke to expressed regret about the rift in the community and a desire to see it heal. But neither the supporters of Saifuddin nor those of Fakhruddin could envisage giving up on the respective leader that each had already chosen.

According to one Bohra woman in Mumbai, the divide between the two unofficial sects can now only be bridged at a personal or individual level. “I don’t go around telling everyone that I am a supporter of Syedna Fakhruddin, but most of my friends who know about it don’t care, even if they are on the other side,” the woman, in her sixties, said. “So far, only one friend has uninvited me from a wedding after finding out about my belief. It hurt.”

An irreversible divide

“I think our bifurcation will remain because of the way in which people on that side [Saifuddin’s] have been brainwashed – they follow him blindly and their hearts and minds are closed to change,” said another Mumbai-based Fakhruddin supporter in her sixties who requested anonymity. “The verdict will validate that we are right, but those on the fence will likely remain on the fence.”

Supporters of Saifuddin are just as steadfast about their own choice of leader and believe that the court’s verdict will not affect them in any way.

“We were very shocked when he [Qutbuddin] filed the case in court because I was personally present when Mufaddal maula was appointed the next dai,” said Husain Ezzy, a 48-year-old chartered accountant in Mumbai. “There has been a lot of media hype about the case, but we have faith in the judiciary. And only a handful of people have gone to the other side, so we can’t call it a split within the community.”

Alifia Kapasi, a 50-year-old editor at a digital healthcare platform, said that neither Qutbuddin’s case nor its verdict has made any real difference to her own life as an ardent supporter of Saifuddin. “I have gone on many trips to the places that Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin has travelled, and people on the ground, in the villages, are not even talking about this case,” said Kapasi, who is based in Bangalore. “Filing this case was unnecessary and uncalled for, but we have faith in the judiciary and I am sure the verdict will be in our favour.”

While Kapasi and Lokhandwala are deeply entrenched in the Bohra community and their respective leaders, several Bohras in recent years have drifted away from community affairs. One of the main reasons for this is alleged corruption inis the Bohra administration. It is known for taking large amounts of religious taxes from community members. The Bohra administration and the families of both claimants to the dai post are notably wealthy, and they run a large number of charitable organisations involved in healthcare, education or housing. The ownership and control of many of these entities are at stake for the two men vying to be recognised as the official dai.

“The main reason behind the succession dispute is not leadership, but money and property,” said a Dubai-based Bohra businessman who did not wish to be named. “I personally have no feelings towards this court case or whatever the verdict may be. But I know many people feel that this was an internal community matter that should not have gone to the court because it has generated a lot of negative publicity for us.”

In general, courts of law in India have often felt the same about getting involved in religious disputes or matters of personal law. Typically, such cases are referred to a constitutional bench, which Mumbai-based lawyer Flavia Agnes believes would be a better platform for the Bohra succession dispute too. “Such issues are never black-and-white and they can be very sensitive. So courts usually believe they should be resolved within the community itself,” said Agnes, who fears the High Court’s verdict – irrespective of what it is – may have a negative impact on the Bohra community.

Some younger Bohras, meanwhile, have grown entirely disinterested in community affairs not only because of corruption allegations but also due to several diktats and opinions expressed by Saifuddin in the last nine years. These include diktats against using Western-style toilets, views that women must not be sent to work outside the home, and the use of biometric identity cards for alleged surveillance of community members.

“I don’t get involved in the community anymore because it has become a cult,” said a 22-year-old man from Surat on the condition of anonymity. “I don’t care what the verdict in the case is – I will just observe the tamasha [spectacle].”