Days after an anti-halal meat drive in Karnataka, right-wing organizations led by Bajrang Dal and Sri Ram Sena have now called for a ban on loudspeakers in mosques.
Loudspeakers at mosques
Some Hindu groups have warned that they will play ‘Om Namah Shivaya’, ‘Jai Shri Ram’, ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ recitals, and other devotional Bhajans at 5 AM as a protest against azaan from loudspeakers at mosques.
Some Bajrang Dal members said the campaign against loudspeakers in mosques would start in the Anjaneya temple in Bengaluru and would be later conducted across the state.
Sri Ram Sena members have also said that they had submitted a request to officials for stopping the use of loudspeakers at 5 am.
“We don’t oppose their prayers. But we oppose the use of loudspeakers… We’ll play bhajan every morning if the loudspeakers from mosques are not removed. The Supreme Court has prohibited the usage of loudspeakers from 10 pm to 6 am every day,” a member of Sri Ram Sena said.
“The order also says that loudspeakers should not be used in the silent zones such as schools and hospitals but that order is being disregarded by the mosque management,” he adds.
Security arrangements
With this, the state government has ordered police to increase security arrangements keeping the sensitiveness of the issue.
Senior BJP leader and state minister KS Eshwarappa said any resolution to the issue can be found only by taking the Muslim community into trust. He said the community has for long been following the practice of using loudspeakers to call for prayer, but it is troubling students, children, and patients.
He added that “this is not a contest for us to play ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ loudly. I have no objections to Muslims offering prayer, but if prayers are offered at temples and churches also through a loudspeaker in a similar way, it will lead to conflict between communities,” he said.
C N Ashwath Narayan, state minister, said the government has not brought any new regulations about azaan. “We are working as per the rules limited in the laws. We are not working in favor or against anyone.”
