In a First, Karnataka Temple Fairs ban Muslim Shopkeepers From Having Stalls

Adding to the rising communalism in Karnataka, temple authorities in the coastal parts the southern state have banned Muslim shopkeepers from local annual fairs, The Indian Express reported.

The ban is reportedly a backlash for Muslim traders downing shutters in support of a bandh against the Karnataka High Court’s verdict on the hijab issue. On March 15, the Karnataka High Court upheld the state’s ban on wearing hijab in educational institutions.

The annual temple festivals draw a massive revenue of crores of rupees, according to The Indian Express. Even though communal tension in the state is not new, barring a religious community from taking part in the festivals is an unprecedented move. 

Festival organisers at the Mahalingeshwara Temple have barred Muslims from participating in their auction as the invitation explicitly mentioned that only Hindus were eligible to participate in the event on March 31, the newspaper reported. 

In another instance, the managing committee of Hosa Marigudi Temple at Kaup in Udupi district did not allot stalls to Muslims in an auction held on March 18 for the annual fair ‘Suggi Mari Pooje’, which was held at the temple from March 22-23, The Hindu reported. The fair apparently auctioned 100 stalls.

According to The Hindu’s report, Ramesh Hegde, president of the temple management committee, a resolution was passed at an earlier meeting of the committee allowing only Hindus to participate in the auction for stall allotment. 

Hegde told the media that Hindu organisations had appealed to the committee not to allot stalls to Muslim traders because they did not respect the court’s verdict on the hijab issue. 

Prakash Kukkehalli, Mangaluru divisional general secretary of Hindu Jagarana Vedike (HJV), told The Hindu that their local members in Kaup had submitted a letter to the chief officer of Kaup Town Municipality not to permit Muslims to open their shops or stalls during the annual fair. The HJV also approached the temple management committee for the same.

However, the Chief Officer of Kaup Town Municipality, Venkatesh Navada told the newspaper that he has received the letter, but traders from all communities could open shops as India was a secular country. ‘He said that authorities were examining the issue.

In Shivmoga, known as a hotbed of communalism, Muslim shopkeepers were kept out from the Kote Marikamba festival that began Tuesday, the Indian Express reported. SK Mariyappa, president of the temple committee, said that the committee was never communal in the past but recent developments, including the campaigns against Muslims shopkeepers, have forced them to take this step for smooth conduct of the festival,

The report further said that a hoarding of the Bappanadui Sri Durgapameshwari temple’s annual festival in Dakshina Kannada district stated, “People who don’t respect the law or the land and who kill the cows that we pray and who is against the unity will not be allowed to do business. We will not allow them to do business. Hindu is aware.”

Mangaluru city police commissioner N Shashi Kumar was quoted as saying that the police were probing who installed those flexes.