Several Hindu Right-wing groups have sought the Karnataka government’s permission to hoist the Tricolour at the Idgah Maidan in the Bangalore locality of Chamrajpet on Republic Day.
While the administration is yet to respond, Muslim organisations have emphasised that the Supreme Court had last August ordered status quo on the Idgah, a playground where Id prayers have been the only public events held for about 200 years.
The development comes at a time Sangh parivar outfits have been accused of trying to polarise voters along religious lines ahead of next summer’s Assembly elections. Karnataka has already witnessed a controversy over Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations last August at the Idgah Maidan in Hubli, 400km from here.
The Chamrajpet Naagarikara Okkootta (Chamrajpet Residents’ Association) and at least a half-dozen other organisations have jointly written to the state government seeking permission to hoist the national flag on January 26 at the Idgah Maidan here.
The same groups had last August sought and obtained permission from the state government to conduct puja on Ganesh Chaturthi at the Idgah Maidan here. The matter went to Karnataka High Court, which ruled in favour of the puja, but the Supreme Court subsequently ordered status quo at a special hearing.
The state government deployed riot police to prevent unpleasantness during Ganesh Chaturthi.
The apex court is now dealing with a dispute over the ownership of the Idgah. Muslim organisations believe it to be waqf property but the state government had claimed, while giving permission for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations there, that it belonged to the Bangalore civic body.
Hussain Sharief of the Central Muslim Association of Karnataka, which is fighting the legal battle, cited the court case when asked if the organisation had any objection to the Tricolour being hoisted on the Idgah.
“The Supreme Court has already ordered status quo in the matter, which means that only the two Id prayers annually are allowed there, apart from using the space as a playground,” he told The Telegraph.
“We have always known it as a property belonging to the Karnataka State Waqf Board. Let us wait for the court to decide its ownership.” Mohan Gowda, spokesperson for the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, said his organisation supported the demand to unfurl the Tricolour on Republic Day and urged the government to accept it.
“Otherwise we shall be forced to launch an agitation with like-minded groups,” he said in a video message. Chamrajpet, a densely populated area in the middle of old Bangalore and a short distance from the railway station and bus station, has historically been a trading hub.
The largely commercial area is dotted with alleys flanked by houses where people of all faiths live. Hindu Right-wing groups had first sought to hold the Ganesh Chaturthi, Dasara and Deepavali festivals at the 2.1-acre Idgah here back in 2002 but a cautious government had refused permission.
A similar demand to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi at the Idgah in Hubli received the high court’s endorsement last August.