The Muslim community is in split over Karnataka government’s decision to invite Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate the Mysuru Dasara festival. While a few community leaders believe that she should not participate in any religious festival that violates her religion’s basic principles, some believe that this act will become a golden example of the country’s communal harmony.
Supreme Court Dismisses PIL
Mushtaq, the first Kannada language writer to win the prestigious International Booker Prize for her short story anthology Heart Lamp, has found herself in the centre of a political row. The issue arose from Congress-ruled Karnataka government’s decision to invite her to inaugurate the revered Mysuru Dasara festival. The issue reached the Supreme Court after former BJP MP and two others filed a public interest litigation challenging the decision.
The apex court dismissed the petition citing the Indian constitution’s preamble enshrining secularism, liberty of thought and faith as well as equality and fraternity as ideals cardinal to national unity. However, the decision has seen a mixed reaction from both the communities involved, Hindus and Muslims, who have different opinions about a Muslim woman inaugurating a religious festival of the Hindu community.
Concerns Over Religious Sentiments
The Muslim community has particularly expressed varied opinions on this issue. While a few community leaders are concerned about religious sentiments getting hurt due to differences in rituals, some of them see this as a bright example of India’s communal harmony and an inspiration to participate in intercultural festivals.
Zubair Azmi, convenor of Forum Against Blasphemy and founder of Urdu Markaz, reflected that people should uphold communal harmony but should also be cautious of not forgetting their own religious traditions. “We wish our Hindu brethren on Diwali and they wish us on Eid. There is no issue in attending religious festivals of other communities but we should ensure that nobody’s religious sentiments are hurt. Participating in such festivals, like an act of accepting prasad after puja, can also compromise the basic principles of our religion and it can create a trouble,” Azmi said.
Support from Secular and Progressive Leaders
However, the secular and progressive Muslim community leaders have welcomed the SC decision. They also commended the state’s way of honouring a notable literary figure, who is also a progressive Muslim woman.
Ali Bhojani the founder of Community Connect, which has been working for communal harmony, highlighted that the SC judgement invites everyone to reflect on India’s rich cultural inclusivity, citing that India’s religious events welcome people from all faiths with open arms. “This openness defines our identity and strengthens our democracy. India is not just a land of many religions, but a culture that embraces diversity. Excluding participation based on faith goes against the spirit of our traditions. True democracy is lived through everyday acts of respect and inclusion. Let us uphold the values that have always made India a beacon of unity in diversity,” he added.
Javed Anand, national convenor of Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy also welcomed the SC judgement and highlighted that Mushtaq has been invited only to inaugurate the festival and won’t be presiding over any religious ritual, eliminating the worries of hurting religious sentiments. “Mushtaq has been working for reforms in Muslim personal law and fighting Muslim fundamentalism from years. This is the right way of honouring such a woman by her state. Some people might have disliked the judgement but Supreme Court did a very important job of reminding people about our constitution’s preamble,” he said.
Historical Context of Interfaith Participation
Sarfaraz Arzoo, chairman of the Khilafat House Committee that holds the annual Eid-e-Milad procession in Mumbai, highlighted the long history of inviting non-Muslims as the chief guest to lead the procession to commemorate the prophet’s birth anniversary. He added that leaders from across religions and castes are invited for the celebration.
“We have been carrying forward this tradition by inviting people from different strata of society and it is good to see that the Hindu community is also reciprocating it. Some people, who don’t want Muslims to be seen in the mainstream, have made it an issue just to divert the attention from the real issue of the marginalisation of Muslims. The supreme court’s judgement is very relevant to our way of thinking and reiterates our faith in the country’s secular fabric,” he added.
