Arun Dev / Hindustan Times
Over 200 members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal were stopped from entering the Jama Masjid in Srirangapatna by Mandya police on Saturday after they gathered at the Kirangur junction in the historic Karnataka town for their proposed march to the mosque, officials said.
Authorities have imposed curfew from 6pm on Friday till midnight on Sunday to prevent untoward incidents.
Tension engulfed Srirangapatna, the former capital of 18th-century ruler Tipu Sultan, where right-wing groups declared their intention to chant Hanuman Chalisa outside the mosque on Saturday. The Hindutva outfits launched a Srirangapatna Chalo campaign, claiming the mosque stands on the ruins of a Hanuman temple.
S Aswathi, deputy commissioner of Mandya district, visited Srirangapatna to take stock of the situation. Over 500 police personnel have been deployed across the town, and four check posts have been installed along the march route, she said.
“The weekly market, usually held on Saturday, was postponed. Liquor sale was banned within a 5km radius of Srirangapatna,” she said at a media briefing. “Prohibitory orders have been imposed and there will be no permission for rallies, processions or protests in Srirangapatna town.”
CCTV cameras have also been installed and a special team has been formed to keep the area secure. The road leading to the mosque has been closed and entry of people have been prohibited, she added. No prayers were offered on Friday and prayers remain suspended till Sunday.
“The city is completely peaceful now, and it will remain that way in the coming days. We’ve made the necessary arrangements. We’ve deployed our men, spoken to leaders and communicated to them about prohibitory orders in place. If any violation is done, they’ll be facing legal action,” said N Yatish, Mandya’s superintendent of police.
The intention to chant Hindu prayers outside the mosque comes when there has been growing clamour by right-wing groups around the country to reclaim temples that were forcibly converted to mosques during the reign of Muslim rulers.
The claims have found backing from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka and other places where leaders like KS Eshwarappa have stated that over 36,000 temples were demolished by rulers like Mughals and Tipu Sultan, among others.
Right-wing groups like the VHP and its affiliate, Bajrang Dal, had sought permission from the authorities to gather and chant the Hanuman Chalisa on Saturday.
Bajrang Dal members will enter Srirangapatna town again, the outfit’s leader Kallahalli Balu said.
“We will voice out our demands that a survey of the Jama Masjid should be conducted on lines of Gyanvapi Masjid in Uttar Pradesh,” Balu said. “As the home minister has stated, we will voice our demand peacefully.”
“No one is allowed to take the law into their hands at any cost,” Karnataka home minister Araga Jnanendra had said on Froday. “Any organisation has the right to present its claims peacefully and democratically.”
Pramod Muthalik, founder of the Sri Rama Sena, another Hindu outfit, slammed the BJP government, stating that measures should have been taken to prevent Muslims from running madrassas (religious seminaries) inside the mosque instead of stopping Hindus from conducting prayers in the mosque.
“I condemn the ruling BJP government,” he said. “The masjid is an archaeological department building.”
The Hindu outfits have submitted a memorandum to the district authorities, seeking a survey of the mosque and asking them to steps to return the Anjaneya temple to Hindus if their claim was found to be true.
On Wednesday, a Karnataka court started hearing a petition filed by the VHP related to “discovery of a temple-like structure” inside a mosque in Mangaluru’s Malali.
This article first appeared on hindustantimes.com