By Sekar Palanisamy and Edgar Kaiser
Thiruparankundram hill, located on the southwest of Madurai district in Tamil Nadu, houses Sikkander Badusha dargah, Subramaniya Swamy temple – the first of the six abodes of lord Murugan – and Kasi Viswanathan temple. Now, it has become a focal point of communal tension.
The Subramaniya Swamy temple was built in the eighth century during the reign of the Pandyas at the foothills of this monolithic hillrock whereas the dargah was built in the 17th century at the top in the memory of Sikkander Shah, the last Madurai sultan. The Kasi Viswanathan temple is also located close to the top of the hill but on the other side of the dargah.
Locals from both communities have been worshiping together harmoniously for a long time here, but the hill has suddenly emerged as a communal flashpoint.
The core issue
On December 25, 2024, a group of Muslim men were on their way to the dargah, with chicken and goat. The police restricted their entry and stopped them from carrying out animal sacrifice – a practice which has been prevalent here for a long time now.
For centuries, Hindus and Muslims in the area have lived in harmony, respecting and participating in each other’s religious traditions. However, recent allegations by right wing organisations that Muslims are trying to take over the site, calling it ‘Sikkandar Hill’, and introducing meat sacrifice as a new practice, have been unanimously dismissed by locals as baseless and divisive. To prevent these elements from disrupting their long-standing communal harmony, residents of Thiruparankundram, along with representatives of several political parties including Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and Congress, submitted a petition to the district collector on January 27.
Following this incident, right wing outfit Hindu Munnani sought permission from the police to conduct a peaceful protest which was denied and a prohibitory order was instead issued by the district collector under Section 163 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.
