On Tuesday, July 12, the Chamarajapet Nagareekara Okkoota Vedike organised a protest and bandh at the Eidgah Maidan, a public ground in Bengaluru’s Chamarajpet. The protesters demanded that Hindu festivals must be allowed to be celebrated at the maidan. They also insisted that the ground be called Chamarajpete ground and not Eidgah Maidan. But for residents in the area, this seemed to be a non-issue as they assert that they have never been stopped from using the ground.

TNM spoke to people who have lived right next to the Eidgah Maidan for the last 30 years. They say that there have been no attempts by Hindu groups to use the land except on two instances in the past 20 years. There are also no restrictions for local residents to use the land for non-religious purposes. From children playing in the ground to people using it for evening walks, the ground has been used by residents without any issue for years.

But around two years ago, a few local groups started asking for permission to celebrate Hindu festivals there, says Shobha, who has lived next to the ground for the last three decades. “Muslims use the ground just twice every year for prayers. The rest of the year, there has been no issues in any of us using it,” Shobha adds.

Vijay, who also lives in the same residential complex, says that he grew up playing cricket on the ground with other children in the locality. “We have never seen these people here till now. There has been no conflict over the use of the land,” he tells TNM.

The recent intensified demand by Hindu groups seems to puzzle the locals. While the issue has gotten a lot of attention in the media and on social media, for those living around the ground the issue has very little bearing on their daily lives. But for residents in other parts of Chamarajpet it has snowballed into an issue of supporting a Hindu cause than about access to the ground.

The ownership dispute between the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and the Karnataka State Board of Auqaf over the Eidgah Maidan is a few years old. However, the dispute has intensified in the last three weeks after Hindu organisations sought permission to host International Yoga Day, Ganesh Chaturthi and Independence Day celebrations at the ground. Currently, the protesters are demanding that with Ganesh Chathurthi approaching, they be allowed to set up stalls to sell Ganesha idols. While the Bengaluru Police have been non-committal on the issue of granting permission, the Hindu groups have submitted several petitions with the BBMP, which are still pending.