Authorities in Karnataka are on alert after members of Hindu organisations called for a protest march to Jamia masjid in Srirangapatna town of Mandya district on Saturday, June 4. Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal and other groups have said they will enter the mosque on Saturday and perform puja there. In view of the call for the march, Shwetha Ravindra, tehsildar of Srirangapatna, has clamped prohibitory orders in the town from June 3 evening to June 5 morning. During this period, no procession, protest or yatra will be allowed to take place.
Sri Rama Sene chief Pramod Muthalik has announced that his organisation would support the 'Srirangapatna Chalo' call on June 4. A few Hindu activists had earlier submitted a memorandum to the district administration urging them to conduct verification of the masjid along the lines of the Gyanvapi mosque. Hindu organisations have given calls on social media and various platforms to participate in the ‘Srirangapatna Chalo’ program. The groups have claimed that the site of the masjid was earlier a Hanuman temple "which was demolished and the mosque was built on top of it".
With these organisations claiming that the mosque was built after demolishing a Hanuman temple on the same site, a large number of Hanuman devotees are expected to gather in the town and authorities are gearing up to manage the situation without any untoward incident. Sources told IANS that they are waiting for the orders of the government to handle a large number of devotees who are expected to try to enter the masjid and perform puja.
According to India Today, the organisers of the march were denied permission from authorities. Yet, VHP and Bajarag Dal leaders who are at the forefront of the ‘Srirangapatna Chalo’ movement have maintained that they are going ahead with their programme. The district authorities have already beefed up security in and around the Jamia masjid. Hindutva groups have also sought a nod from authorities to conduct prayers in the mosque. The mosque authorities have already made several appeals to authorities to protect the Jamia mosque from Hindu activists. Restrictions under Section 144 of the CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure) will be in place from 3 pm on June 3 to 12 pm on June 5, India Today reported.
Built by Tipu Sultan around 1786-87, the Jamia mosque is also called Masjid-i-Ala and is located inside the Srirangapatna fort. The mosque has three inscriptions that mention nine names of Prophet Mohammad. The Narendra Modi Vichar Manch organisation, which had made submissions to the authorities for a survey of the mosque, said that they “strongly believe” that the Jamia masjid was built after razing down a Hanuman temple.
WIth IANS inputs