Calls for ban on loudspeakers for Azan get shriller in India

India

Not all followers of Maharashtra state’s leader agree with his demand, some even resigned over his communal stance

Calls from Hindu groups in India to ban the use of loudspeakers for Azan, the Islamic call to prayer recited by a muezzin at prescribed times of the day from mosques, are growing shriller by the day.

It all began with Raj Thackeray, leader of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), a political party in the western state of Maharashtra, warning against the use of loudspeakers atop mosques on April 2.

Thackeray even threatened to rival the Islamic call to prayer by reciting the Hanuman Chalisa, a devotional hymn in praise of Hindu god Hanuman, from loudspeakers near mosques.

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But his calls received a lukewarm response from his party cadres across Maharashtra. Some Muslim leaders and MNS party workers appeared dejected and disappointed by his sudden outburst against a minority community.

MNS state secretary Irfan Shaikh published an emotional post on Facebook saying: “Due to Raj Saheb’s statement about loudspeaker issue, all top seven to eight Muslim leaders across the state are unhappy …”

Another leader, Majid Shaikh, who headed a local branch in Pune, went a step further and tendered his resignation. “I am resigning from the post because since the last few days, instead of focusing on issues like development, inflation, women empowerment, unemployment, the party is more focused on communalism,” he stated.

“Despite our multiple requests to district authorities, they have refused to crack down on loudspeakers at mosques. So we too are planning to start playing devotional songs at Hindu temples at high volume”

Shaikh sent his resignation to his immediate superior, Pune city unit president Vasant More, who said he would be meeting Thackeray soon as several party members including Hindus were upset over his call to play Hindu devotionals to rival the Islamic call to prayer.

But even as the MNS was reduced to playing the Hanuman Chalisa at high decibels from loudspeakers installed at its office in Ghatkopar locality of Mumbai, Hindu groups in the southern Indian state of Karnataka joined in to demand a ban on loudspeakers at mosques.

The Sri Ram Sene has urged the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to prohibit the use of loudspeakers at mosques across the southern state. 

Pramod Muthalik, chief of the Sene, in a video message released on April 5 said: “We support MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s stand. Despite our multiple requests to district authorities, they have refused to crack down on loudspeakers at mosques. So we too are planning to start playing devotional songs at Hindu temples at high volume.”

Joseph Dias, founder of the Christian Secular Forum (CSF), told UCA News: “There is no communal or political angle to the daily use of loudspeakers for Azan since all sections are affected by the noise pollution.” 

“Local body polls are scheduled to take place in Maharashtra in the coming months while assembly elections are due in Karnataka early next year. Hence, right-wing groups are trying to play the communal game”

Dias, who is based in Mumbai, said the use of loudspeakers was a recent phenomenon and not inherent to Islamic practices. “So hope wiser counsel will prevail and things get settled soon,” he said.

Mohammad Salim Engineer, secretary-general of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, said some groups were trying to push their vitriolic agendas and unless the governments of the day take strict action, it could prove dangerous for the democratic fabric of the country.

“Local body polls are scheduled to take place in Maharashtra in the coming months while assembly elections are due in Karnataka early next year. Hence, right-wing groups are trying to play the communal game,” he said.

Back in Maharashtra, MNS functionary Mahendra Bhanushali and his supporters were detained for playing the Hanuman Chalisa without the required permission from the administration on April 3.

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