Karnataka High Court refused to entertain petitions against inviting Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq to open Mysuru Dasara. BJP leaders had opposed her citing alleged “anti-Hindu culture” remarks.
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Monday dismissed a group of petitions that were filed against the state government’s decision to invite International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate this year’s Mysuru Dasara celebrations.
A division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bhakru and Justice C. M. Joshi heard the matter and refused to entertain four different petitions, one of which had been filed by former Mysuru BJP MP Pratap Simha.
These petitions had challenged the government’s decision to select Mushtaq as the chief guest for the inauguration of the world-famous Dasara festivities.
The Mysuru district administration had officially sent the invitation to Mushtaq on September 3, even though some opposition groups, particularly from the BJP, raised objections.
The entire controversy arose because critics claimed that Mushtaq had earlier made remarks which they considered as
“anti-Hindu culture.”
Pratap Simha and others argued in court that inviting Mushtaq went against the religious spirit of the Mysuru Dasara.
They said her presence at the inaugural event would undermine long-held customs since the celebrations traditionally begin with Vedic rituals and the offering of flowers to Goddess Chamundeshwari at the Chamundi Hills temple.
This year’s Dasara celebrations are scheduled to start on September 22 and will end on Vijayadashami, October 2.
As per tradition, the inaugural ceremony involves placing flowers before the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari, who is the presiding deity of Mysuru, accompanied by the chanting of Vedic hymns.
The opposition’s criticism became louder after an old video of Mushtaq began circulating on social media. In that video, she was said to have spoken about her discomfort with the practice of worshipping the Kannada language as Goddess Bhuvaneshwari, describing it as
“exclusionary for minorities like herself.”
Following this, several BJP leaders demanded that Mushtaq should first make her position clear on Goddess Chamundeshwari before being allowed to inaugurate the state’s most important cultural festival.
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Mushtaq, however, responded to the controversy by defending her stand. She explained that her old speech was being taken out of context and misused online. She said that it had been
“misrepresented and selectively circulated on social media.”
With the High Court dismissing all the petitions, the way is now clear for Banu Mushtaq to go ahead and inaugurate the Mysuru Dasara 2025 as planned.
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