Congress has alleged that the campaign begun by Raj Thackeray and his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) against the loudspeakers installed on mosques to give the call for prayers has hurt the Hindus and this could lead to restrictions being imposed on Hindu festivals and rituals.
The MNS chief had asked party cadre to play Hanuman Chalisa outside mosques from May 4 at double the volume if they did not take down their loudspeakers. This is seen as an attempt by Thackeray to strike a political alliance or understanding with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the issue of Hindutva while trying to corner Shiv Sena, which has been forced to dilute its right-wing agenda after allying with ‘secular’ forces like Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party.
Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant said, “The politics by the MNS chief on loudspeakers is working against the Hindus. The quest to pull down loudspeakers put up on mosques can lead to restrictions on their use in Hindu festivals. Now, the Muslim community has on its own stopped [the use of loudspeakers for] morning azaan [Islamic call for prayers], but kakad aratis [early morning aratis] have been stopped as well.”
Pointing to how these aratis had been stopped at the Shirdi and Trimbakeshwar temples, he asked, “Who is responsible for this?”
On Thursday, no loudspeakers were used in the kakad aratis that are performed at the crack of dawn in prominent temples across Maharashtra like Shirdi, which is famous for the shrine of saint Sai Baba, and Trimbakeshwar, which has a jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva. This led to devotees not being able to hear the prayers.
“The Mumbai police grant permissions for the use of loudspeakers under section 38 (1) of the Mumbai Police Act. This does not specify the duration of use. No permissions are given in silence zones. There are a total of 2,404 temples and 1,144 masjids in Mumbai and out of these, just 20 temples have permissions for loudspeakers, while the number is 922 for masjids. The applications of five temples and 15 masjids are pending. If the demand of the MNS to take down all loudspeakers is approved, it will affect not just the masjids but also the 2,400 temples. It will also cover churches, gurdwaras and Buddhist shrines. Public celebrations of festivals may also be affected. In Maharashtra, the number of masjids is 15,000 and that of temples is over 80,000. Though it is said that the number of unauthorised masjids is huge, the number of such temples is also large. This shows the extent of the MNS’s ignorance,” Sawant said.
He added, “The politically selfish stand of the MNS… and the BJP’s support are harmful to the progressive ethos of Maharashtra. It is quite clear why BJP-ruled states have not banned loudspeakers.”
The supreme court had in July 2005 banned the use of loudspeakers between 10 pm and 6 am at public places. The permissible noise level for residential zones is 55 decibels, for commercial zones 65 decibels, and 75 decibels for industrial zones. Any violations of the decibel limit and use of loudspeakers between 10 pm and 6 am can be reported to the police.