Prohibitory orders clamped in Mandya as Jamia masjid row flares up

Mandya: Authorities in Karnataka are on high alert as some activists of Hindu organisations said that they will 'enter' Jamia masjid in the historical town of Srirangapatna in Mandya district, on June 4 and perform puja there.

In vie: w of this, 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.

The police have deployed five KSRP and 3 DAR platoons and erected barricades around the mosque. The weekly shanty to be held on Saturday has been deferred to Sunday.

Superintendent of Police N. Yetish told reporters that they told Hindu leaders that no procession, jatha, protest or any kind of meetings would not be allowed. Sri Ram Sena founder Pramod Muthalik has announced that his organisation would support 'Srirangapatna Chalo' call on June 4. "We urge authorities to conduct survey of masjid on lines of Gyanwapi mosque," he said. The agitation regarding loudspeakers would be taken up in the second stage, he said. Hindu organisations have given calls on social media and various plaforms to participate in Srirangapatna Chalo programme.

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 explain that they are waiting from the orders of the government to handle thousands of devotees who will try to enter masjid and perform pooja.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishat (VHP) and Bajarag Dal leaders who are in the fore front of the Srirangapatna Chalo movement have maintained that since the district authorities have not responded to their request, 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 nod from authorities to conduct prayers in the mosque. The issue has become a hot topic on social media in the State. The mosque authorities have already made several appeals to the government to protect the Jamia mosque from Hindu activists.

Built by Tipu Sultan in 1786-87, 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 survey of the mosque, said that they strongly believe that Jamia masjid was built after demolishing a Hanuman temple in 1787 by erstwhile ruler Tipu Sultan. They maintained that Tipu had the idols of Lord Hanuman thrown into the river Cauvery and converted the temple into a mosque. They quote B. Lewis Rice, a British historian, archaeologist and educationist, who in his report to the Archaeological Survey of India in 1935, had mentioned about a Hanuman temple on page number 61.