Hindu flag hoisted on Indian mosque amid call for banning loudspeakers
Three men were arrested in eastern India’s Bihar state for hoisting a saffron flag on a mosque on the occasion of Ram Navami, a Hindu religious festival, state police said.
A man was seen climbing a mosque wall in Muzaffarpur and planting a saffron flag on top of its gate on Sunday. He was cheered on by scores of men riding bikes and walking around.
A video of the incident has gone viral, showing men thumping the air in jubilation and cheering the man atop the wall.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jayant Kant said the police was quick enough to pull down the flag from top of the mosque’s gate, bringing the situation under control.
No communal flare-up was reported over the incident, but Kant did confirm filing an FIR in the case.
The move comes in the wake of a demand raised by a minister from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to impose a ban on mosque loudspeakers in Bihar.
Senior BJP leader and mines and geology minister in the Nitish Kumar-led coalition government, Janak Ram, last week said the use of loudspeakers in mosques should be banned in the state, saying it adversely affects those living in their vicinity.
“Playing loud sounds and rash driving are prohibited during Holi, Diwali, Chhath Puja and other Hindu festivals… when loudspeakers are played in mosques, children face difficulties in their studies,” Ram said.
“When you prohibit one class of the society from using loudspeaker, you should also bar mosques from using it, because the loud sound affect all people.”
Prior to this, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief, Raj Thackeray, had also demanded removal of loudspeakers from the mosques, saying that Muslims can pray at their homes.
Opposition parties in India accuse the Hindu nationalist BJP government at federal and state levels of discriminating against religious minorities, especially Muslims. The trend has assumed alarming proportions since Modi’s election in 2014.
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