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The Karnataka government’s decision to invite International Booker Prize-winning Kannada writer Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate this year’s Mysuru Dasara atop Chamundi Hill has triggered a fierce political battle, with objections from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders. Interestingly BJP’s ally – Janata Dal (Secular) – has supported the move, while the Congress is firm on its decision.
Earlier this year, writer, lawyer, and activist Banu Mushtaq became the first Kannada author to win the International Booker Prize with her translated short story collection Heart Lamp. In recognition, the Karnataka government invited her to inaugurate the state’s flagship cultural festival.
Expressing joy over the invitation Mushtaq said,“Dasara is everyone’s festival, it is the Naada Habba. It is our duty to respect and take joy in the land and its language. Calling Chamundeshwari mother, calling it Naada Habba is part of our culture. I used to go to see the jambu savari with my parents as a child. I am happy I have been invited to inaugurate it.”
However, the BJP leaders are firmly opposed to it. BJP MP Jagadish Shettar claimed that the objection was not over Mushtaq’s religion but her long-standing writings on faith. “It is because of her views about religion and culture. She has been making provocative statements about faith and culture all her life. Such people cannot be accepted by all,” he said, adding that unlike poet KS Nisar Ahmed, whose poetry “stood for harmony and was never political,” Mushtaq’s writings were “political all along.”
Unlike Shettar, his colleague and Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje had explicitly brought Mushtaq’s religion into the debate. “Mysuru Dasara is a sacred festival of Goddess Chamundeshwari, rooted in faith and tradition, and not a cultural show. Asking someone with no faith in our Devi to offer the first prayers is a direct insult to the Goddess and to every devotee,” she wrote on X, accusing the Congress of appeasement politics.
Former MP and BJP leader Prathap Simha echoed this sentiment. “Does Banu Mushtaq believe in Goddess Chamundi? Has she ever followed our customs? This is not a government programme, it is a ritual expressing unwavering faith in the Goddess. Is she the right person for this?,” he argued.
Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Wadiyar dynasty and BJP MP, though initially praising Mushtaq’s achievements, also raised concerns. “Dasara is not merely a cultural event, but a Hindu Dharmic Utsava rooted in the Shastras and Puranas. Before consenting to be chief guest, she must clarify her reverence for ‘Tayi Bhuvaneshwari’ and ‘Tayi Chamundeshwari’,” he said.
JD(S) supports Mushtaq’s invitation
Meanwhile JD(S) leader and Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy said he had “no objection” to Mushtaq inaugurating the festival. “The state government has planned to give Mushtaq a big message and responsibility. I support the move,” he told reporters. His party colleague HD Revanna added, “It’s not right to differentiate between Hindus and Muslims. We are all Indians. We must all work together.”
Congress leaders strongly defended their decision. Deputy CM DK Shivakumar maintained that Dasara was not confined to one religion, remarking controversially that “Sri Chamundeshwari Devi temple and Chamundi Hill do not belong to Hindus alone.” Labour Minister Santosh Lad countered BJP objections, asking, “Is there any provision in the Constitution which says Banu Mushtaq should not be called to inaugurate Dasara? If we start objecting to everything on communal lines, where will it end?”
Pramoda Devi Wadiyar of the Mysuru royal family also weighed in, criticising the dragging of the temple into politics. “The government’s Dasara is a cultural celebration. But nobody can claim that Sri Chamundeshwari Devi temple does not belong to Hindus alone. If it were not a Hindu temple, it would never have been brought under the Muzrai Department,” she said.
Controversial old video resurfaces online
Meanwhile, an old video of Mushtaq criticising the depiction of the Kannada language as goddess Bhuvaneshwari has resurfaced online, fuelling the controversy. “You made the Kannada language Kannada Bhuvaneshwari. You gave the flag the colours of arishina and kumkuma and made her sit on a pedestal. Where does that leave me? My exclusion started a long time ago,” she had said at a 2023 literary meet.
Progressive writers have defended Mushtaq. Poet and journalist Pratibha Nandakumar said, “If Nisar Ahmed could inaugurate it, why is Banu not acceptable? This is a step towards making the Naada Habba more secular.” Bandaya writer Banjagere Jayaprakash also lent support saying, “Nisar was a man and very popular for his songs. Banu is a Bandaya writer, a Muslim and a woman — she is more vulnerable. When he was given an exemption, shouldn’t she get it too?”
The Siddaramaiah government has refused to withdraw the invitation, emphasising that Dasara, celebrated since 1975 under state patronage, is as much cultural as religious. With the pooja at Chamundi temple as its only ritual component, the rest of the festival includes cultural events, music, and jambu savari witnessed by lakhs each year.