A few days back a Hindu girl Karishma Bhosale who resides in Mumbai’s Mankhurd area had tweeted her ordeal when she had approached a mosque next to her house to lower the volume of the loudspeaker used during the 5-times daily azaan (Muslim call to prayer). Not only did the appeal fall on deaf ears but she and her mother were heckled and threatened as well.
@AskAnshul Namaskar Sir,I stay at Mankhurd ,Mumbai..i went to a nearby mosque to speak to the authorities with an expectation that my mere request of lowering the volume of loudspeaker(azaan)which is installed right in front of my window, would be heard,but in vain
— करिश्मा भोसले 🇮🇳 (@be_karishma) June 26, 2020
As the argument dragged on, police arrived at the scene, but it too was met with the usual contempt reserved for law enforcement by Islamists. It is even more disturbing that the local MLA Samajwadi Party’s Abu Asim Azmi allegedly said that Karishma should leave her residence if the call to azaan was causing her trouble – this was said at the local police station as per a WhatsApp message (said message also calls Karishma a ‘traitor’ and ‘riot-monger’) being shared by Azmi’s supporters. Abu Azmi is a controversial figure who wears his Islamist bigotry on his sleeve and has been booked for hate speech and other misdemeanours in the past.
Even the MLA has spoken this way..he is asking us to leave this residence if we cant bear the high
volume of azaan..who shall we rely upon then.. pic.twitter.com/s50y93bOLs— करिश्मा भोसले 🇮🇳 (@be_karishma) June 26, 2020
Sadly her ordeal did not end there. In a splendid show of ‘secularism’, Mumbai Police, which comes under Home minister Anil Deshmukh of NCP, issued a notice under IPC 149 (unlawful assembly) to Karishma’s mother Smt. Varsha Bhosale threatening further action against her if she enters the mosque again or ‘disrupts public order’ in any way.
As per the notice issued by Mankhurd Police Inspector Kishore Karat, it was erroneous on the part of Bhosales to approach Noori Ilahi Sunni Welfare Association Masjid and they should have registered a complaint with the police instead.
Citing that their action can cause law and order problems, the police asked them to take all the necessary precautions failing which action would be initiated against her under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant).
Citizens were quick to notice the apparent contradiction in rules followed by Mumbai Police based on religion. So while the volume of loudspeakers are to be kept down during Ganesh Chaturthi as it would not just ‘disturb’ others but also cause ‘noise pollution’, there are no such fears or problems when a mosque uses a loudspeaker to call for azaan.
Our brave @MumbaiPolice
Then & Now pic.twitter.com/IGr9cfQcaE— Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) June 29, 2020
Neither the Shiv Sena nor the Thackerays who pride themselves as standing up for the rights of the ‘Marathi manus’ came forward to help Karishma or her family, it has been learned that BJP leader Kirit Somaiyya visited the Mankhurd Police station demanding the withdrawal of the notice.
This is neither the first unfortunately nor will it be the last time when Hindus are targeted by the secular establishment. Singer Sonu Nigam was at the receiving end of secular outrage when he objected to azaan calls.
From Mumbai to Meerut to Hyderabad to Bijnore in Western UP time and again Hindus are being beaten up or threatened for ‘loud prayers’, but objecting to loudspeakers in a mosque is considered a threat to democracy by the authorities.
Only recently did the Allahabad High Court pass an order stating that the call to prayer was to be carried out only by the human voice and no loudspeaker or amplifying device was to be used for the purpose.
It is probably time to remind Mumbai Police yet again to act against illegal loudspeakers in mosques as per orders of the Mumbai High Court as well.
(Featured Image Source: Zee News)
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[…] assure the safety and security of ordinary citizens? Only recently the Mumbai Police had issued a notice to the mother of Mankhurd Hindu girl Karishma Bhosale for complaining against the use of a […]