Just after the Gyanvapi Mosque row and the Qutub Minar row, the Mangaluru Police were forced to impose a Section 144 around the Assaiyeed Adbullahil Madani Mosque in Malali after Hindu Right-wing activists plotted to conduct religious rituals near the mosque after trying to claim that it was constructed on top of a temple.
When the mosque in Malali was being renovated, a “temple structure” was allegedly discovered, causing a stir. Hindu groups initially did not broach the subject after the court ordered the work to be suspended. However, activists from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal had declared that they were going to use the traditional method of raising ‘Tambula Prashne’ before the priests to find out the truth.
People in coastal Karnataka consult priests to learn about previous generations’ histories. It is a well observed custom that people adhere to in those areas. If the priest claims that the Malali mosque was formerly a temple, the matter is likely to escalate, with Hindu activists pursuing legal and other means to assert their “rights to the mosque.”
Malali lies near Mangaluru, which is known as a BJP stronghold is considered to be a communally sensitive region. Any disruption here will have an impact on all three coastal regions.
While the VHP and Bajrang Dal want to perform the ceremonies on Wednesday, Mangaluru city police commissioner N Shashi Kumar issued a Section 144 order in and around the mosque on Tuesday.
This is the second instance of a mosque in Karnataka being targeted by Hindu right-wing groups. The Narendra Modi Vichar Manch, a Hindu right-wing group, has petitioned to the district administration, alleging that the Jamia Mosque in Srirangapatna, 120 kilometres from Bengaluru, was constructed on a Hanuman temple during Tipu Sultan’s reign in the 1700s.
