Canadian city allows broadcasting of Hanuman Chalisa, Gayatri Mantra

THE CITY OF MISSISSAUGA’S COUNCIL VOTED TO RELAX NOISE BYLAWS FOR TEMPLES

TORONTO : A city in Canada has made history by permitting local temples to broadcast sacred Hindu hymns during an auspicious period as regular worship remains impacted by restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regular rules relating to noise bylaws disallow places of worship from using loudspeakers. However, the city of Mississauga’s council voted unanimously to relax those norms and let temples broadcast hymns like the Hanuman Chalisa or Gayatri Mantra. Mississauga lies in the Great Toronto Area and is in the province of Ontario.

The city council had earlier not taken a decision on the matter and referred it to the Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee

or DIAC, which thereafter voted in support of temporarily easing the noise bylaws. The matter returned to the city council abided by the DIAC’S decision, with all members voting in favour of the motion. Among its supporters was city Mayor Bonnie Crombie.

This matter had been moved by the Hindu Forum Canada which sought permission for temples to broadcast from August 11 to September 1, for five minutes each evening at 7 pm. It had argued that this period was significant for Hindus as it included Krishna Janmashthami, Onam and Ganesh Chaturthi.

Among the original proponents of the measures was Indocanadian councillor Dipika Damerla, a former provincial Minister, who described it as a “small ask.” After the motion’s passage, she said she was “very happy” that this accommodation had been put in place for the religious group.

Proponents have argued that the restrictions due to the coronavirus crisis have affected the faithful especially seniors.

In fact, in April this year, many municipalities in Canada, including Mississauga, made an exception for the month of Ramzan, as restrictions similarly impacted

Muslims in the country.

With a precedent in place, an apex Indo-canadian organisation has called upon cities to give similar permission to mandirs in the province of Ontario and beyond. The Canada India Foundation or CIF argued that to “be able to listen to the holy hymns and participate while being restricted to individual homes, is expected to act as a morale booster to the community.” Its chair Anil Shah underscored this argument, as he said, “We are in full agreement with the request to the various municipalities for accommodation regarding these religious events. This would be a great gesture that would strengthen our multicultural fabric even more.”