‘Silence them with noise’

THOUSANDS of loudspeakers have been taken down in India as the anti-loudspeaker campaign, specifically targeting places of worship, continued this week.

In many places, police were on alert to avert problems that could mar the celebration of Eid.

In a tit-for-tat showdown, Hindus have warned Muslims that if they do not take down their loudspeakers or dim the sound of the Adhan, the Muslim call to prayer, then they would fight back by playing the Hanuman Chalisa through loudspeakers.

In July 2005, the Supreme Court banned the use of loudspeakers and music systems in public places between 10pm and 6am, except in cases of public emergencies. At the time it said the continuous noise was detrimental to the citizens’ health. However, the push to enforce the Supreme Court order was only under way now.

By Sunday, the government of Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh had uninstalled 53 942 loudspeakers from various religious places across the state.

In addition, Prashant Kumar, the state’s director-general of police, said they had also reduced the sound level of 60295 loudspeakers to the level of standard parameters.

Police in the state were also told to speak to religious leaders and co-ordinate the removal of unauthorised loudspeakers.

In Aurangabad, Raj Thackeray, the president of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), demanded all loudspeakers be removed by his stipulated deadline of May 3. He said loudspeakers in mosques were a social and not a religious issue.

“It’s now or never … All loudspeakers must be removed. After Eid … from May 4, I will not listen to anybody. All Hindus will blare out Hanuman Chalisa outside mosques at double volume,” Thackeray said at a rally.

He advocated for loudspeakers to be removed from all religious places across the country, even from temples, but only after they were removed from mosques. Thackeray further warned if the government failed to heed his ultimatum, he would not be responsible for the consequences. He said if Muslims tried to turn it into a religious issue, then Hindus would also reply to it with religion.

“I request the police personnel here … Go and start removing those loudspeakers right now … This is not a new issue. It was always there, but I am giving the solutions … It’s now or never,” he said.

Claiming all loudspeakers in the state were illegal, he asked that if Uttar Pradesh could bring them down, then why not Maharashtra.

When Thackeray asked the government to act or face the consequences, several political leaders came out in support of him.

They said they would play the Hanuman Chalisa instead of Adhan at mosques if the demand of the MNS chief was not met.

In New Delhi, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) said it would not participate in the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) event to play the Hanuman Chalisa on loudspeakers outside the mosques in Maharashtra.

Vinod Bansal, the VHP national spokesperson, said they were an apolitical organisation and that they never participated in any political party events.

Taking a dig at the Maharashtra government for adding sedition charges against Lok Sabha member Navneet Rana and her husband, MLA Ravi Rana, Bansal said: “It is the time for political parties to introspect for their hatred for the recitation of Hanuman Chalisa in the country. Maharashtra government action is teasing Hindus and promoting jihadists. We believe that there should not be a ban on the recitation of Hanuman Chalisa in the country.”

Bansal demanded that, like Uttar Pradesh, all the states remove illegal loudspeakers from mosques and other religious structures.

“Uttar Pradesh government has taken a good decision and every state must follow it. Instead of tokenism, all the illegal loudspeakers must be removed from across the country.

“There should not be a pick-andchoose policy that loudspeakers be removed from temples and not from mosques or churches. It should be done impartially,” Bansal said.

Meanwhile, Pramod Sawant, Goa chief minister, said a campaign was likely to be initiated against the use of loudspeakers in the state in the next few days. He said it was necessary to abide by the orders of the Supreme Court and High Court in the matter.

The Supreme Court in July 2005 cited the serious effects of noise pollution on the health of those who lived in such areas.

Amid the loudspeaker/Hanuman Chalisa row, Sharad Pawar, Mumbai Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief, claimed that attempts were made to take the country backwards. He said the attention from real issues like employment was being diverted. “What are the basic issues of people? Inflation, food, unemployment. But nobody’s paying attention to it,” Pawar said.

Recently, veteran singer Anuradha Paudwal joined some celebrities speaking about the issue of playing Adhan on loudspeakers.

Paudwal said it should be banned in India like it was in other countries. She said she was not against any religion but that it was being forcibly encouraged in India. |