‘Does she believe in Chamundeshwari Devi?’: BJP questions Banu Mushtaq’s role in Dasara inauguration

Banu Mushtaq's selection to inaugurate Mysuru Dasara has sparked a political controversy, with BJP leaders questioning her suitability.

Booker Prize-winning author and activist Banu Mushtaq’s selection to inaugurate the world-famous Mysuru Dasara festival has triggered a political row, with senior BJP leaders and an expelled MLA questioning the Karnataka government's decision.

Banu Mushtaq, author of Heart Lamp, is the first Kannada writer to have won the International Booker Prize in London. (Photo: Alberto Pezzali/AP )

BJP MLC and former minister CT Ravi said it was inappropriate for someone whose religious beliefs are unclear to lead a ceremony that begins with Hindu rituals. “It is not right for a person with uncertain faith to preside over a religious event,” Ravi remarked.

Echoing similar concerns, former Mysuru MP Pratap Simha stated that while he respects Mushtaq’s literary achievements, her role in inaugurating a religious event like Dasara is objectionable.

“She can preside over the Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana, but not Dasara, which starts with a pooja to Goddess Chamundeshwari. Does she have faith in Chamundeshwari Devi? Is she following our traditions?” Simha asked reporters in Mysuru on Sunday according to news agency PTI.

Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, who was recently expelled from the BJP, also voiced his objections in a post on X. “I personally hold respect for Banu Mushtaq madam as a writer and activist. However, her inaugurating Dasara by offering flowers and lighting the lamp to Goddess Chamundeshwari seems to be in conflict with her own religious beliefs,” he wrote.

Yatnal added that Mushtaq should clarify whether she continues to follow Islam, which advocates belief in one God and one holy book, or whether she now believes in the idea that all paths lead to the same spiritual destination. “Such clarity is essential before she presides over the inaugural rituals,” he stated, adding that without this, it would be inappropriate for her to perform the religious inauguration.

“She may certainly inaugurate cultural or literary events within Dasara festivities, but the religious inauguration of Dasara itself should be refrained from,” Yatnal concluded, tagging his post with the hashtag #KarnatakaDasara2025.

The controversy follows Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s recent announcement that Banu Mushtaq would inaugurate the Nada Habba (state festival) Dasara celebrations in Mysuru, which traditionally commence with rituals at the Chamundi Hill temple.