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K’taka set to organise R-Day celebration at Idgah Maidan
“It is celebrated with great pomp and shows every year. This year marks the 74th Republic Day of India. We will celebrate it in the Idgah Maidan of Chamarajpet with all the security arrangements,” the revenue minister said in a statement on Sunday.
Amid pressure from members of the Chamarajpet Nagarikara Ookkoota and other right-wing groups, the state government is all set to organise the Republic Day celebration at the Idgah Maidan in Bengaluru’s Chamarajpet.
Revenue minister R Ashoka on Sunday and Member of Parliament from Bengaluru Central PC Mohan on Sunday said that the Bengaluru Urban district administration would organise a flag-hoisting ceremony at the ground as per the protocol.
“It is celebrated with great pomp and shows every year. This year marks the 74th Republic Day of India. We will celebrate it in the Idgah Maidan of Chamarajpet with all the security arrangements,” the revenue minister said in a statement on Sunday.
PC Mohan said the state government would celebrate Republic Day at the playground by hoisting the tricolour and conducting cultural programmes.
“The #Karnataka Govt. will celebrate Republic Day on the #Chamarajpet playground, #Bengaluru by hoisting the tricolour and conducting cultural programmes. The celebration of #RepublicDay at Chamarajpet playground will be grandiose in comparison to Independence Day,” the Bengaluru Central MP tweeted.
The Chamarajpet Nagarikara Ookkoota welcomed the move and said that their efforts to convince the authorities have been successful. Earlier this month, in a letter dated January 15, the forum, along with pro-Hindu groups had sought permission from the state government to celebrate Republic Day on the ground by hoisting the tricolour and conducting other cultural programmes.
The forum warned that “if permission is not given, they would ignore the administration’s instructions and hoist the flag at Idgah Maidan”. The forum had given a letter to the state government and the deputy commissioner in December last year.
“A single member bench of the Karnataka High Court in an interim order dated 25-8-2022 said that Independence Day, Republic Day and other national festivals can be celebrated at the ground. A copy of the order is attached. Accordingly, on 15-8-2022, Amruta Mahotsava Independence Day was celebrated with grandeur,” the letter stated.
“On 26-1-2023, it is mandatory to celebrate Republic Day programmes across the country with grandeur by central and state governments, schools, colleges and other organisations. We request the state government and the Revenue Department to celebrate the Republic Day on 26-1-2023 at the playground in Chamarajpet,” the letter further said.
Yeshwanth Kumar, a member of the forum, on Monday, said that a meeting was held with Bengaluru Central MP, revenue minister and other officials on Sunday, where they assured that Republic Day would be celebrated at the Maidan.
“We are happy that they have agreed to celebrate. But we want the Republic Day celebrations to be bigger than Independence Day. The August 15 celebrations last year were not grand enough as there were a lot of security restrictions, and they did not have enough time to make arrangements,” Kumar said.
“But this time, we have asked the authorities to conduct a three-hour-long cultural programme after the flag-hoisting ceremony and make arrangements to include the citizens in the area, including Army veterans, during the celebrations. The authorities have assured us that they will consider this. We hope this is done,” Kumar added.
In June last year, Idgah Maidan was in the middle of a controversy over its ownership. While the city municipal corporation, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), claimed the playground to be its property, Muslim organisations asserted that the land belonged to the Karnataka State Waqf Board.
Controversy erupted in June 2021 after several Hindu organisations sought permission to hold Ganesh Chaturthi and other festivals at the site.
The BBMP claimed, as per the 1974 metropolis survey, the Idgah maidan was indicated to be a playground and civic property belonging to the city’s corporation. The Waqf Board asserted that the 2.1 acre of contested land is a registered waqf property and that it has been since the 1850s.
Later, the Wakf Board approached the Karnataka high court against an order by the BBMP, which said that the ground belonged to the revenue department. In an interim order on August 25 last year, a single-judge bench ordered that the ground should be used only to celebrate Muslim festivals and as a playground at other times. It also directed for the status quo on the land.
On August 15, the Indian flag was hoisted at the Maidan by revenue department officials amid tight security as part of the celebration of 75 years of Independence.
