On the efforts of Hindutva groups to keep Muslim traders out of temple festivals in Karnataka, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw has urged Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to solve the growing religious divide in the state. Let us inform that Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is the Executive Chairman of Biocon Limited and is a well-known name in the corporate world. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw has warned that the country’s “global leadership” in technology and biotech is at stake.
Biocon Chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw took to Twitter, citing a report published in The Indian Express on Wednesday, that “Karnataka has always had inclusive economic growth and we should not allow such communal boycotts. If IT/BT becomes communal then the monarchy of India will collapse. In this tweet, tagging CM Bommai, he urged and said, please solve this growing religious division.
After this, in another tweet, Biocon Chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw wrote that our CM is a very progressive leader. I am sure he will resolve this issue soon. The Indian Express had reported how the campaign to blacklist Muslim vendors spread to several temple towns, leading to the closure of many local businesses. Several temple committees that organize festivals have expressed dismay over the restrictions.
The ban comes after a ban on hijab in government colleges in the state was upheld by the High Court. However, the report quoted the head of the management committee of the Durgaparameshwari temple as saying that he had turned down the VHP’s demand to keep Muslim traders out, but he himself stayed away due to the controversy. While the Durgaparameshwari temple is said to have been built by a Muslim merchant.
Indeed, over the past few weeks, groups such as the VHP and Bajrang Dal have demanded a ban on Muslim traders from attending temple festivals in Dakshina Kannada and Shivamogga. The Karnataka government in an official statement to the state legislature this week said the ban on non-Hindus doing business within the premises of temples is in accordance with a rule introduced in 2002 under the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997.
However, many sellers say that this rule has been used only to weed them out. At the same time, the state has said that they will take steps to ensure that such restrictions are not imposed on Muslim traders in public places outside the temple premises.