Maintaining tradition, Karnataka temple begins festival with holy Quran recital

The annual festival in southern Indian state Karnataka's Chennakeshava Temple stuck to its age-old tradition by beginning with holy Quran recital, notwithstanding opposition from right-wing Hindu groups, Hindustan Times reported.

Kazi Syed Sajeed Pasha recited the Quranic verses before the start of the festival in the presence of members of the Hindu community on Wednesday (April 13, 2022), reports our New Delhi correspondent

Organisers of the Karaga procession, a 300-year-old event in Bengaluru, were asked not to visit Hazrat Tawakkal Mastan Dargah, a Sufi shrine, but they continued the tradition by visiting it in Cottonpet, the report said.

Twelfth-century Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana consecrated the temple to mark his victory in 1116 against the Cholas. He called it Vijaya Narayana, which remains a landmark in Karnataka and attracts millions of tourists and devotees from India and abroad.

Karnataka has for the last few months been in news for a series of controversies over issues like the wearing of the hijab, inter-faith relationships, halal and calls for prayers.