The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea challenging the Karnataka government's decision to invite International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate the Mysuru Dasara.
The Mysuru Dasara is the annual festival that celebrates the victory of Goddess Chamundeshwari over the demon Mahishasura; that’s where the city gets its name from. It begins Monday.
A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta rejected the petition challenging a September 15 Karnataka High Court order that had also dismissed the petitions against the state government's decision.
The appeal against the high court order, filed in the top court by H.S. Gaurav, said the inaugural rituals of the Dasara constitute an essential religious practice protected under Article 25 of the Constitution that deals with freedom of religion.
The inauguration involves lighting of the ceremonial lamp, offering of kumkum, turmeric, fruits and flowers before the sanctum sanctorum of Goddess Chamundeshwari. According to the plea, these are acts of Hindu worship governed by Agamic traditions and cannot be performed by a non-Hindu.
