Hindu festival of Dussehra alienated from its religious roots: Indian politician labels it “non-religious” and invites Muslim woman to inaugurate celebrations
Mysore, Karnataka, India 
21 August, 2025
Case Summary
Hindu religious sentiments were insulted by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who labelled Dusshera as a “non-religious festival” and effectively stripped the Hindu festival of its identity. He also invited a Muslim woman to inaugurate the Dusshera celebrations. According to the report, CM Siddaramaiah invited the author and activist Banu Mushtaq, a Muslim woman, to inaugurate the Dusshera celebrations. Dusshera in Mysuru traditionally began with a pooja, Vedic mantras and floral tributes to Goddess Chamundeshwari. Thus, inviting someone who happens to be a Muslim to inaugurate a Hindu religious festival stirred controversy across Karnataka, especially since Mushtaq had earlier questioned the Hindu practice of worshipping the Kannada language as Goddess Bhuvaneshwari. Siddaramaiah defended his decision by claiming that "Dusshera is a non-religious festival" which is meant for everyone. He claimed, “Naada festival is a festival for everyone. It is a festival for Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Jains" and cited historical examples of Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan, and Mirza Ismail having celebrated it. He dismissed objections as the rhetoric of “religious fanatics” who, according to him, did not understand history. BJP leaders and the larger community strongly objected to such a move, questioning whether Mushtaq, whose religious beliefs were rooted in Islam, could sincerely offer flowers and light the lamp before Goddess Chamundeshwari. Former minister CT Ravi stated that it was not right for someone with uncertain faith to lead a ceremony that began with Hindu rituals. Former Mysuru MP Pratap Simha questioned whether Mushtaq believed in Chamundeshwari Devi and upheld Hindu traditions, adding that she may preside over cultural or literary gatherings but not the sacred inauguration of Dasara. Others also emphasised that while she may inaugurate cultural segments of Dasara, the religious inauguration ought to remain within the Hindu tradition.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of - Hate speech against Hindus. Within it, the sub-category selected - Subversion of scriptures. Subverting the religious scriptures of Hindus has particularly devastating consequences. Subversion of the scriptures of Hindus is often done to justify or promote hatred, discrimination, or violence against specific individuals or groups of Hindus. Religious scriptures are often nuanced and those who harbour religious animosity towards Hindus often misquote or misrepresent the scripture to legitimise their animosity and hate towards the faith and its adherents. Any such misquoting of scriptures or subversion to justify hate, violence and discrimination against Hindus owing to religious animosity is hate speech and is categorised as such. The other sub-category relevant here - Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. The second primary category selected here is - Attack on Hindu religious representations. Within it, the sub-category selected is - Defiling religious customs. Sanatan Dharma is not a religion of one book, which is to say that while it has religious scriptures that form the central tenets of the faith, there are several traditions followed through thousands of years, mostly passed from generation to generation orally. There are several such customs and traditions that are followed by various Hindus and Hindu sects. Defiling of these traditions and customs is a breach of an individual or group’s religious practices. Such practices can range from dietary restrictions like not eating non-vegetarian food for a certain period of the year, not eating non-vegetarian food at all, not eating beef since the cow is considered holy in Hinduism, the sanctity of religious customs followed in the house (like many ISCKON devotees), etc. Any malicious action leading to the breach of such traditions or defilement of these traditions owing to animosity towards the faith or for the sake of activism stems not only from the lack of faith in the religion itself but also from disregard for the faith of the devotees who follow the customs/traditions and implicit bias against the faith, the tradition itself. Since these specific traditions are central to the faith of the devotees of that specific sect of Hindus, any non-compliance with these traditional rules would be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. This case has been added to the tracker because Hindu religious sentiments were insulted by Siddaramaiah, who labelled Dussehra as a “non-religious festival.” By doing so, he effectively stripped the festival of its religious identity and reduced its sacred meaning to mere cultural symbolism. Dussehra is one of the most important Hindu festivals, celebrated across India with deep religious devotion. In Northern India, it marked the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana, symbolising the triumph of dharma over adharma. Meanwhile, in South India, and especially in Mysuru, it is celebrated as the day Goddess Chamundeshwari (Durga) slayed the demon Mahishasura, and the festival traditionally begins with a pooja, chanting of Vedic mantras, and floral offerings to the Goddess. Therefore, both strands emphasised that Dusshera is an outright Hindu religious festival that is rooted in Sanatan Dharma and tied to living traditions that have been followed for centuries. By stripping it of its religious essence, Siddaramaiah’s statement amounted to a direct insult to the religious sentiments of Hindus. Furthermore, he attempted to justify his move by calling Dussehra a “Naada festival.” While "Naada" means state, and a state festival can obviously be celebrated by all communities, this does not make it non-religious. By equating “Naada” with “non-religious,” he deliberately misconstrued the religious essence of the festival. This misrepresentation reflected a broader pattern of subverting Hindu religious customs under the guise of inclusivity, amounting to both distortion and defilement of Hindu customs and traditions. In addition to this, Siddaramaiah also invited Banu Mushtaq, a Muslim woman, to inaugurate the Dussehra celebrations to further insult and secularise the Hindu festival. In Mysuru, the Dusshera inauguration always begins with the worship of Goddess Chamundeshwari, making it inseparable from the Hindu religious character of the festival. The Hindu community and political leaders rightly pointed out that while Mushtaq could have been invited to preside over cultural or literary events within the programme, it would be inappropriate for her to inaugurate the religious ceremonies. This was further aggravated by the fact that she had earlier questioned the Hindu practice of worshipping the Kannada language as Goddess Bhuvaneshwari. In Islamic theology, idol worship, referred to as Shirk, is regarded as the gravest sin. The Qur'an strictly condemns it, and Islamic teachings emphasise the complete rejection of any practice associated with idol worship. Muslims are taught from a young age that idolatry is an unforgivable sin. Therefore, allowing someone who neither believed in nor respected Hindu traditions to inaugurate a Hindu religious festival amounted to a direct insult to Hindu sentiments. Such acts not only insult the faith of the devotees but also reinforce a long-standing pattern of mocking or undermining Hindu beliefs under the guise of modernity or secular politics. This made it both an act of hate speech through subversion of religious identity and an attack on Hindu religious representations through the defilement of sacred customs. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on when the victim’s ordeal began or when the incident first occurred. Since CM Siddaramaiah extended the invitation to Banu Mushtaq on August 22, 2025, that date has been recorded as the date of the incident.
Case Status
Complaint not filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
State and Establishment
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
