Amid the campaign by a few right-wing groups against the use of loudspeakers for azaan, Bengaluru city police has started seizing microphones from mosques, saying they have defied court orders on noise pollution.

On April 5, city police commissioner Kamal Pant said the security forces had seized several microphones from places of worship where court orders were violated and booked cases, The Indian Express reported. The police will continue to monitor the prescribed decibel levels and crack down on places using loudspeakers, Pant said.

Calling it an awareness drive, the commissioner said notices have been sent to 301 religious places, including temples, churches and mosques, in Bengaluru, asking them to follow the rules on noise as per the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB).

It’s not forced, says CM

Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai said that the government would implement court orders on the use of loudspeakers taking everyone into confidence and not by using force.

"This is a High Court order. It's not forced. Everything has to be done by talking and explaining to people," Bommai said, clarifying that the move was not just for azaan, but for all loudspeakers. The High Court had restricted the use of loudspeakers in places of worship last year.

The CM said the state would implement the Supreme Court and High Court orders on regulating the use of loudspeakers in places of worship and other institutions “in stages”.

Bommai’s statement comes a day after Karnataka minister K.S Eshwarappa said a “solution” was required to address the concerns over loudspeaker use in mosques in the state.

Importing the debate over azaan from neighbouring Maharashtra, Eshwarappa, on April 4, said that there have been complaints from students and patients about the azaan disturbing them during morning and evening hours.

“This isn't a competition between Muslims calling for prayers through loudspeakers and Hindus chanting Hanuman Chalisa. And because of the azaan, it is an issue for students, patients and the elderly," he said.

In 2021, the Karnataka State Waqf Board had issued a circular, asking mosques and dargahs in the state to refrain from using loudspeakers between 10 pm and 6 am during the azaan.

Call for ban

Seeking a ban on the use of loudspeakers in mosques, right-wing organisations led by Bajrang Dal and Sri Ram Sena have said they would broadcast ‘Om Namah Shivaya’, ‘Jai Shri Ram’, ‘Hanuman Chalisa and other devotional prayers during azaan.

According to Bajrang Dal member Bharath Shetty, the organisation would start the campaign against loudspeakers at mosques from the Anjaneya temple in Bengaluru and conduct it across the state subsequently.

Pramod Muthalik of Sri Ram Sena alleged that despite the group submitting a request to the authorities to prevent the use of loudspeakers at 5 am in the mosque, the tehsildar in Belagavi district and the pollution control board had not taken any action against them.

“We'll play bhajan every morning if the loudspeakers from mosques are not removed," The Times of India quoted Muthalik as saying.

It started in Maharashtra

The azaan row flared in Maharashtra this weekend just before the elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation or BMC. Leaders of the Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena (MNS) played the Hanuman Chalisa from loudspeakers in public places in various parts of the state after a call-to-arms by Raj Thackeray at a rally in Mumbai on Gudi Padwa.

Some BJP leaders have supported Thackeray’s call. “Anyone who needs a loudspeaker to install it in a temple can ask us for free! All Hindus should have one voice! Jai Shri Ram! Har Har Mahadev!" billionaire BJP leader Mohit Kamboj tweeted.

Karnataka is already mired in controversy over hijabs. Earlier this year, a number of colleges were closed down amidst protests over the use of hijabs or headscarves worn by Muslim women in classrooms. The protest had sparked a nationwide debate.