Overview

• International Booker winner Banu Mushtaq remains the Karnataka government’s choice to inaugurate Mysuru Dasara on September 22, with ministers reiterating that the Nada Habba is a state cultural celebration.
• JD(S) leader and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said he has no objection to Mushtaq leading the festivities, breaking with NDA ally BJP, which has demanded clarifications and opposed her selection.
• Pramoda Devi Wadiyar voiced distress at political statements about Chamundi Hill, affirmed the Chamundeshwari Temple’s Hindu character, and distinguished the government’s cultural programme from the royal family’s private dharmic rituals.
• Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s remark that the hill and temple are not exclusive Hindu property drew BJP calls for an apology, and he told reporters he would stay silent on contentious issues.
• Protest groups in Mysuru submitted memorandums seeking withdrawal of the invite, an old 2023 video of Mushtaq on ‘Bhuvaneshwari’ resurfaced to fuel objections, and the Jamia Masjid Imam declined calls for a fatwa while questioning her fit for ritual aspects.