Two Karnatakas: 455km away from riot-hit Nagamangala, Muslims celebrate Ganesha festival and Hindus gear up for Eid-e-Milad

Uttara Kannada is also considered communally sensitive. BJP leader Ananth Kumar Hegde, known for his vitriolic speeches, has won Lok Sabha polls from the constituency five times. And the district’s Bhatkal town was in the news in the past after several Muslim men from there were arrested in terrorism cases.

On Sunday, with much pomp and honour, Hindus and Muslims held a grand procession in Karwar before immersing a Ganesha idol, capping nine days of celebrations. And the Madina Jamiya Masjid’s Eid-e-Milad celebration committee is helmed by president Nagaraj Babuni and vice-president Vinayak Vadder. The festival falls on September 17 this year.

It all started 24 years ago, when a local merchant named Babu Sheik donated a Ganesha idol for the Sri Gajanana Samithi in Konewada area, which has a population of around 1,000 people. “All the communities here are dependent on each other and we are living in harmony. After I donated the idol, people from the Hindu community took up the responsibility to organise Eid celebrations. We have been successfully doing it for the last 24 years,” he said.

In the Sri Gajanana Samithi, Nazeer Ranebennur is the president and Nisar Sheikh the vice-president. “Every three years, the members of both committees (for the Ganesha festival and Eid celebrations) change. We issue notices to temples and mosques and people fund the celebrations. Both Hindus and Muslims work to decorate roads and venues. This time, we celebrated the Ganesha festival for nine days,” Nazeer, whose tenure as the committee president will end this year, told indianexpress.com.

When the Ganesh idol procession passed by Madina Jamia Masjid, the music systems were turned off. Muslims distributed food among the devotees as part of the celebrations.

Nagaraj, who heads the Eid-e-Milad committee, said he along with other Hindus was busy with preparations to celebrate the Prophet’s birth anniversary. “After their prayers, we will hold a food distribution ceremony for Muslims. We don’t go and collect funds from others but people from both communities donate money for the celebrations. We are planning a grand celebration next year to mark the 25th anniversary of the Ganesha and Eid celebrations,” he said.

Speaking about the communal riot in Nagamangala, Nagaraj said that such violence could not happen without instigation. “We have seen instances where Ganesha processions deliberately stop in front of mosques and play loud music. We respect all the communities’ sentiments and ensure that such loud music is not played in front of the mosque,” he said.