Several Hindu Munnani members were detained by the Chennai Police after they objected to restrictions imposed on a Vinayagar procession in the Ice House area, where the police had barred the procession from passing through streets near a local mosque.
The Ice House junction and certain streets surrounding the mosque had been ‘classified as highly sensitive areas’ by the police. Barricades were erected and organisers were instructed to follow an alternative route instead of taking the procession through the restricted streets.
Hindu Munnani members opposed the restriction and insisted on taking the Vinayagar procession through the route that had been blocked by the police. When they attempted to cross the barricades, the situation turned into a confrontation, following which several members were detained.
The police action was reportedly taken under preventive provisions, with the authorities citing defiance of regulatory orders, unlawful assembly and concerns over public peace.
However, Hindu Munnani strongly objected to the manner in which the situation was handled. The organisation questioned why the presence of a mosque should result in a Hindu religious procession being treated as a security-sensitive issue and its route being restricted.
In a Hindu-majority country, posing restrictions and repeatedly treating areas around places of worship as “sensitive” and restricting Hindu processions would create a perception that Hindu religious activities will definitely ‘hurt’ minority sentiments.
Such an approach could have the opposite effect of what the authorities intend. When the government and police impose restrictions on Hindu religious processions by citing communal sensitivity, it can reinforce perceptions of unequal treatment and fuel greater religious tensions rather than prevent them.
Rajesh, one of the Hindu Munnani leaders who was arrested by the police, questioned how everyone else is allowed to move around near the mosque but a Hindu deity has restrictions placed on Him. He stated that the TVK government was indulging too much in minority appeasement continuously and that Hindu Munnani condemns this behaviour.
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