Pramoda Devi Wadiyar calls statement regarding ownership of Chamundi hill as 'insensitive'

Mysuru, Aug 28 (PTI) Expressing "deep dismay" over the controversies surrounding the Dasara celebrations this year, Pramoda Devi Wadiyar of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family on Thursday termed Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's statement that Chamundi Hill which houses the famous Chamundeshwari Temple and the Goddess there, were not the property of Hindus alone, as "insensitive".

Shivakumar on Tuesday said Chamundi Hill and Goddess Chamundeshwari belonged to every religion, and it was not the property of Hindus alone, a statement that drew sharp reaction from the opposition BJP.

The Deputy CM made the statement while reacting to the opposition to the government invite extended to International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate the world-famous 'Mysuru Dasara-2025' celebrations this year, atop of Chamundi Hills on September 22.

Wadiyar's son and Mysuru MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, who is also the scion of the erstwhile royal family, on Wednesday asserted that Chamundi Hill belongs to Hindus and it is the property of Hindus, as he hit out at Shivakumar.

Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, in a statement, said, "I write this with deep dismay over the way this year's Dasara celebrations proposed to be conducted by the Government of Karnataka have unfolded, especially with politics finding its way around the sacred Chamundeshwari temple atop Chamundi Hills." She said, "The choice of dignitary invited to inaugurate this year’s Nada Habba (state festival) or Janata Dasara has given rise to conflicting opinions. While defending the decisions, insensitive statements such as -- Chamundeshwari Temple does not belong to Hindus -- were both unnecessary and avoidable." If it were not a Hindu temple, it would never have been brought under the Muzrai Department in the first place, Pramoda Devi Wadiyar added.

"It is our considered opinion that the government's Dasara is a cultural celebration. The state, by its nature, cannot claim religious sanctity, sampradaya (tradition), or parampare (heritage) in conducting such a festival," she said.

Noting that it is clear that the celebrations organised by the Government of Karnataka are not religious (dharmic) in nature, Pramoda Devi Wadiyar said, "they simply coincide with the Navaratri celebrations, including Vijayadashami, whereas we (erstwhile royal family) continue to observe these dharmic rituals privately in accordance with age-old religious customs and traditions." "Since the government's cultural celebrations are organised in front of the palace in order to avoid any overlap with our traditional rituals, an auspicious and suitable time is fixed for the inauguration and the grand procession of Sri Chamundeshwari on the occasion of Vijayadashami. I hope the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi removes all obstacles, misconceptions and conflicts and soon a consensus is reached," she added.

Dasara celebration will begin in Mysuru from September 22, and will culminate on 'Vijayadashami' on October 2.

Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar on Wednesday said it is "shocking" that someone holding a responsible position of Deputy CM has made such a statement. He alleged that Shivakumar was probably trying to "balance things", after facing criticism from within his own Congress party for reciting RSS prayer song in the Assembly recently.

"There are references in the puranas that thousands of years ago rishi Markandeya had performed tapasya (penance) on the Chamundi hill and installed two idols there. In our own documented history Mahabaleshwara temple and Chamundeshwari temple have thousands of years of history," he said.

Noting that earlier there were no other religions in India, other those that were born in this land, Yaduveer Wadiyar said, "by misusing the plurality of Bharateeya Dharma, some people have been claiming that it (hill and goddess) does not belong to any religion." "Yes, everyone can enter the temple, but just because everyone is allowed, you cannot impose the boundaries of the modern constitution's secularism on it. Chamundi Hill belongs to Hindus and it is the property of Hindus. There is no doubt about it. The Deputy Chief Minister's statement cannot change things," he said, as he called such statements "condemnable" and a "joke".

Objections have been raised by BJP leaders and others to the state government's decision to invite Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate the Dasara festivities, following an old video that went viral.

In the video, Mushtaq has reportedly expressed reservations about worshipping the Kannada language as "Goddess Bhuvaneshwari", and has stated that it was exclusionary to people like her (minorities).

Several BJP leaders, including its state President B Y Vijayendra and Mysuru MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, on Monday asked Mushtaq to clarify her reverence towards Goddess Chamundeshwari before consenting to inaugurate the Dasara.

However, Mushtaq, on her part, has said that her statement has been distorted, by making selective parts of her old speech go viral on social media. PTI KSU KH