On Friday, the Jammu and Kashmir Police detained more than 6 students of the Gandhi Memorial Government College for protesting against the continued usage of loudspeakers for Azaan by a local mosque. The students gathered in front of the local mosque and recited the Hanuman Chalisa.
According to the reports, the local mosque used loudspeakers when the students were studying in the class at the Gandhi Memorial Government College. The students alleged that they were being disturbed while studying and that triggered them to protest against the local mosque.
The mosque reportedly continued the usage of loudspeakers after the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) passed a resolution on May 17 ordering the removal of loudspeakers and public address systems operating without permission from religious and public places. The resolution was moved by BJP councillor Narotam Sharma.
in his resolution, Narotam Sharma has demanded that in order to prevent noise pollution, all illegal loudspeakers and public address systems from all religious places in Jammu need to be removed.
— News18 Jammu (@News18Jammu) May 17, 2022
Sharma in the resolution had stated that the loudspeakers created massive noise pollution and that they disturbed the civil society. “The resolution has been passed with a majority. Now, the implementation will be done as per Supreme Court’s ruling,” Chander Mohan Gupta, Mayor of Jammu Municipal Corporation said while passing the resolution on Tuesday.
Reports also mention that the students who protested against the local mosque were furious over the failure of the authorities to stop the usage of loudspeakers by the local mosque. The Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested more than 6 students who were involved in the protest though later let them off.
The loudspeaker row
The loudspeaker row erupted in India after the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray in the state of Maharashtra called for the removal of illegal loudspeakers from atop the religious places including the mosques. He warned the state government to take down the loudspeakers from mosques before May 4, failing which, he said that his party workers would play Hanuman Chalisa on speakers in front of mosques with a volume double than that of the Azaan.
Several Mosques after this applied for official permission from their respective state administrations to use the loudspeakers for Azaan. Those who continued the illegal usage of loudspeakers had to face the law. Similarly, the state of Uttar Pradesh took speedy steps to remove the illegal loudspeakers from atop religious places. More than 40000 illegal loudspeakers were taken down and around 55000 were ordered to follow the permissible decibel sound limit.
