Sound of bias | Loudspeaker-free Mumbai is a farce

Not a murmur was heard from Maharashtra’s 10 Muslim MLAs when Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis declared in the Assembly last week that Mumbai had become free of `illegal loudspeakers’. Most of them had been removed from mosques.

In the same Assembly sitting, the culture minister declared that sound pollution cases filed against Ganpati mandal office bearers would be withdrawn. The Muslim MLAs knew that mosques in the city had just paid Rs 5000 as fines for the same allegation (the high court, hearing a petition challenging the police action, expressed surprise that the fines had already been paid); yet,  none of the MLAs protested the government’s double standards. 

This triumphalism on the part of the government, and the silence of Muslims, sum up the manner in which Mumbai has been made ‘loudspeaker-free’ over the last three months. The sound of the azaan is barely audible in the city, even in Muslim ghettos.

So, has worship finally become a private affair, held behind closed doors, a goal that seemed impossible to achieve in India?

Far from it. The banging of gongs in temples on special occasions is still heard on the streets. Ashadi Ekadashi was celebrated on July 6, not just in temples, but also on railway stations, and by yatras accompanied by full-fledged orchestras and drummers; some of these were inaugurated by policemen.

But, said Muslim community leaders, this year, no concessions were given for the 10 nights of Muharram, when traditionally, lectures are held on the streets late into the night.

Officially, the ‘loudspeaker-free’ campaign was meant for all. Neither the January Bombay High Court order directing police to act against places of worship which violated noise pollution norms, nor the police circular on how the court order should be implemented, spoke of any particular place of worship.

Fadnavis claimed that loudspeakers had been removed from a handful of gurdwaras, temples, and churches too. But this seems to have been done so discreetly that no one came to know.

In contrast, the spotlight was directed on mosques alone in the one-man ‘Bhonga Mukt Mumbai’ campaign conducted both online and on the ground by Kirit Somaiya, a former BJP MP. Somaiya, who holds no party post, had, after the BJP-Sena’s Lok Sabha defeat, propagated the ‘vote jihad’ theory, which Fadnavis used in the Assembly polls. This time, Somaiya didn’t fail to credit Fadnavis while tweeting how he, accompanied by party workers, went from police station to police station, filing complaints against mosques, warning policemen, and then congratulating them for doing his bidding and making their area ‘loudspeaker-free’. Only one police station dared to ban Somaiya’s entry citing potential law and order problems.

That no such problem arose is only because Muslims chose to obey rather than resist, knowing they were up against the might of a BJP-ruled state, with no support. Indeed, the only MLA who tried to stop the police from removing the loudspeaker from one of Mumbai’s oldest mosques, was a Hindu from the Shiv Sena (UBT). Muslim MLAs did what they always do — took delegations to the police and politicians, in vain. When the police turned up outside mosques, these MLAs were nowhere to be seen.

Was it because, as Muslims allege, their business deals made them vulnerable; or because they didn’t dare go against majority opinion, which associates loudspeakers with mosques alone? So strong is this perception that little was expected from a petition in the high court, highlighting the haste with which fines were imposed on mosques and loudspeaker licences cancelled.

This despondency is in total contrast with the response to MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s April 2022 ultimatum to the Mumbai police to remove loudspeakers from mosques.

At that time, with the backing of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government, Police Commissioner Sanjay Pande, known for his sensitivity towards communal issues, managed the impossible: getting the ulema to co-operate in lowering loudspeaker volumes and simultaneously, arresting MNS workers before they could create trouble. 

This approach emboldened reformists to advocate the use of azaan apps instead of depending on loudspeakers. But the insensitivity with which the current campaign has been conducted has left little room for reformists. If mobile apps are being used now, it’s under compulsion.

Ironically, it was the high court that explained to the public prosecutor why loudspeakers have always been attached to mosques. The Bench also pointedly asked him if no place of worship in Mumbai any longer had a loudspeaker, a question he couldn’t answer.

Interestingly, in its reply, the police cited not just complaints about noise, but also about the words of the azaan causing ‘mental distress to Hindus’.

The sound of the azaan has been part of Mumbai. Having almost erased this marker of Muslim presence from the public space, the administration is all set to celebrate Ganeshutsav as a ‘state festival’. No doubt, like every year, this year too, loudspeaker rules will be relaxed for Ganeshutsav and Navratri. 

‘Loudspeaker free Maharashtra’ allows that.

(Jyoti Punwani is a senior journalist.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.