Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have opposed the Karnataka government’s decision to invite writer and activist Banu Mushtaq, winner of the 2025 International Booker Prize, to inaugurate the Mysuru Dasara celebrations.

Mysuru Dasara is a 10-day state festival that begins with the Hindu festival of Navratri and ends on Vijayadashami, or Dussehra. This year, the festivities start on September 22 and conclude on October 2.

BJP leader and Udupi MLA Yashpal Suvarna said that the Siddaramaiah government had chosen a woman from a community that does not believe in Hinduism, referring to Mushtaq being a Muslim.

Suvarna alleged that by doing so, the Congress was “playing with the emotions of Hindus”, PTI reported.

Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal said on social media that inaugurating Dussehra by offering flowers and lighting a lamp to deity Chamundeshwari would be in conflict with Mushtaq’s religious beliefs.

“Madam needs to clarify whether she continues to follow Islam, which emphasises belief in only one God and one holy book,” said Yatnal, who was expelled from the BJP in March.

He added that without clarity on this matter, it would be inappropriate for her to inaugurate the festival.

“She may certainly inaugurate cultural or literary events within Dussehra festivities, but the religious inauguration of Dussehra itself should be refrained from,” Yatnal said.

Former BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu Prathap Simha described Dussehra as a religious tradition and not a secular event.

“She could have been chosen to preside over the Kannada Sahitya Sammelana and not Dussehra,” he said.

On Sunday, Congress leader and state minister Santosh Lad dismissed Simha’s remark, The Hindu reported.

“Is there any provision in the Constitution which says Banu Mushtaq should not be called to inaugurate Dussehra?,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. “If we start objecting to everything on communal lines, where will it end?”

Mushtaq declined to comment on the controversy. “I will not make any comment against them or against anyone to belittle my country,” she told PTI.

In May, Heart Lamp, Mushtaq’s collection of Kannada short stories translated into English by Deepa Bhasthi, became the first Kannada book and the second from India and South Asia to win the International Booker Prize. It was also the first collection of short stories to receive the award.

Two booked for posts about invitation to Mushtaq

The Udupi district police on Saturday registered two cases against persons for posting allegedly communal and provocative content on Facebook about the state government’s invitation to Mushtaq, The Indian Express reported.

In the first case, Kollur Police flagged a post by a social media user Jagadish Udupa on Friday that said that it was “wrong to insult the great Hindu religion just to please one community”.

He also warned of potential consequences.

The police said the message was provocative and capable of disrupting communal harmony, the newspaper reported.

In the second case, Karkala Rural Police registered a complaint against a Facebook Page “Sudeep Shetty Nitte”, The Indian Express reported.

The page had criticised the government’s decision and questioned why someone who “does not accept or practice Sanatana Hindu culture” should inaugurate Dussehra celebrations. The post also accused the “anti-Hindu Congress” of hurting Hindu sentiments.

The two cases were registered under a section of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita that pertains to creating, publishing or circulating false information likely to create feelings of enmity or hatred between religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities.

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