New Delhi: International Booker Prize 2025 winner Banu Mushtaq inaugurated the 11-day Mysuru Dasara festival by showering flowers on the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari, placed in a silver chariot atop the Chamundi Hills in Mysuru on Monday (September 22).

According to a report in The Hindu, Mushtaq said Goddess Chamundeshwari, Mysuru’s presiding deity, symbolises power in a woman and her undefeatable will power. She added that womanhood stands not only for softness and motherly affection, but also for strength that fights injustice.

Heavy security measures were imposed by Mysuru city police at Chamundi Hills as the famous Dasara celebrations commenced with the author of Heart Lamp inaugurating the festivities.

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah had extended the invitation to Mushtaq, a Muslim, as part of the state’s tradition of honouring distinguished Kannadigas, but the decision had quickly drawn loud reactions from BJP leaders who questioned the choice on religious grounds.

The matter even went to the Supreme Court after a petition was filed that sought to block her from inaugurating the Mysuru Dasara festivities. However, on Friday, the Supreme Court upheld that a secular state cannot exclude a dignitary from state-sponsored events on religious grounds.

"This is a State event... The State cannot distinguish between A, B or C religion," Justice Vikram Nath stated, affirming that the government must remain neutral and cannot discriminate based on faith.

According to The Hindu’s report, the author inaugurated the festivities during the auspicious ‘Vrushchika Lagna’ by showering flowers on the idol of goddess Chamundeshwari amid chanting of Vedic hymns by priests, at Chamundeshwari temple in Mysuru.

She also visited the Chamundeshwari temple earlier and offered prayers to the goddess, along with Siddaramaiah.

In her inaugural address, Mushtaq said, “Our culture is our root, harmony is our strength, and economy is our wings. Let’s build a new society that is filled with human values and love, along with our youth in India – that is also strong educationally, economically, and industrially. Let everyone have an equal share and opportunity in that society.”

Speaking about her bond with the Hindu religion, she said, “I have been to various events, have been invited to many, I have lit lamps and offered flowers a number of times and have accepted mangalarati. This is not new to me.”

Speaking on the row last month, she had said that for her, the row was unnecessary. “I do not belong to any particular caste or religion. The state belongs to all Kannadigas,” she had said, underscoring her view that the festival should unite, not divide.

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