Bappa Beary News Today

Different faiths were once able to celebrate together in Karnataka. Now Hindu vigilante groups are targeting those who don’t share their beliefs

Last year, the campaign led to Muslims being excluded from 60 temple fairs in coastal Karnataka, according to Mohammed Arif, the secretary of the Udupi district street vendors’ association.

Followers of Yakshagana say that the act presenting the story of Bappa Beary has changed noticeably over the years with recent versions caricaturing the Muslim legend.

A Bharatanatyam dancer was barred from performing in a temple in Kerala's Thrissur. The temple authorities said a non-Hindu cannot perform inside the compound of the Koodalmanikyam temple.

A banner urging not to lease stalls to non-Hindus had appeared outside the Bappanadu Durgaparameshwari shrine in Dakshina Kannada

The Bappanadu Durgaparameshwari temple, where one such incident took place, ironically bears a sign within the temple premises which calls the temple a “modern day testimony to communal harmony”.