Watch | Goat sacrifice attempt puts Madurai on edge. What’s really happening?

A hill, housing both a dargah and temple, is becoming the centre of religious politics in Tamil Nadu. Thiruparankundram in Madurai is widely known for its famous Murugan Temple. But it’s also home to a revered dargah of Islamic saint Sultan Sikandhar Badushah.

The trouble broke out when a Muslim family attempted to offer a goat at the dargah in the morning as part of a traditional ritual. Although animal sacrifices at the site are not uncommon and typically occur at night, police intervened and stopped the offering. The family then performed the ritual at a mosque at the foot of the hill before leaving.

Protests and counter-protests

The incident triggered protests by the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), claiming the police disrupted a tradition followed for generations. This, in turn, led to counter-protests from Hindu groups, accusing the Muslim community of encroaching on the sanctity of the hill.

To manage the escalating tension, police enforced strict measures, including a ban on carrying food items to the hill. Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MP Nawas Kani visited the site, promising to address the issue.

Political fallout

Nawas Kani’s visit took a controversial turn when a social media post featuring individuals eating biryani atop the hill sparked backlash.

BJP's Tamil Nadu unit chief K Annamalai accused Kani of deliberately provoking Hindu sentiments by consuming non-vegetarian food on the sacred hill. “A sitting MP, who is supposed to uphold secular values, chose to eat non-veg food at a sacred place, provoking and outraging Hindu sentiments,” said Annamalai.

In response, Nawas Kani denied the allegations, asserting: “BJP and its parent organisations are trying to damage the social fabric here. People have been eating non-veg food for years. I didn’t even go up the hill.”

Amid these accusations, tensions continue to rise. Indhu Makkal Katchi, a Hindu nationalist group, announced that they will hold a protest against Muslim organisations and the Tamil Nadu government on February 2. The outfit has accused the government of favouring one community.

(The content above has been generated using a fine-tuned AI model. To ensure accuracy, quality, and editorial integrity, we employ a Human-In-The-Loop (HITL) process. While AI assists in creating the initial draft, our experienced editorial team carefully reviews, edits, and refines the content before publication. At The Federal, we combine the efficiency of AI with the expertise of human editors to deliver reliable and insightful journalism.)