Popular Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam was forced to wake up early on Monday morning courtesy the azaan on a loudspeaker from a local mosque. The singer didn’t take too kindly to it and tweeted this out:
God bless everyone. I’m not a Muslim and I have to be woken up by the Azaan in the morning. When will this forced religiousness end in IndiaSonu Nigam (Twitter)
The singer then followed his first tweet with a few others to justify himself:
Predictably, Twitterati woke up with a jolt and went all out to respond to Nigam’s tweets.
Editor and screenwriter Apurva Asrani had a sensible response to Nigam’s early morning outrage:
Don’t want to hear the Azaan at dawn, nor do I want to hear a Chikni Chameli tuned Ganesh Aarti at dusk. Ban ALL loudspeakering of religion.Apurva Asrani (Twitter)
Actress Richa Chadha had this to say:
Sonu Nigam’s tweet largely got a mixed reaction on the social media platform, while some supported his early morning blues, others criticised him for raking up a religious issue.
Sonu Nigam’s tweet has brought up the debate over the use of loudspeakers in religious places once again.
In 2015, the Bombay High Court had ordered that loudspeakers be removed from mosques that do not have permissions in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, after a PIL was filed on the issue. A division bench of Justices VM Kanade and P D Kode, had said that - unauthorised loudspeakers, whether they were used in mosques, Ganeshotsav or any festival, were illegal and must be apprehended as they cause noise pollution.
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