Protest in Chikkamagaluru over denial of urs rituals at Bababudangiri shrine

Protesters in Chikkamagaluru demand urs rituals at Bababudangiri shrine, alleging state administration undermines its syncretic heritage.

Activists of Eddelu Karnataka (Wake Up Karnataka), a coalition of civil society groups in the State, staged a protest in Chikkamagaluru on March 5, opposing the district administration’s refusal to allow urs rituals at the Sri Guru Dattatreya Bababudan Swamy dargah, atop Bababudangiri in Chikkamagaluru taluk.

Activists of Eddelu Karnataka were taken into preventive custody when they staged a protest opposing restrictions on rituals of urs at Sri Guru Dattatreya Bababudan Swamy Dargah in Chikkamagaluru district in Karnataka, on March 5, 2026. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Members of the forum, led by K.L. Ashok and Gouse Mohiyuddin, gathered at the City Municipal Council premises and raised slogans against the district administration. They alleged that the Congress party ruling the State was not upholding the syncretic nature of the shrine.

As they moved towards the Deputy Commissioner’s office, police intervened and stopped them. The activists demanded that they be allowed to stage a protest, and convey their opposition to the stand taken by the administration. However, the police took them into preventive custody.

In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the protesters stated that the administration did not allow the rituals as per the tradition at the shrine. The progressive forums of Karnataka had fought to retain the shrine as a place of harmony. While the administration allowed all kinds of rituals during the Datta Jayanti at the shrine and converted the entire area into saffron, it imposed restrictions on the urs. The Shah Khadri was not allowed to place a green cloth on the tomb or apply sandalwood paste.

A three-day urs, an annual event to pay homage to Hazrad Daya Hayat Mir Qualandar, began at the Guru Dattatreya Bababudan Swamy dargah, a cave shrine atop Bababudangiri Hills in Chikkamagaluru taluk in Karnataka on March 4, 2026. Syed Ghouse Mohiyuddin Shah Khadri, the hereditary administrator of the shrine, refused to enter the shrine as a mark of protest. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement