A religious procession connected with the upcoming Masimagam chariot festival of the Kalatheeswarar Gnanambigai Temple in Uthamapalayam, Tamil Nadu, was met with opposition by members of the Muslim community on Wednesday night (February 25, 2026) as it was passing through a route with a mosque.
According to Dinamalar, members of the Okkaliga Gounder community were taking out a procession of the deity to the Indira Nagar area of the town as part of the preparatory mandagapadi events, which have been going on since February 19, 2026. The events precede the Masimagam chariot festival of the Kalatheeswarar Gnanambigai Temple, which is scheduled to take place on March 2, 2026. Till the festival, the deity is hosted by different communities on different days.
As the arrangements were being made for the return of the procession, members of the Muslim community opposed the passing of the procession from the chosen route, stating that the procession would disrupt prayers in a mosque located along the route. They demanded that the procession be delayed or diverted to a different route.
This led to a tension erupting between the Hindu devotees and Muslims. Soon, local members of the BJP and Hindu Munnani reached the spot to take stock of the situation.
Uthamapalayam Revenue Divisional Officer Syed Mohammed and Deputy Superintendent of Police Ponnarasu spoke to the members of the Muslim community. After negotiations, it was decided that the procession would be taken through the same route after the completion of the prayers at the mosque.
Eventually, the procession was allowed to pass through the route after 10:30 pm. However, the devotees were not allowed to light firecrackers and beat the drums in front of the mosque to maintain law and order.
