Booker prize winner Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate Mysuru Dasara amid online backlash

Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have opposed the Karnataka government’s decision to invite writer and activist Banu Mushtaq, winner of the 2025 International Booker PrizeBooker PrizeBooker Prize, to inaugurate the Mysuru Dasara celebrations.

Mysuru Dasara is a 10-day state festival that begins with the Hindu festival of Navratri and ends on Vijayadashami, or Dussehra. This year, the festivities start on September 22 and conclude on October 2.

BJP leader and Udupi MLA Yashpal Suvarna said that the Siddaramaiah government had chosen a woman from a community that does not believe in Hinduism, PTI reported on Monday.