india

Updated: Jan 26, 2020 15:11 IST

In a first, almost all mosques in Kerala hoisted the tricolour and decorated their premises with saffron, white and green festoons on Republic Day on Sunday.

The Kerala State Wakf Board had earlier said all mosques in Kerala would hoist the national flag and read out the preamble of the Indian Constitution on Republic Day to “promote national integration”. Many Muslim organizations had also exhorted believers to celebrate the Republic Day to send out a message across.

It had sent circulars to all mahal committees and others to unfurl the national flag and take a pledge to protect the country’s Constitution. A copy of the preamble of the Constitution was also sent along with the circular to the mosques.

The development comes amid protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in various parts of the country including Kerala which has taken a lead role in the campaign against the CAA.

Earlier this month, the Kerala assembly became the first state legislature to pass a resolution against the CAA. It also became the first state government to move a suit in the Supreme Court against the CAA which fast-tracks citizenship for non-Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014.

Opponents of the law say it is discriminator, divisive and unconstitutional because it makes religion a test of citizenship.

The protests in different parts of the country for over a month now have forced the BJP to launch its own outreach programme to canvass support for the law.