A senior IAS officer in Madhya Pradesh quoted a controversy after she said that public address systems such as loudspeakers installed at temples cause noise pollution. Last Sunday, Shailbala Martin raised questions on the use of loudspeakers in both temples and mosques on the social media platform X, after which she is in the news.
A journalist on the social media platform X questioned the disparity in enforcement, focusing on the use of public address systems in mosques and the prevalence of DJs playing music outside these spaces. "The argument being given is that when the sound of Azan from loud speakers of mosques disturbs people, then why should there be a problem with playing DJ in front of mosques. But I have a question for DJs: If loudspeakers are removed from mosques, will the DJ and dirty sloganeering stop? It will not happen. Then all this will be done under some other pretext because there is politics behind this religious rivalry, it will not let it stop. Muslims should show some wisdom and give DJs a chance. They should remove loudspeakers from mosques. God will hear it anyway, because he is not deaf," the journalist said.
Responding to the post, the IAS officer Shailbala Martin said that noise pollution caused by the public address system in temples - questioning why such disturbances, which can be heard several streets away and continue late into the night - are often overlooked. "And the loudspeakers installed on temples, which spread noise pollution through speakers far and wide in many streets, which keep playing till midnight do not disturb anyone."
